Brazil supreme court suspends Senate leader

Brazil's supreme court on Monday suspended the Senate's powerful speaker, Renan Calheiros, ahead of him going on trial for alleged corruption.

Protesters on Sunday had held a demonstration demanding the ouster of Calheiros, a key ally to Brazilian President Michel Temer.

The speaker's immediate suspension and upcoming trial are seen as badly destabilizing for Temer, who has been struggling to lift Latin America's biggest economy out of crisis since taking over from impeached leader Dilma Rousseff.

The supreme court last week ordered that Calheiros, 61, face trial for alleged embezzlement. He has denied accusations he used public funds to make maintenance payments to a woman with whom he had a child.