Headline

Travel Chaos: Air Canada Shut Down By Flight Attendant Strike

Published

9 months ago

August 16, 2025

Air Canada’s flight attendants went on strike early Saturday, forcing the airline to suspend all operations and creating travel chaos for its 130,000 daily passengers.

“We are now officially on strike,” the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), which represents 10,000 flight attendants, said in a statement, ITV reports.

The airline, which operates direct flights to 180 cities worldwide, confirmed it had “suspended all operations” in response to the stoppage.

“Air Canada is strongly advising affected customers not to go to the airport,” it said, adding that it “deeply regrets the effect the strike is having on customers.”

CUPE was legally able to strike from 12:01 a.m. (0401 GMT) Saturday, after giving a 72-hour strike notice on Wednesday. The walkout officially began at 12:58 a.m., both sides confirmed.

Air Canada had been winding down operations ahead of the labour action. By 8:00 p.m. Friday, it had cancelled 623 flights affecting more than 100,000 passengers. Its full 700-flight schedule for Saturday has been scrapped.

Unpaid Ground Work at Issue
Alongside wage increases, CUPE says it wants compensation for unpaid ground duties, such as helping passengers during boarding.

Rafael Gomez, head of the University of Toronto’s Center for Industrial Relations, said it is “common practice, even around the world” to pay flight attendants only for time spent in the air.

He noted the union had built an effective campaign around the issue.

“‘I’m waiting to board the plane and there’s a flight attendant helping me, but they’re technically not being paid for that work,’” he said an average passenger might think.

“That’s a very good issue to highlight,” Gomez added, suggesting any gains made by Air Canada flight attendants could influence other carriers.

Air Canada outlined its latest offer in a Thursday statement, saying that under the terms, a senior flight attendant would earn on average CAN$87,000 ($65,000) by 2027.

CUPE has rejected the proposal, describing Air Canada’s offers as “below inflation (and) below market value.” The union has also turned down requests from the federal government and the airline to send the dispute to independent arbitration.

Stalemate During Peak Travel Season
Gomez said he did not expect the strike to last long.

“This is peak season,” he said. “The airline does not want to lose hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue… They’re almost playing chicken with the flight attendants.”

The strike comes as Canada’s economy is already feeling pressure from U.S. tariffs under President Donald Trump, affecting key industries such as auto, aluminum and steel.

The Business Council of Canada warned before the walkout that an Air Canada shutdown could worsen the strain.

“At a time when Canada is dealing with unprecedented pressures on our critical economic supply chains, the disruption of national air passenger travel and cargo transport services would cause immediate and extensive harm to all Canadians,” it said.

Headline

‘Pioneer Of Cable TV News’: Key Facts About CNN Founder, Ted Turner

Published

1 week ago

May 9, 2026

Editor

Ted Turner, the media businessman who founded CNN died at the age of 87. He died peacefully on Wednesday, surrounded by family, according to Turner Enterprises.

Contents

Launched 24-hour news television

Built a media network

Expanded through sports

Recognition and influence

Philanthropy and global causes

Environmental efforts

Health and later years

Early career path

Leadership and legacy

Personal life

Exit from business

Family

Below are key facts about his life and impact:

Launched 24-hour news television

Turner founded CNN on June 1, 1980, introducing the first 24-hour news channel and changing how audiences follow global events.

Built a media network

He moved from billboards into broadcasting, turning an Atlanta TV station into a national superstation in 1976. His business later grew to include CNN International, TNT, Turner Classic Movies and Cartoon Network.

Expanded through sports

Turner invested in sports broadcasting and owned teams including the Atlanta Braves and the Atlanta Hawks, using television to reach wider audiences.

Recognition and influence

In 1991, he was named Time magazine’s Man of the Year for his role in shaping modern news coverage.

Philanthropy and global causes

He founded the United Nations Foundation and supported campaigns against nuclear weapons. In 1997, he pledged $1 billion to the United Nations.

Turner supported conservation work, including reintroducing bison in the United States, and backed environmental education through the “Captain Planet” cartoon.

Health and later years

In 2018, Turner revealed he had Lewy body dementia. He also recovered from a mild case of pneumonia in early 2025.

Early career path

He took over his father’s billboard company at 24 after his father’s death and later expanded into radio and television, despite limited experience in journalism.

“I worked until 7 o’clock, and when I got home the news was over,” he once said. “So I missed television news completely. And I figured there were lots of people like me.”

Leadership and legacy

“Ted was an intensely involved and committed leader, intrepid, fearless and always willing to back a hunch and trust his own judgement,” Mark Thompson, Chairman and CEO of CNN Worldwide, said in a statement. “He was and always will be the presiding spirit of CNN. Ted is the giant on whose shoulders we stand, and we will all take a moment today to recognize him and his impact on our lives and the world.”

Personal life

Turner married actress Jane Fonda in 1991, and they later divorced after 10 years, though they remained close.

“I would never love anyone like I love him,” she said. “But I just couldn’t keep moving in his world, along the surface for the rest of my life. I knew that I would get to the end of my life and regret not doing the things that I also needed to do for me.”

Exit from business

He sold his company to Time Warner in 1996 and later stepped away following its merger with AOL.

Reflecting on his life, Turner once said: “I lost Jane. I lost my job here. I lost my fortune, most of it. Got a billion or two left. You can get by on that if you economize.”

Family

He is survived by his five children, 14 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Headline

Iran’s Nationwide Internet Shutdown Hits 70 Days

Published

1 week ago

May 9, 2026

Editor

NetBlocks, a monitoring group, has disclosed that an internet shutdown enforced by the Iranian regime has entered its 70th day, severing key access from swathes of the population under the shadow of war.

NetBlocks reported on Friday that the blackout has now surpassed 1,656 hours, marking more than two months since US-Israeli strikes pounded Tehran and escalated across the Middle East.

“Digital connectivity is vital in times of crisis,” NetBlocks said in a post on X. “Limiting service harms those most in need – people with disabilities, students, small businesses and the general public.”

According to CNN, Iran imposed a separate internet shutdown on the country’s 92 million people earlier this year, when it launched the most lethal crackdown on anti-government protesters since the Islamic Republic’s founding 47 years ago.

CNN further reports that the latest blackout has cut off another potential lifeline for Iranian residents faced with high unemployment and economic pressure exacerbated by the US-Israeli campaign.

(CNN)

Headline

Gas Prices In US Edge Down After Two Weeks Of Increases

Published

1 week ago

May 9, 2026

Editor

The cost of a gallon of regular gas in the United States (US) has edged down a little more than a penny to $4.55.

According to AAA’s readings, this marks the first decline in the average gas price after 15 straight days of increases.

The decline is minuscule compared to the large increases in gas prices over the last two weeks.

According to CNN, gasoline costs rose an average of nearly 4 cents a day during that period and had several daily increases of between 7 and 9 cents.

Also Read: Trump insists US-Iran ceasefire intact despite recent exchange of fire

CNN also reports that based on past gas spikes, it will likely take weeks for gas prices to get down below $4 a gallon.

The report, however, states that a previous two-week stretch of gas price declines only shaved 14 cents off the average price, taking the average price to $4.02, before the recent 15-day run of increases.

According to CNN, it could take months for the average price to fall below $3 per gallon, as it did before the war in Iran.

CNN further reports that only one state – Oklahoma – now has an average price of less than $4 a gallon, and its average stands at $3.98. California has the highest average price at $6.16.

(CNN)