Justice cancels corruption cases against ex-leader

SAO PAULO — A justice from Brazil's top court on Monday annulled all sentences against former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, which for now restores his political rights and would potentially allow him to run again for the presidency next year.

The decision also laid bare the country's political divisions, with leftists celebrating their 75-yearold leader's return to the political arena as conservatives said the rulings were tantamount to impunity.

Others saw the decision as an attempt to preserve a vast but embattled corruption investigation that has been accused of impropriety.

The decision by Justice Luiz Edson Fachin drew no conclusions about the mammoth “Car Wash” investigation centered on state-run giant Petrobras, from which the da Silva probes emerged. It said, instead, that the federal court in the Southern city of Curitiba, which sentenced da Silva twice for corruption and money laundering, didn't have jurisdiction to put the leftist leader on trial.

Fachin said the cases will be sent to the federal court of Brazil's Federal District, where they can begin anew. partial reset between the two nations.

Negotiations over how to share the costs of the military alliance came to an impasse in March 2020 when the Trump administration demanded that Seoul increase its contribution fivefold.

Officials have not provided details on the new deal, which is being finalized.

The nine-day joint military exercise set to begin this week will mostly be conducted as computer simulations, rather than in the field, because of the coronavirus pandemic, according to a statement from South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff.