Category: Life Style

A town in Saskatchewan, Canada is facing a issue in the run-up to its November mayor election and that is no one is running for the position.

Mayor of Kyle, George Williams is set to retire this year after he was elected in November and as of yet, no candidate has signed up to run for the office, according to UPI. 

Kyle is a town with just 400 residents and has been famous for being the site where 12,000 year-old bones of a wooly mammoth were discovered in 1960 during a road construction. 

Chief Administrative Officer Amber Dashney revealed they have sought candidates with two rounds of applications for mayor but no one has signed up to be nominated.

“It’s a little concerning, but I am confident that someone will step forward,” Dashney told CKOM-AM.

The election will be held on November 13 and if no candidates run for the office, then a deputy mayor will be elected to handle the duties of the office, Dashney added.

“At that meeting, we will decide on a date for a by-election, and we will continue calling a by-election until we fill the mayor spot and the other councilor spot, as well,” Dashney said.

Speaking of the Town Council, it gets worse for Kyle whose council has one open seat, also with no candidates. 

Adorned in a large red neck garment and presented with a local narcotic brew, the King enjoyed a truly royal welcome as he was declared the “High Chief” of his Pacific realm in a traditional Samoan village.

Surrounded by tattooed and bare-chested Samoans in traditional garments, Charles and Queen Camilla appeared delighted by the colourful ceremony as they visited the Moata’a Village on day five of the 11 day tour of Australia and Samoa.

The King, dressed in white safari-style gear, was offered a mildly-intoxicating narcotic root drink in a half coconut, known locally as “kava”, a vital element of Pacific culture.

Charles enjoyed the drink in moderation – after Australia’s former deputy prime minister was hospitalised in 2022 after he drank too much of a local brew in a similar ceremony in Micronesia.

It comes as Sir Keir Starmer touches down in Samoa for the Commonwealth talks, with slavery reparations likely to be discussed among the leaders.

Commonwealth leaders are expected to agree plans to discuss reparations as they look at an agreement which could open up the conversation through a communique.

Downing Street said slavery reparations won’t be on the agenda, with Sir Keir calling for the leaders to instead be “facing forward”.

A copy of William Shakespeare’s Life of King Henry the Fifth, shortened to Henry V, has been returned to a New Jersey library, 101 years after it was checked out.

A woman named Cynthia Delhaie was sorting and cleaning the possessions owned by her late grandmother, Arlene Delhaie, according to UPI.

Little did she know that during her errand, she would discover the tome checked out from the Paterson Public Library in 1923. After discovering the book, Delhaie contacted the library to return it.

The librarians reported that the 1910 copy of the Life of King Henry the Fifth is a limited edition run and is extremely valuable for literature collectors.

Born in 1564, Shakespeare is a renowned English playwright whose works are considered among the greatest pieces in the English language.

His surviving works include 38 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems and several other poems, as per American Players Theatre.

“It’s never too late to return overdue library materials,” Director of the Paterson Public Library, Corey Fleming told TAPinto Paterson.

“This is the first time I have encountered something like this in over 20 years of working in this field,” he added.

Interestingly, the book was not that “overdue” as earlier this year, a copy of Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott was returned to Poudre Libraries in Colorado 105 years after its due date which was February 13, 1919. 

Influencer Brianna Chickenfry has revealed she’s “blindsided” after Zach Bryan announced their breakup on social media.

On Tuesday (October 22), the country singer posted a statement on his Instagram Story revealing the two are no longer together. “Addressing something: Brianna and me have broken up with eachother [sic] and I respect and love her with every ounce of my heart,” his statement began. “She has loved me unconditionally for a very long time and for that, I’ll always thank her.”

He continued: “I’ve had an incredibly hard year personally and struggled through some pretty severe things. I thought it would be beneficial for both of us to go out different ways. I am not perfect and never will be.”

The “Something in the Orange” singer, 28, asked for “privacy and space” for both himself and the Barstool Sports host, whose real last name is LaPaglia, as they adjust to no longer being in a relationship.

“With everything I am and to anyone I let down, I am sorry. I try my best in everything. I failed people that love me and mostly myself,” his statement ended.

LaPaglia, 25, released a statement of her own on her Instagram Story shortly after, in which she seemingly responded to Bryan’s post.

“Hey guys I’m feeling really blindsided right now. Gonna hop off social media for a while and attempt to heal privately, when I’m ready I’ll be back and ready to talk,” she wrote. “I love you guys so much thank you for all of your kind words. Remember you are so loved and everything’s always gonna be OK.”

