Berlusconi cleared of corruption charges

A Milan court today acquitted Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi of corruption charges – a major victory in the billionaire business baron’s decade-long battle with legal woes he blamed on left-wing prosecutors.

More than 24 hours after the 4 1-2 year-old trial went to the three-judge jury, Judge Francesco Castellano read the verdict to the court: acquittal on one count and a ruling that the statute of limitations had run out on the second corruption charge.