The world at a glance . . . Americas

Vancouver

Facebook dooms candidacy: A New Democratic Party candidate has withdrawn from British Columbia’s upcoming legislative election after embarrassing photographs from his Facebook page were made public. One photo showed the candidate, Ray Lam, a gay activist, with his hand on a woman’s breast, while another showed a man and a woman with their hands in his underpants. Lam said he thought the photos were behind a privacy wall. “I regret this material and the associated comments that have now become public,” he said in a statement. NDP leader Carole James said she would be looking into the party’s candidate-vetting process.

Montego Bay, Jamaica

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Attempted hijacking: An armed Jamaican man was arrested this week after trying to hijack a Canadian airliner to Cuba. Stephen Fray, 21, allegedly forced his way through security at Sangster International Airport and onto a CanJet Airlines flight, where he took 182 passengers and the crew hostage. After demanding and receiving a cell phone to communicate with police, he released most of the hostages and said he wanted the plane to take him to Cuba. But when Fray fired a bullet that grazed the co-pilot’s face, two Jamaican special forces officers burst into the cabin and subdued him. “It was tremendous work on the part of Jamaica’s security forces, for which we will always be grateful,” said Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Authorities say Fray appears to be mentally unstable.

Lima, Peru

Asylum for Venezuelan? A Venezuelan opposition leader fled to Peru this week seeking political asylum. Manuel Rosales, a leading opponent of Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, faces corruption charges in Venezuela. He says the charges were a “political lynching” ordered by Chávez, and that he has no chance of a fair trial. Rosales had been in hiding since March, when he resigned as mayor of Maracaibo, Venezuela’s second largest city, after receiving death threats. Venezuelan Justice Minister Tareck El Aissami denied that Rosales was a victim of political persecution, saying corruption is a crime no matter what party commits it.

Asuncion, Paraguay

Another love child? Paraguayan President Fernando Lugo has been hit with a second paternity claim, just a week after he admitted fathering a child while he was still a Catholic bishop. Lugo did not confirm or deny fathering the second child, a 6-year-old boy. “I decided to make this claim through the media before going to the courts,” said the woman, Benigna Leguizamon, 25, “after seeing that last week Viviana Carrillo got President Lugo to recognize their child.” Both women say they were teenagers when they first began their sexual relationships with Lugo, then a bishop. Some Paraguayans have called for Lugo to be excommunicated.