Brazil's Lula hopes EU-Mercosur trade deal will be signed in January

SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said Saturday he hopes the massive free-trade deal between South American bloc Mercosur and the European Union will be signed in January. Protests on Friday by European farmers and opposition from France and Italy threatened to quash an agreement that has been under negotiation for more than 26 years. Top EU officials had hoped to sign the EU-Mercosur deal in Brazil this weekend, but instead, European Commission President Ursula von d