PORTO ALEGRE: A Brazilian appeals court on Wednesday upheld ex-president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s conviction for corruption, dealing a body blow to his hopes of running for re-election this year. He is expected to continue to challenge the conviction through higher courts, initially in the Superior Court of Justice and ultimately in Brazil’s Supreme Court. “The unanimous verdict is important since it reduces the avenues of appeal that are now open to Lula. Similarly, the markets were betting against a Lula run for the presidency. Sao Paolo’s stock exchange soared 3.7 per cent to a record high within an hour of the court confirming Lula’s conviction.

Source: Pakistan Today January 25, 2018 02:03 UTC