Lula says will run for presidency despite court setback

Former Brazil president Luis Inacio Lula da Silva told supporters today he intends to seek another mandate later this year despite a court confirming his conviction for corruption.
"Now I want to be a candidate for the presidency," Lula told thousands of supporters at a rally in Sao Paulo in the wake of the court verdict which dealt a body blow to his hopes of running.
A three-judge appeals panel sitting in the southern city of Porto Alegre unanimously ruled that his original 9.5-year jail sentence for corruption be extended to 12 years.