Toronto’s embattled mayor has rejected the advice of city council allies to take a temporary leave of absence, returning to work a day after acknowledging he had smoked crack.
Deepening the crisis, Rob Ford’s long-time policy adviser resigned on Wednesday, continuing an exodus that started in May when news reports emerged of a video showing the mayor smoking what appears to be crack. Police announced last week they had a copy of the video, which has not been released publicly.
After months of evading the question, Ford acknowledged for the first time on Tuesday that he smoked crack “probably a year ago” when he was in a “drunken stupor.” However, he has refused to step aside despite immense pressure.
Ford arrived at City Hall just past noon on Wednesday, but took a back stairway to his office to avoid a crush of media.
More than 200 people protested outside City Hall.
“Hey hey! Ho ho! Rob Ford has got to go!” they chanted.
City councilor James Pasternak said the controversy cannot go on day after day. He said several city councilors asked deputy mayor Norm Kelly to approach Ford and “orchestrate a dignified exit from city hall.”
Kelly met with Ford and suggested he take a temporary leave until later this year or early next year, but Ford rejected that idea.
Councilor Frances Nunziata said they are all frustrated Ford will not step aside temporarily.
“We’re trying to give him sound advice as supporters,” she said. “He needs to listen and he’s not listening and I’m very disappointed.”
Nunziata said Ford needs to get help, but only he can make that decision.
Kelly earlier said Ford did not tell anyone he would admit to smoking crack before he did so.
“It came right out of the blue,” said Kelly, who learned about it from a member of Ford’s staff after the mayor stopped on his way to his office to tell reporters. “I was like, ‘What? What have you been smoking?’”
Hungarian authorities temporarily detained seven Ukrainian citizens and seized two armored cars carrying tens of millions of euros in cash across Hungary on suspicion of money laundering, officials said on Friday. The Ukrainians were released on Friday, following their detention on Thursday, but Hungarian officials held onto the cash, prompting Ukraine to accuse Hungary’s Russia-friendly government of illegally seizing the money. “We will not tolerate this state banditism,” Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrii Sybiha said. The seven detained Ukrainians were employees of the Ukrainian state-owned Oschadbank, who were traveling in the two armored cars that were carrying the money between Austria and
Australians were downloading virtual private networks (VPNs) in droves, while one of the world’s largest porn distributors said it was blocking users from its platforms as the country yesterday rolled out sweeping online age restriction. Australia in December became the first country to impose a nationwide ban on teenagers using social media. A separate law now requires artificial intelligence (AI)-powered chatbot services to keep certain content — including pornography, extreme violence and self-harm and eating disorder material — from minors or face fines of up to A$49.5 million (US$34.6 million). The country also joined Britain, France and dozens of US states requiring
Kosovar President Vjosa Osmani on Friday after dissolving the Kosovar parliament said a snap election should be held as soon as possible to avoid another prolonged political crisis in the Balkan country at a time of global turmoil. Osmani said it is important for Kosovo to wrap up the upcoming election process and form functional institutions for political stability as the war rages in the Middle East. “Precisely because the geopolitical situation is that complex, it is important to finish this electoral process which is coming up,” she said. “It is very hard now to imagine what will happen next.” Kosovo, which declared
MORE BANS: Australia last year required sites to remove accounts held by under-16s, with a few countries pushing for similar action at an EU level and India considering its own ban Indonesia on Friday said it would ban social media access for children under 16, citing threats from online pornography, cyberbullying, online fraud and Internet addiction. “Accounts belonging to children under 16 on high-risk platforms will start to be deactivated, beginning with YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, Bigo Live and Roblox,” Indonesian Minister of Communications and Digital Meutya Hafid said. “The government is stepping in so that parents no longer have to fight alone against the giants of the algorithm. Implementation will begin on March 28, 2026,” she said. The social media ban would be introduced in stages “until all platforms fulfill their
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