Around the World: Poland

Foe buys president's pen

A critic of President Lech Kaczynski has bought a fountain pen that malfunctioned when the Polish leader signed the European Union reform treaty.

Janusz Palikot paid $6,300 for the pen in an Internet auction on Monday night. Palikot said yesterday the faulty pen was symbolic of Kaczynski's presidency. Palikot, a member of Prime Minister Donald Tusk's Civic Platform party, has criticized the president's skepticism toward the EU.