In a YouTube video posted on Tuesday, LaPaglia explained that the breakup happened just one day prior. The BFFs podcast co-host admitted she had no idea Bryan would publicly announce their split so soon.

“I just woke up to Zach posting on his Instagram that we broke up, and I had no idea that post was going up,” she said, while filming herself sitting on the bathroom floor. “He didn’t text me, he didn’t call me.

“How can you give someone everything and love them so unconditionally through stuff that you shouldn’t… and then be discarded of in a few days? It’s really, really heartbreaking.”

LaPaglia later told fans she was not ready to reveal details of their breakup, but she will at some point.

The former couple met for the first time at the ACM Awards in 2023. LaPaglia later confirmed their relationship in July last year, when the podcast host told her listeners they had been hanging out for three weeks but it was “fun and casual.”

They made their red carpet debut in February at the 2024 Grammys, where Bryan won his first Grammy award for his duet with Kacey Musgraves, “I Remember Everything.”

However, fans recently began to speculate the pair were no longer together after they stopped posting about each other on social media. Some Reddit users also posted alleged screenshots of Bryan on the exclusive dating app Raya, furthering breakup rumors.

LaPaglia addressed the breakup rumors during an episode Barstool Sports’ BFFs podcast earlier this month, which she co-hosts with Dave Portnoy and Josh Richards. The episode came shortly after Bryan apologized for “drunkenly” tweeting about his preference for Kanye West over Taylor Swift and appeared to deactivate his X/Twitter account.

“That was a really bad week for me. I deleted all of my social media,” LaPaglia said, when asked about the breakup rumors. “I don’t want to speak for Zach, but he kind of spoke for himself on Instagram. He’s just going through a lot of personal s*** and I feel like I’m taking the brunt of all of it.”

“It was a bad week where we… I mean, it’s crazy,” she continued. “We don’t post each other for a week and it took the internet by storm. He’s going through a lot of personal stuff and I went home and just separated [myself].”

Still, she clarified at the time they were “together now and everything’s OK.”

Just one day before announcing their split, LaPaglia shared a cryptic photo of a note written on yellow paper. The podcaster appeared to write on the paper: “And eventually you’ll find that life goes on, even if you don’t want it to. The days will pass and the world will move while you ask it to stop. You’ll believe life is cruel for continuing on while your feet are stuck.

“You’ll find people and moments to blame for your concrete feet. Then there will come a morning when you wake and realize things go on, life isn’t cruel. Your feet are,” the message read. “The world keeps on spinning in hopes of showing you that you can as well.”

The Independent has contacted representatives for Bryan and LaPaglia for comment.

Beneath the crystal-clear waters of the Red Sea in Jeddah, Hasan Abu Ola and Yasmine Daftardar tied the knot in an underwater wedding ceremony.

The Muslim couple got married in a dazzling view filled with coral reefs accompanied by diverse marine creatures.

“Alhamdulillah, there were no challenges, the celebration went smoothly, and everyone was amazed by how unconventional and spectacular it was,” expressed Abu Ola in an interview while sharing his experience, reported Gulf News.

While speaking of such one of its kind wedding, Abu Ola revealed that the wedding was a surprise for the couple itself.

The wedding ceremony was attended by fellow divers and the local diving group called Saudi Divers, led by Captain Faisal Flemban.

“It was indeed a surprise, after we geared up, Captain Faisal and the team told us they had planned to celebrate our wedding right there under the sea. It was a beautiful and unforgettable experience,” added Abu Ola.

Notably, both Abu Ola and Yasmine were licensed divers and faced no difficulty in executing the unplanned underwater wedding.

Furthermore, Abu Ola desired to share his wedding story to the world through social media and urged others as well to explore the beauty of maritime Saudi Arabia.

Florence Pugh has sent a thoughtful response to a fan whose mother died of cancer.

The actor, 28, plays a world class chef with stage three ovarian cancer in John Crowley’s romance drama We Live in Time. Her character has a seven-year-old daughter with her partner (Andrew Garfield) at the time of the recurrence.

Upon seeing the film, one viewer shared the story of their mother’s illness on social media and praised Pugh’s performance for allowing them to gain greater insight into her final weeks.

Sophie Temple, 24, explained on Pugh’s Instagram that her mother had been diagnosed with stage four lung cancer when she was two-years-old and was given six months to live. “She stuck it out through four years of chemo[therapy] and drugs and treatment to give me a chance of remembering her,” she said.

