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- Lumby to hold mayoral byelection following recent elections
- U.S. to grant visas to Flávio Bolsonaro and family following election loss
- Capybara Samba spotted on camera months after escaping from Marwell Zoo
- Cruise ship Villa Vie Odyssey ends journey in Cambodia due to fuel shortages
- Arab parties expected to secure 18 seats in Israel’s parliamentary election
- Mayoral candidates support increased policing as Winnipeg civic election approaches
- Grand jury decides against indicting Cassidy Hutchinson over Jan. 6 testimony
- Ukrainians return to homes following ceasefire agreement amid ongoing conflict
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410
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23
Lumby to hold mayoral byelection following recent elections
What’s the Latest: Lumby to hold mayoral byelection after two back-to-back elections
Kevin Acton won the mayoral election in Lumby on October 17 and shortly after secured a seat in the legislature as the Conservative MLA for Vernon-Lumby on October 24. His departure will lead to a mayoral byelection in Lumby, with voting expected in early 2024.
The byelection to replace Kevin Acton as Lumby’s mayor is projected for late January to early February of next year, with an estimated cost of between £5,000 and £10,000. Until a new mayor is elected, Lumby will operate under an acting mayor system with existing councillors rotating in the role.
Kevin Acton has announced he will personally cover the expected cost of the upcoming mayoral byelection in Lumby, estimated at between £5,000 and £10,000, stating, “I don’t want to put that responsibility on the taxpayer of Lumby.” The byelection is anticipated to take place in late January or early February, resulting in several months without an elected mayor.
What remains unclear — It is not specified when exactly the byelection for Lumby’s mayor will be held beyond the indication of late January to early February.
Lumby to hold mayoral byelection following recent elections
Lumby residents will face another election as Kevin Acton, recently re-elected as mayor, is set to take on a new role as the Conservative MLA for Vernon-Lumby. Acton won the mayoral race on October 17 and secured his provincial seat just a week later, on October 24. He indicated that he had planned to run in provincial politics but did not anticipate such a quick transition. “All along, the plan was to run provincially… We just expected it to be two years from now, not a week after the election,” he said.
With Acton’s move to the provincial legislature, Lumby will hold a byelection to fill the mayoral position. Chief financial officer Bobbe Koenig stated that the byelection is expected to occur “at the end of January, early February.” In the interim, an acting mayor system will be implemented, with current councillors rotating responsibilities similar to arrangements made during the mayor’s absences.
The byelection is projected to cost between £5,000 and £10,000. Acton has committed to covering these expenses personally, stating, “I don’t want to put that responsibility on the taxpayer of Lumby.” He explained that the situation was not anticipated: “It was the situation I was put in.”
Local residents have reacted to the news of yet another election with mixed feelings. Ann Verhage acknowledged a sense of fatigue, answering, “Sort of, but you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do.” However, Paul Gilfillan expressed a lack of concern about returning to the polls. Irene Yaremcio joked about her weariness with the voting process, hoping it would be the last time in the near future.
Acton is expected to be sworn in as an MLA in mid-November, marking his transition from local to provincial politics. He expressed enthusiasm about his new role, saying, “I feel really excited… I’m really excited to get to work.”
U.S. to grant visas to Flávio Bolsonaro and family following election loss
Get you up to speed: U.S. issuing visas to Brazil’s Flávio Bolsonaro and family after he lost presidential election, official says
Brazilian Senator Flávio Bolsonaro has departed for the U.S. after losing the presidential election to incumbent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and he and his family will receive U.S. visas. His decision to leave followed an order to surrender his passports, although it remains unclear if he complied with this directive.
Bolsonaro’s departure from Brazil occurred just after a deadline to surrender his passports, with uncertainties surrounding his compliance with the order. The Supreme Court’s sealed order, issued on the day of his election loss, has been met with his refusal to concede and claims of electoral fraud.
Brazil’s presidential incumbent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva condemned Bolsonaro’s departure as “shameful,” questioning what he might be trying to hide. Meanwhile, political analyst Eduardo Bolsonaro, brother of Flávio Bolsonaro, previously encouraged him to leave Brazil in the event of a loss, reflecting the family’s ongoing ties to the United States amid legal pressures at home.
What remains unclear — It is not clear whether Bolsonaro complied with the order to surrender his passports before the deadline.
U.S. to grant visas to Flávio Bolsonaro and family following election loss
Brazilian Senator Flávio Bolsonaro and his family will receive U.S. visas after Bolsonaro lost Brazil’s presidential election over the weekend, a senior State Department official told WTX US News on Tuesday.
Bolsonaro, an ally of President Trump, and his family will be allowed entry into the U.S., the official said.
Bolsonaro departed Brazil for the U.S. following his loss to incumbent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in Sunday’s election, according to multiple Brazilian media reports.
A spokesperson for Bolsonaro did not respond to a request for comment. His campaign manager Rogério Marinho also refused to comment.
