Lula row journalist 'can stay'

Lula - here enjoying a glass of water - is angry about the claims

A Brazilian judge has halted the expulsion of a US reporter who wrote an article alleging that President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva drank too much.

New York Times correspondent Larry Rohter may stay until Brazil's second-highest court decides if the government had the right to cancel his visa.

In his piece, Mr Rohter questioned whether the president's performance was being affected by alcohol.

A government spokesman described the claim as libellous and offensive.

If the newspaper or the journalist publishes a retraction or correction, he [the president] is inclined to reconsider," Senator Aloisio Mercadante

The president, who ordered Mr Rohter's visa to be cancelled, has said he may reconsider his decision if the New York Times withdraws the allegations.

The newspaper maintains its story is accurate.

The row has prompted international criticism, with the US saying the decision to expel the reporter had not been in keeping with Brazil's commitment to the freedom of the press.

The BBC's Steve Kingstone in Sao Paulo says Lula was understandably upset by the story, but it would probably have faded by now had he maintained a dignified silence.

'Sullying' remarks

The article - headlined "Brazilian leader's tippling becomes national concern" - appeared on Sunday next to a picture of the president at a beer festival.

An official statement said the president's social habits were moderate and no different from those of other Brazilians. And two days later, Lula ordered the reporter's expulsion.

Rohter would have eight days to leave the country

Judge Pecanha Martins ordered the suspension of this order until the Superior Court of Justice rules on the government's constitutional right to do so.

But a government spokesman insisted it had the right to defend itself from the "sullying of its institutions by the falsification of facts".

And Lula remained defiant, senators who met him to urge he reconsider the move said.

"If the newspaper or the journalist publishes a retraction or correction, he is inclined to reconsider," said Senator Aloisio Mercadante after the meeting.

Under the expulsion order, Mr Rohter would be given eight days to leave Brazil.