■ United States
I had sex with Foley: page
A former congressional page said he had sex with disgraced former US lawmaker Mark Foley, according to a newspaper report yesterday, as an explosive Washington political scandal continued to unfold. The unidentified former page told the Los Angeles Times that he was 21 when he and the Florida Republican congressman had sex, and that Foley's overtures began shortly after he left the congressional page work-study program for high school students.
■ United States
Speculation on Castro
Cuban President Fidel Castro is believed to have terminal cancer and is unlikely to return to power, Time magazine reported on Saturday, citing US government officials. Despite remarks by Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque on Wednesday that Castro "continues to recover [and] we will have him back leading the Revolution," Time reported on its Web site that many US officials are now convinced that Castro has terminal cancer. Castro, 80, handed over the presidency for the first time in almost five decades to his brother Raul Castro, 75, who has long been Cuba's defense chief, after undergoing intestinal surgery in July. He has largely remained out of the public spotlight since then.
■ Belgium
Far-right could win vote
Voters went to the polls yesterday in key local elections that are expected to see big gains for the extreme-right Flemish Interest party in the north. Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt did a lot of campaigning ahead of yesterday's poll, aiming to stave off expected heavy losses for his Dutch-speaking Liberal Democrats a year before national elections. His national coalition partner, the French-speaking Socialists, also look likely to suffer in the wake of scandal allegations in Wallonia.
■ Ukraine
Pearl debate heats up
Opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko threw her pearl necklace at a political rival on Friday in a heated debate in parliament. Tymoshenko, who is known for her luxury tastes, became incensed when a rival from the ruling Regions party accused her of "hypocrisy" in a debate on privileges for lawmakers. "The pearls around your neck would be enough to feed an average Ukrainian family for five years," Yevgen Kushnaryov said. In images broadcast on national TV, Tymoshenko could be seen taking off her necklace and throwing it at Kushnaryov. "There's not a single real pearl in this necklace," she said. Her claim was verified by some jewellers quoted in later television news reports who said the pearls were all fakes.
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