OTTAWA: A court yesterday ordered the mayor of Toronto, Canada’s largest city, to be removed from office for violating conflict of interest rules when soliciting donations for his football charity. Mayor Rob Ford got into legal trouble when he spoke out at a city council vote in February against a $3,150 fine he was ordered to pay over the ethics breach. A Toronto resident took him to court for violating the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act, which at trial Ford said he had not read. Ford may appeal the ruling, or run again for mayor in a by-election. The court has delayed the decision for 14 days to give city officials time to make all necessary arrangements going forward.
Mexican beauty queen killed in shootout
CULIACAN, Mexico: A 22-year-old Mexican beauty queen was killed in a gunfight between soldiers and a suspected gang in the northwestern state of Sinaloa over the weekend, prosecutors said yesterday. The body of Maria Susana Flores, who was Miss Sinaloa 2012, was found in the car used by the armed group that exchanged fire with soldiers on Saturday, said an official from the state prosecutor’s office. The skirmish left a total of five civilians and one soldier dead in the town of Mocorito. Mexican media say the brunette, who participated in the Miss Oriental Tourism pageant in China in May, was traveling with her boyfriend, a suspected hitman, when the shootout erupted. The boyfriend also died.
Georgia warned against political retribution
TBILISI: The EU’s foreign policy chief yesterday warned Georgia against political prosecutions after several top figures from President Mikheil Saakashvili’s recently ousted government were arrested. “There should be no selective justice, no retribution against political rivals,” EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton told journalists during a visit to Tbilisi. Agencies
