Berlusconi cleared in Mediatrade TV rights trial

Italy's highest appeals court upheld a ruling clearing Silvio Berlusconi of tax fraud in connection with his Mediatrade broadcasting rights firm, issuing the first of a series of verdicts the former prime minister faces this month.

The decision late on Wednesday clears Berlusconi, 76, of accusations that Mediatrade, the broadcast rights unit of his Mediaset group, acquired film and television rights at inflated prices to evade 10 million euros ($13 million) in taxes in 2004. (Reuters)