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WestJet Strike Countdown: What to Do If You're Flying This Long Weekend

  Published July 31, 2026  |  Canadian Money Brief If you've got a WestJet flight booked for this weekend, here's the situation in one line: a strike or a lockout could ground the airline's cabin crew as early as Saturday, August 1 at 11:59 p.m. Mountain Time / Sunday, August 2 at 12:01 a.m. MT — right at the start of the busy August long weekend. Nothing has happened yet. WestJet and the union representing its roughly 4,400 flight attendants, CUPE Local 8125, are both still at the table. But both sides have now filed the legal paperwork that makes a work stoppage possible within days, so this is the moment to actually check your booking rather than hope it sorts itself out. HOW WE GOT HERE Flight attendants voted 99.4% in favour of a strike mandate back on July 15. On July 30, the union issued a 72-hour strike notice over wages and unpaid ground work — CUPE says the average flight attendant does about 35 hours a month of unpaid boarding, security, and delay-related work...

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Hamas Releases Video of Two Israeli Captives Held in Gaza

 

Hamas, the militant group in Gaza, has published a video showing the first proof of life of two hostages being held: Keith Siegel, a 64-year-old American-Israeli citizen, and Omri Miran. In the undated footage, Mr. Miran states that he has been held captive for 202 days, while Mr. Siegel mentions the Passover holiday, suggesting the clips were filmed recently.

Mr. Siegel was kidnapped along with his wife Aviva on October 7. Aviva was freed in November during a brief truce, but at that time, she did not know if Keith was still alive. The Hostages Families Forum Headquarters confirmed that the Siegel and Miran families are aware of the latest video. This proof of life is the clearest evidence that the Israeli government must do everything to approve a deal for the return of all the hostages.

The video comes after another proof-of-life video released earlier in the week, showing Israeli-American hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, who lost his lower left arm during Hamas’s attack on southern Israel in October.

In the video, both Mr. Siegel and Mr. Miran urge the Israeli government to agree to a deal with Hamas for a ceasefire and the release of hostages. However, weeks of indirect negotiations have failed to produce an agreement. Hamas has previously insisted that any deal should include a permanent end to the war, full Israeli military withdrawal from Gaza, and unrestricted return of displaced people to their homes. Meanwhile, Israel maintains its stance that it must destroy Hamas in Gaza and free the hostages.

Despite warnings of potential humanitarian consequences, Israel appears to be moving ahead with plans for an offensive in Rafah, southern Gaza, where 1.5 million displaced Palestinians are sheltering.



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