Temple said her mother died when she was six and, despite Pugh and Garfield being two of her favourite actors, she was uncertain whether she could watch We Live in Time due to the parallels with her own life.

“I watched it in a fully empty theatre with my mom’s stuffed animal and a box of tissues and god I’m so glad I did,” she said.

Praising Pugh’s performance, Temple added: “You captured every emotion my mom felt so beautifully. I only have a couple journal entries left of her, so god, Florence, your performance is such a gift.

“I was so little, so sheltered. I didn’t understand what she was experiencing. Getting to witness it [through] this film – I just can’t express my gratitude enough.”

Pugh responded to Temple’s heartfelt message in her Instagram comment section and thanked her for sharing her story. “Thank you for taking your time to write your heart here in the comments,” she said.

“It goes without saying that I am incredibly sorry for your loss, especially at such a young age. I can’t imagine the ways that it affects one’s life and the processing that inevitably comes for years after.”

The Oppenheimer star continued: “It’s always the wish that my work speaks to someone, somewhere, feeling the same thing. To read just how much it meant to you is not only a privilege to hear, but feels like a gift knowing that it’s helped in some way.

“Thank you for sharing your story. I appreciate your time both in watching the movie and in writing [to] me here. To hear that the work we made matters, genuinely gives me the energy to tackle these honest stories again and again. So, thank you.”

Fans were quick to applaud the interaction. “Florence’s words to that fan were truly heartwarming. It’s amazing how a simple act of kindness can provide comfort in the darkest of times,” one person wrote on X/Twitter.

“Sending love to everyone who’s facing similar battles,” they added.

Meanwhile, another user said: “That’s really touching. Florence Pugh’s compassion shines through.”

We Live In Time will be released on 1 January 2025.

Liam Payne’s ex-girlfriend Danielle Peazer has candidly spoken out about the singer’s death.

The 36-year-old dancer took to her Instagram Story on October 19 to share a tribute to Payne, who died Wednesday evening after falling from the third-floor balcony of a hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina. After noting that she’s spent the last few days “trying to process the news of Liam’s death,” Peazer expressed her gratitude to fans who’ve sent her messages of support.

“Thank you to anyone who has taken the time to call, text, or DM sending condolences and offering support,” Peazer, who dated Payne from 2010 to 2012 wrote. “I’m so grateful and it’s helped more than you know.”

She continued: “In time I will share more, but right now I don’t feel mentally strong enough to face the reality of what happened.”

After she candidly addressed her grief in this difficult time, she hit back at some of the unkind comments she’s received since Payne’s passing. She also defended the relationship that she and the former One Direction singer have had.

“Like all of us, I too am grieving, and need to take some time to do that privately,” Peazer continued. “It’s a heartbreaking time, which has already been made so much more challenging due to receiving negative and misinformed comments as well as preconceived judgment from those who don’t personally know me, Liam, or anything about our relationship over the last 14 years.”

She concluded her statement with a message to her followers, writing: “I will be back soon when I’m ready, but until then please take care of yourselves and each other.”

Peazer and Payne first met on The X Factor, which he competed in alongside the other four members of One Direction. In 2010, Peazer was a backup dancer on the show, and she went on to date Payne for two years until 2012.

The two exes continued to stay in touch, as they were spotted holding hands in New York City a few months after their breakup, as reported byE! News. In June 2022, the Daily Mail shared photos of the pair leaving London’s Nobu Hotel together.

They went on to have separate relationships, as Peazer welcomed her first child in May with her partner, Sonny Jay. At the time of his death, Payne was dating Kate Cassidy, who recently broke her silence on his passing.

“Thank you for all of the kind words and love that has been sent my way. I have been at a complete loss,” she wrote on her Instagram Story on October 18. “Nothing about the past few days have felt real. I ask and pray that you’ll give me the grace and space to navigate this in private.”

She concluded: “Liam, my angel. You are everything. I want you to know I loved you unconditionally and completely. I will continue to love you for the rest of my life. I love you Liam.”

Payne’s former bandmates – Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Zayn Malik, and Niall Horan – also issued a joint tribute, describing their friend as a “kind, funny and brave soul.”

A preliminary autopsy indicated that Payne had suffered “internal and external” hemorrhages and multiple traumatic injuries, according to the report seen by multiple outlets. Officials said Payne’s plunge from the third-floor balcony at the CasaSur Palermo Hotel was what caused his fatal injuries. A toxicology report is still pending.