Silva said Tuesday it was “shameful” that Bolsonaro had fled Brazil.
“A person who sneaks out of their country must have something to hide,” Silva said, per Agence France-Presse. “The act of leaving Brazil is shameful.”
Bolsonaro’s brother, Eduardo Bolsonaro, who lives in Texas, had publicly encouraged him to leave Brazil if he lost the election.
Bolsonaro has touted his relationship with Mr. Trump and visited the White House in May. The family connections go deeper: Brother Eduardo Bolsonaro was convicted in absentia in June of illegally lobbying the Trump administration and sentenced to four years in prison. A warrant was recently issued for his arrest.
Mr. Trump did not offer a full-throated endorsement of Bolsonaro in the runoff against Lula, as he has with some other right-of-center candidates in Latin America. But he suggested on Monday, without providing evidence, that Brazil’s election was “rigged.”
But he told reporters Wednesday that said he approves of Bolsonaro coming to the U.S.
“It would be OK with me,” Mr. Trump said.
Arthur Menescal / Bloomberg via Getty Images 
Bolsonaro’s decision to leave Brazil came as a deadline for him to surrender his regular and diplomatic passports expired at noon Tuesday. It remained unclear whether he had complied.
“This is what the Bolsonaro family is like: Brazil is their second nation, the U.S. is the first,” Lula said Tuesday, according to Reuters.
Bolsonaro was served with the order to surrender his passports Monday, a day after his stunning loss. Bolsonaro said he received it outside the home where his father, former President Jair Bolsonaro, is serving a 27-year sentence under house arrest for attempting a coup following his 2022 election loss to Lula. After his 2022 defeat, Jair Bolsonaro fled Brazil for Florida. He returned three months later.
The sealed Supreme Court order, viewed by The Associated Press, was issued Sunday. Bolsonaro has refused to concede defeat and has made unsubstantiated allegations of election fraud.
Lula, who turned 81 on Tuesday, received more than 64 million votes, compared with fewer than 60 million for Bolsonaro, a margin of nearly 4%.
Capybara Samba spotted on camera months after escaping from Marwell Zoo
Get you up to speed: Samba the runaway Capybara caught on camera after months on the lam | News UK
Samba, a 6-year-old Capybara, was spotted on camera at Marwell Zoo months after escaping, feeding on treats left by zookeepers. Authorities confirmed she is currently on private land, and efforts are underway to recover her while minimising her stress.
Marwell Zoo staff are using additional wildlife cameras and establishing a feeding area to encourage Samba to return. Authorities have not disclosed details regarding her precise location, as it is situated on private land to minimise disruption to the ongoing recovery efforts.
Marwell Zoo staff are working “tirelessly” to encourage Samba the Capybara to return to her enclosure, employing various strategies including establishing a feeding area. The zoo emphasised the importance of minimising stress during the recovery process and stated that her exact location will remain confidential to avoid disturbances.
What remains unclear — Zoo officials have not disclosed the exact location of Samba to the public.
Capybara Samba spotted on camera months after escaping from Marwell Zoo
A fugitive Capybara appears to be living her best life after being spotted on camera months after escaping a zoo.
Samba, 6, was spotted on a trap camera munching down on treats left for her by staff at Marwell Zoo as they try to entice her back to her enclosure.
As winter closes in, staff at the zoo said they were working ‘tirelessly’ to get the runaway rodent back.
A zoo spokesman said: ‘Recovering Samba is a gradual and carefully managed process. Although we know the area she is in, it isn’t simply a case of being able to approach and collect her.
‘It’s vital that we keep any stress to an absolute minimum, as frightening or disturbing her could cause her to move away from the area and make her safe recovery more difficult.’
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‘We have also been establishing a feeding area, encouraging her to become familiar with the location and return regularly. This is an important step in our plans to safely recover her.
‘As Samba is currently on private land, and to avoid disturbing her or disrupting our ongoing efforts, we are keeping details of her exact location confidential.’
It came seven months after dogwalker Claudie Paddick last spotted the missing capybara resting in the March sunshine on the banks of the River Itchen.
The mother-of-two was out for a dog walk with her black labrador Growler, and her sausage dog, Patsy, when Growler began barking spooking the giant rodent.
Samba jumped into the river and swam off, but not before Paddick sent a photo to her neighbour, who called the zoo.
Mrs Paddick, a family lawyer, said: ‘It then jumped in the river and it didn’t come back out, and I was like, what the hell is that?
‘A capybara is something I have never seen or even heard of before, but now I’m a bit of an expert. We see lots of animals when we go walking down the river, but never a rodent from the Amazon.’
Samba had arrived at the zoo from Jimmy’s Farm and Wildlife Park with her sister, Tango.
Tango was quickly found but Samba has proved trickier to find despite thermal drones and sniffer dogs closing in.
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