A look at news events in July 2024 1 - The strike is over at WestJet.
1 - The strike is over at WestJet. The Calgary-based airline reaches a deal with its mechanics to end a strike that had disrupted the travel plans of tens of thousands of travellers over the Canada Day long weekend and saw 829 flight cancellations. In a statement on its website overnight, WestJet says there will still be flight disruptions in the week ahead as its planes are brought back into service.
2 - The UN weather agency confirms that Tropical Cyclone Freddy, a deadly Indian Ocean storm that lashed eastern Africa last year, was the longest-lasting cyclone ever recorded – at 36 days. Freddy topped the previous record held by Hurricane John, which struck Hawaii and lasted almost 30 days in the northern Pacific three decades ago.
3 - A bill banning child marriage is signed into law in Sierra Leone. It aims to protect girls in the West African nation where about a third are married before adulthood. Sierra Leone is home to 800,000 child brides and the UN children's agency reports half of them are married before age 15. The law criminalizes marrying any girl who is under 18 and carries penalties of fines and up to 15 years in prison.
4 - Canada now has its 48th national park. The federal government and PEI's Mi'kmaq First Nations reach an agreement to turn a 50-kilometre strip of islands off the province's northwest coast into a national park reserve. Lennox Island First Nation Chief Darlene Bernard is thrilled about the agreement, which will ensure the protection of Pituamkek, which means"at the long sand dune.
5 - Britain's Labour Party sweeps to power after more than a decade in opposition. The reverberations continue following Britain's election, which saw the Conservatives ousted after 14-years in power and replaced by the Labour Party. Leader Keir Starmer, who will head the new government as prime minister, says Labour will always put"country first, party second." He adds that a mandate like the one his party has been handed comes with great responsibility.
6 - Reformist candidate Masoud Pezeshkian wins Iran's run-off presidential election, besting hardliner Saeed Jalili by promising to reach out to the West and ease enforcement of the country's mandatory headscarf law after years of sanctions and protests squeezing the Islamic Republic. However, he also notes there would be no radical changes to Iran's Shiite theocracy.
8 - The U.S. Justice Department says Boeing will plead guilty to a criminal fraud charge stemming from two deadly crashes of 737 Max jetliners that killed 346 people, and pay a US$243.6-million fine. The announcement means it is up to a federal judge to accept the plea and issue a sentence that is part of the aerospace giant's deal with U.S. prosecutors.
9 - Democrats hold a private meeting where cellphones are banned at their party headquarters to talk about whether they will support U.S. President Joe Biden or urge him to step aside in light of health concerns. One politician described the mood as"dour" as members of Congress discussed their party leader, who emphatically refuses to bow out. There is growing concern that if Biden remains in the race, the election will centre on his age issues instead of Donald Trump.
11 - In their most serious rebuke against Beijing, NATO allies call China a"decisive enabler" of Russia's war against Ukraine and expressed concerns over Beijing's"no-limits partnership" with Moscow, its nuclear arsenal and its capabilities in space. The sternly worded final communique from the NATO leaders' summit makes clear that China is becoming a focus of the Western military alliance. China this morning rejects the"enabler" label.
12 - A New Mexico judge throws out the involuntary manslaughter case against actor Alec Baldwin in the shooting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the film “Rust.” Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer dismisses the case with prejudice based on the misconduct of police and prosecutors over the withholding of evidence from the defence.
13 - A shooting at a Donald Trump rally in Butler, Penn., is investigated as an assassination attempt. The campaign team for the former U.S. president says he is doing fine, and Trump posts to Truth Social that he was shot with a bullet that pierced the upper part of his right ear. Officials say the shooter, who was killed by Secrete Service while in an elevated position near the venue, was 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks from Bethel Park, Penn.
15 - An Italian-led team finds a sizable cave accessible from the deepest known pit on the moon. It's in the Sea of Tranquility, not far from where Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed 55 years ago. The scientists say the pit was created by the collapse of a lava tube and they suspect there are hundreds of other caves that could house future astronauts.
16 - Canada drops $9,000,000 on a New York City luxury condo to be used as the consul general's official residence. The deed to the new Manhattan condo shows it was sold to"His Majesty the King in right of Canada'' last month, and had been listed for more than US$6.6 million. Global Affairs Canada says a previous New York residence purchased in 1961 isn't up to code, although they won't say what is being done with it.
18 - Walmart and Costco agree to join the rest of Canada's major grocery chains and sign on to a grocery code of conduct. Their participation clears the way for industry guidelines intended to level the playing field for suppliers and smaller retailers by providing guidelines for fair negotiations. The federal, provincial and territorial agriculture ministers made the announcement at their annual meeting in Whitehorse.
19 - A Russian court convicts Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich on espionage charges and sentences him to 16 years in prison after a secretive and rapid trial. Gershkovich, the newspaper and the U.S. government all denied the charges in a trial that Washington and The Wall Street Journal denounced as a sham. The reporter has been in prison since he was detained in March of last year and accused of spying for the U.S.
21 - U.S. President Joe Biden ends his 2024 re-election bid. Biden issues a statement announcing he will not seek re-election, saying he thinks it is the best thing for the country. A disastrous televised debate inflamed doubts of Biden's fitness for four more years on the job. He endorses Vice-President Kamala Harris as his replacement and urges his party to unite behind her.
22 - Alberta's Jasper National Park and the Jasper townsite are under an evacuation order because of wildfire. An Alberta Emergency Alert directs people in both the town and the park to leave the area. The wildfire is burning around the Jasper townsite's waste transfer station, about nine kilometres outside the town. The fire also forces closures on Highway 16 through Jasper and Highway 93 along the Athabasca River.
23 - First Nations chiefs in Manitoba say they are outraged and disappointed after the federal government reduced funds for searching the grounds of former residential schools. Communities could previously receive up to $3 million, but funding will now be capped at $500,000. Deputy Grand Chief Betsy Kennedy says the decision to cut back funding without discussions with First Nations leadership is disrespectful to the survivors and families affected by the system.
25 -"Taylor Swift Way" is coming to the city of Toronto. City councillors vote to temporarily mark a route through Toronto's downtown core with signs honouring the megastar when she brings her Eras tour later this year. The motion passed almost unanimously today, designating a route stretching from Swift's show venue of Rogers Centre to city hall's Nathan Phillips Square as"Taylor Swift Way" for the month of November.
26 - France's high-speed rail network has been"sabotaged" according to government officials, as police investigate multiple acts of vandalism including arson. The incidents have paralyzed travel to Paris from across the rest of France and Europe, only hours before the grand opening ceremony of the Olympics. French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal says France's intelligence services have been mobilized to find the perpetrators. There were no known reports of injuries.
27 - Ancient Rome's most important great road is named a UNESCO World Heritage site. The Appian Way is more than 800 kilometres long, known as the"Queen of Roads," and dates back to 312 BC. It marked a revolution in road construction and quickly became the most important roadway connecting Rome with the southern part of the peninsula. The road is Italy's 60th entry on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
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