SOUTH AMERICA

LAWMAKERS IN ECUADOR VOTE TO REMOVE PRESIDENT

QUITO, Ecuador – Lawmakers in Ecuador voted yesterday to remove embattled President Gutierrez from office after a week of escalating street protests demanding his ouster, and they swore in Vice President Palacio to replace him.

An unidentified army official in combat gear said on television that Mr. Gutierrez and his wife, Congresswoman Ximena Bohorquez, had left the presidential palace. An Associated Press photographer saw a small helicopter land briefly on the palace roof and a figure climb aboard. Ambassador Mateo Castillero of Panama denied reports that Mr. Gutierrez had sought political asylum in Panama.

Anti-Gutierrez protests have been building for a week and late Tuesday night 30,000 demonstrators marched on the palace. Mr. Gutierrez was elected president in November 2002 on a populist, anti-corruption platform.

– Associated Press

PERSIAN GULF

PLANE AT TEHRAN AIRPORT SKIDS OFF RUNWAY, CATCHES FIRE

A Boeing 707 carrying 157 passengers skidded off a runway at Tehran’s airport and caught fire yesterday, killing a child and injuring several other people, state-run television reported. The station had initially reported 50 dead in the crash of the Iranian Saha Airlines plane, then reported scores killed before backing off both claims. TV reports said the landing gear of the jetliner failed to open and the plane caught fire after making a hard landing, its nose and wing slamming into the runway.

– Associated Press

SAUDI ARABIA IN TALKS TO CURTAIL PROBE OF NUCLEAR DEVELOPMENT

Saudi Arabia has quietly begun talks on a U.N.-sanctioned agreement that could curtail any outside probe of its atomic intentions – a move that heightens concerns in a region already edgy about rival Iran’s nuclear program.

The Saudis deny any plans to develop nuclear weapons, and diplomats close to the International Atomic Energy Agency told the Associated Press that the U.N. nuclear monitor has no firm evidence that would cast doubt on the Saudi assertions. Phone calls to the Saudi representative to the IAEA or the government in Riyadh for comment were not returned.

– Associated Press

MIDDLE EAST

TRUCKS REMOVE FIRST LOAD OF POSSESSIONS FROM GAZA

JERUSALEM – Flatbed trucks rumbled out of the Gaza Strip yesterday carrying office furniture, computers, and uniforms from an army base, the Israeli military’s first concrete step toward a planned pullout this summer.

With Israel set to withdraw all troops and settlements from Gaza in just three months, Prime Minister Sharon warned that he expects Palestinian Arabs to loot abandoned sites after the soldiers leave. The comment astonished Palestinian Arab leaders, who say chaos is not inevitable.

The army trucks began emptying the base of the Southern Brigade in Neve Dekalim, the largest Jewish settlement in Gaza. About 20 containers were removed yesterday, and more are expected to be shipped out in the coming days, the army said.

– Associated Press

EAST ASIA

CHINA ASKS CITIZENS TO END PROTESTS AGAINST JAPAN

BEIJING – China’s government appealed to the public yesterday to end fierce protests over Japan’s handling of its wartime history and its campaign for a permanent U.N. Security Council seat, while the U.N. chief urged the two nations to hold a summit to defuse their row.

In comments reported yesterday by state television and newspapers, Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing of China appealed for calm and said the public should not take part in unauthorized demonstrations.

“Express yourselves calmly, rationally, and in an orderly fashion,” Mr. Li was quoted as saying. “Do not participate in unapproved marches and other activities and do not do anything that will affect social stability.”

– Associated Press

NORTH AMERICA

PROSECUTORS FILE CRIMINAL CHARGES AGAINST MAYOR OF MEXICO CITY

Prosecutors charged Mexico City’s popular leftist mayor with abuse of authority yesterday, moving closer to a criminal trial that could knock him out of the 2006 presidential race. Prosecutors formally asked a court to issue an arrest warrant for Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. The court has 10 days to comply or dismiss the charges.

– Associated Press