Payne was pronounced dead on October 16, after emergency services responded to a hotel manager’s call about an “aggressive man who could be under the influence of drugs or alcohol.”

It’s usually a serene two-and-a-half-hour ride on Japan’s famously efficient bullet train.

But the journey quickly descended into a zombie apocalypse, with passengers screaming in terror.

Organisers of Saturday’s adrenaline-filled trip, less than two weeks before Halloween, touted it as the “world’s first haunted house experience on a running shinkansen”.

On board one chartered car of the shinkansen — the Japanese word for bullet train — were around 40 thrill-seekers, ready to brave an encounter with the living dead between Tokyo and the western metropolis of Osaka.

The eerie experience was inspired by the hit 2016 South Korean action-horror movie “Train to Busan”, in which a father and daughter trapped on a moving train battle zombies hungry for human flesh.

All seemed normal at first as the bullet train made a peaceful departure Saturday evening, but it wasn’t long until the first gory attack.

The victims — actors planted in seats by the organisers — jerked in agony and then underwent a terrifying transformation before starting a rampage against their fellow passengers.

Event organiser Kenta Iwana of the group Kowagarasetai, which translates to the “scare squad”, said they wanted to “depict the normally safe, peaceful shinkansen — something we take for granted — collapsing in the blink of an eye”.

”Like I was in the film” — Sitting next to one of the actors was Joshua Payne, one of many foreign tourists on board.

“I literally felt like I was in the film, just sitting here watching it take place in front of me,” the 31-year-old American told AFP.

“The fact that we can physically go from Tokyo to Osaka right now and have this whole performance at the same time.

I think is really cool and maybe a little bit groundbreaking,” he said.

It was far from Central Japan Railway Company’s first experiment with the usually dazzlingly clean, accident-free shinkansen, a Japanese institution that turned 60 this year.

After demand for long-distance travel plunged during the Covid-19 pandemic, the railway operator started renting out bullet train compartments for special events to diversify its business.

A sushi restaurant, a bar and even a wrestling match have been hosted on the high-speed train, and carriages can also be reserved for private parties.

Marie Izumi of JR Central’s tourism subsidiary told AFP that she was surprised by the idea for a zombie-themed commute when Kowagarasetai approached her, thinking it would be “almost impossible to pull off”.

But the event has convinced her of “new possibilities” for the bullet train, Izumi said, adding that concerts and comedy shows might be a good fit in the future.

On Saturday, toy chainsaws and guns were used as props, but depictions of extreme violence and gore that could tarnish the shinkansen’s squeaky-clean reputation were avoided.

To counterbalance the subdued horror, the two-and-a-half-hour tour was peppered with light-hearted performances by zombie cheerleaders, magicians and comedians, including a choreographed dance to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller”.

“Nobody wants to sit tight for such a long time being constantly exposed to horror,” said Ayaka Imaide from Kowagarasetai.

Many aboard the zombie-infested train said the experience alone was worth the ticket price of up to 50,000 yen ($335).

“It was very immersive,” Naohiko Nozawa, 30, told AFP.

“And the appearance of so many different kinds of zombies kept me entertained all the way.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (Nasa) Perseverance rover, which has been touring Mars’s surface since 2021, has recently sent back an eerie image of the Red Planet’s surface, which has caused much confusion among scientists.

Mars, Earth’s closest neighbour in the solar system, has long stirred human imagination regarding the possibility of extraterrestrial life.

Despite extensive exploration in space, no such life has been confirmed. However, Nasa and other space agencies have utilised the most advanced robotic technology to investigate the Red Planet’s surface.

This exploration revealed intriguing formations that spark both fear and optimism among scientists and space enthusiasts.

However, the latest discovery made by Nasa’s Perseverance rover may be the grisliest one it has ever made.

According to Science Alert, an image captured recently by the Perseverance rover showed a rock that, at first glance, scientists and space enthusiasts may have mistaken for a severed human head.

The rock looks like a desiccated, decaying human head, withering away under the harsh light of the sun.

The rover acquired this image using its Right Mastcam-Z camera — a pair of cameras located high on the rover’s mast — on September 27, 2024 (Sol 1282) at the local mean solar time of 11:50:05.

According to Science Alert, the rock looks like a chunk of sedimentary sandstone, not unlike other rocks around it, which isn’t unusual for Mars, especially where water is once thought to have flowed.