UNESCO puts Haitian soup on cultural heritage list

The Associated Press 1 minute read Thursday, Dec. 16, 2021

PARIS (AP) — The United Nations cultural agency on Thursday placed a traditional Haitian soup widely seen as a symbol of the nation's independence on its prized intangible cultural heritage list.

Joumou soup is “so much more than just a dish,” said Audrey Azoulay, the director-general of UNESCO. “It tells the story of the heroes and heroines of Haitian independence, their struggle for human rights and their hard-won freedom.”

The squash-based soup became a symbol of things long forbidden to slaves under French domination until Haiti gained independence on Jan.1, 1804, as the first nation created by insurgent Black slaves.

They celebrated their freedom by finally consuming the soup and Haitians traditionally serve it on New Year’s Day to commemorate the anniversary of liberation from slavery.

Solomon Ghebru, his wife Mehret Awate, and their daughters Peniel, 8, and Lydia, 4, are hoping to move from a two-bedroom apartment into homeownership. (Supplied)

Long journey to home ownership for Eritrean couple

Zoe Pierce 4 minute read Preview

Long journey to home ownership for Eritrean couple

Zoe Pierce 4 minute read Saturday, Aug. 1, 2026

Solomon Ghebru and his family have been building a life together in Winnipeg for the past three years after years of living apart in various countries. Now, they are working toward a new goal: owning a home.

Their story is the focus of this year’s Habitat for Humanity Manitoba Cycle of Hope fundraising ride, a seven-day cycling event through southern Manitoba that begins Monday. The ride aims to raise $150,000 to support Ghebru, his wife, Mehret Awate, and their two daughters as they work toward affordable homeownership.

The couple’s journey to Canada started in Eritrea, where they grew up and attended the same church together. They left Eritrea separately, hoping to build a better life together out of the country. Ghebru travelled through Sudan and Libya before reaching Malta, while Awate travelled to Sudan and then Uganda.

After he found work in Malta, he tried to have his family join him, but government policies prevented them from reuniting. The couple married in Uganda in 2016, and their first daughter, Peniel, was born there the following year.

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Saturday, Aug. 1, 2026

Ruth Bonneville / Free Press
Red flyers tacked to Giant Tiger’s front windows announce the location will be closing Nov. 7.

Giant Tiger decision creates giant void for desperate population

Niigaan Sinclair 5 minute read Preview

Giant Tiger decision creates giant void for desperate population

Niigaan Sinclair 5 minute read Friday, Jul. 31, 2026

A lot of Winnipeggers may shrug, but the end of Giant Tiger’s downtown store is a giant problem for many of the people living in the centre of the city.

It would have been difficult for anyone going into or passing by the Canadian discount chain’s Donald Street and Ellice Avenue location Thursday to miss the red notices posted on the store’s windows advising it will close on Nov. 7.

According to a 2024 Downtown Winnipeg BIZ report, about 18,000 people live in Winnipeg’s downtown.

More than 60,000 people work there, and some days — when there’s a big concert or the Jets play at Canada Life Centre, for example — the number of people spending time in the area increases significantly.

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Friday, Jul. 31, 2026

JOHN WOODS / FREE PRESS
In Winnipeg, 240 WestJet flight attendants walked off the job and were marching outside of the airport terminal Sunday as part of a nationwide strike.

240 WestJet flight attendants picket in Winnipeg

Malak Abas 6 minute read Preview

240 WestJet flight attendants picket in Winnipeg

Malak Abas 6 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 3:21 PM CDT

Winnipeg’s WestJet flight attendants took to the picket line outside of Richardson International Airport on the first day of nationwide strikes Sunday, while inside, frustrated flyers scrambled to re-route cancelled long-weekend flights.

The Canadian Union of Public Employees’ Ontario arm and the airline announced the strike would commence after the strike deadline was passed without a deal early Sunday morning. WestJet attendants have been without a contract since Dec. 31, 2025.

Hours later, the 240 WestJet flight attendants based in Winnipeg had walked off the job and were marching outside of the airport terminal, some carrying signs with slogans including “Tired with WestJet? So are We!” and “Unpaid Work Won’t Fly.”

Key issues causing the stalemate are wages and pay for work on the ground: the union says flight attendants are not being paid for some of that work, while the company says they pay for the work through a “credit hour” system rather than an hourly rate.

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Updated: Yesterday at 3:21 PM CDT

BROOK JONES / FREE PRESS
The Winnipeg Goldeyes take on a pesky and all-too-familiar alternate identity, the Manitoba Mosquitoes, for the team’s home game against the visiting Lincoln Saltdogs on Friday. Kataali Stoller (right) shows off the special edition merchandise to Cory Ruppenthal and his children, Ava and Owen.

Excited Goldeyes fans buzz over Manitoba Mosquitoes’ name change

Grace Penner 4 minute read Preview

Excited Goldeyes fans buzz over Manitoba Mosquitoes’ name change

Grace Penner 4 minute read Friday, Jul. 31, 2026

BITE club has entered the ball park for a single game, filling the stands with mosquitoes — just not in the way you may think.

The Fish are participating an alternate identity takeover, one that many other teams in the minor baseball leagues have been having some fun with. The Winnipeg Goldeyes re-branded to pay homage to the province’s beloved summer creatures, the Manitoba Mosquitoes.

The Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks had some fun with its alternative identity, doing a five-game name change to the Woodchippers, a fun reference to the 1996 film Fargo.

Other honourable mentions are the Chicago Dogs, who switched over to the Chicago Wieners, the Sioux Fall Canaries transformed into the Minnehaha Martians, Milwaukee Milkmen became the Franklin Benjamins, and the Lake Country Dockhounds swapped to the Wisconsin Dive Bars.

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Friday, Jul. 31, 2026

Federal NDP Leader Avi Lewis poses for a photograph in Montreal on Tuesday, July 28, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christopher Katsarov

Lewis says he won’t run for office until the NDP is ‘ready’ for a general election

David Baxter, The Canadian Press 6 minute read Preview

Lewis says he won’t run for office until the NDP is ‘ready’ for a general election

David Baxter, The Canadian Press 6 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 10:52 AM CDT

MONTREAL - Four months into the job, NDP Leader Avi Lewis is still in no rush.

Since winning the leadership of a party knocked to its knees in the 2025 federal election, Lewis has maintained his immediate priority is preparing the NDP for an election — not winning a seat in the House of Commons. Multiple byelections are set to take place before the end of the year; Lewis will be door-knocking with candidates in those ridings but won’t be on the ballot himself.

“I think there will be a point in the next year where I feel we're election-ready across the country. We want to run serious campaigns everywhere,” Lewis said in a recent interview in Montreal’s Plateau neighbourhood.

“We're in a position as a party on the rebound where I can't just pursue a seat at all costs. So I do need a litmus test for when is it time for me to get in there? And that's going be either in the next election or the run-up to the next election, once we are election-ready.”

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Updated: Yesterday at 10:52 AM CDT

August 3, 2026

UNESCO puts Haitian soup on cultural heritage list

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