German media have dubbed him the Skandalbürgermeister; in Sweden, he's the borgmästarskandaler. Both translate as "scandal mayor," and on Thursday, many international media were applying that description to Toronto's Mayor Rob Ford.
New footage, provided by a self-professed drug dealer, shows the mayor smoking a pipe that the dealer alleges to contain crack cocaine, The Globe reported Wednesday. The mayor announced he will take a leave from his mayoral campaign.
(Read The Globe's story about the emergence of the new Ford video here, as well as our live coverage.)
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A BIG DAY IN FORD NEWS
The U.S. website Gawker also posted photos from the Ford video on Wednesday, saying a man named Jermaine had contacted them, and that they later spoke with another man who offered to sell them the video for a "six-figure" sum.
The new video wasn't the only Rob Ford news to emerge Wednesday. The Toronto Sun posted an audio recording, which it said was covertly recorded at the Etobicoke restaurant Sullie Gormans, in which the mayor swore and made lewd remarks about mayoral rival Karen Stintz.
The Toronto Star reported on a March 15 party where the mayor drank to excess at Muzik nightclub, was entertained by paid party hostesses and was described by eyewitnesses as doing drugs. Mr. Ford also ran into pop star Justin Bieber, and became enraged when Mr. Bieber asked him jokingly: "Did you bring any crack to smoke?"
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UNITED STATES
- The Wall Street Journal: “Toronto Mayor Rob Ford to take leave, seek help with alcohol”
- The New York Times: “Toronto mayor takes leave after admitting alcohol abuse”
- ABC News: “Rob Ford seeks help as new drug photos emerge”
- Fox News: “Toronto Mayor Rob Ford to take leave of absence”
- Time: “Toronto Mayor Rob Ford seeks help for substance abuse”
- Mashable: “Toronto Mayor Rob Ford to take leave of absence, get help for substance abuse”
- Slate.com: “Toronto Mayor Rob Ford suspends campaign to seek help after new bender tapes emerge”
EUROPE
- Guardian: “Rob Ford admits drug problem and takes leave as Toronto mayor”
- Irish Times: “Rob Ford to seek help for ’substance abuse’ ”
- Le Monde: "Rob Ford, un genou a terre" (Rob Ford, on bended knee)
- Der Spiegel: “Toronto’s Skandalbürgermeister: Rob Ford geht auf Drogenentzug” (Toronto’s scandal mayor Rob Ford goes into drug rehab)
- Aftonbladet: “Ford i ny drogskandal – tar time out och söker hjälp” (Ford in new drug scandal, taking time out to seek help”
MIDDLE EAST
- Al Jazeera: “Toronto mayor in new crack video scandal”
- The National (UAE): “Toronto mayor says he’ll take leave to seek help as second drug video surfaces”
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND
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