Harper gives EU leaders free plane ride on heels of free-trade deal - Canada.com

OTTAWA — The Prime Minister's Office is defending a decision to give a European Union delegation a free plane flight home last Friday at a cost that a media report estimated at more than $300,000.

Jason MacDonald says a Canadian Forces Airbus was offered as a courtesy to ensure "that no elements" of Friday's Canada-EU summit were cut short.

Two top European Union leaders, Herman Van Rompuy and Jose Manuel Barroso, were in Ottawa where they signed a Canada-EU free-trade agreement.

The CBC reported that adding a Toronto reception to the visit would have made it impossible for the EU delegation to catch a commercial flight from Ottawa and make it to a Saturday meeting in Brussels.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper authorized the use of the Airbus that he normally uses on foreign trips, the CBC said.

Sunday's report estimated the cost of the flight to be in the neighbourhood of $338,055, basing its calculations on government figures from 2012 on the estimated hourly cost to operate the aircraft.

An initial email response from MacDonald did not contest the CBC's cost estimate, instead touting the benefits of the trade deal and the summit.

"Friday's Summit allowed business leaders to meet and discuss the opportunities the Canada-Europe Free Trade Agreement present," the email said. "The Airbus was offered as a courtesy to our European Union guests."

Harper has touted the trade deal as a major achievement for his government, which faces an election next year.

Last year he flew to Brussels with great fanfare for a signing ceremony on an agreement in principle.

Concerns were raised last week that some EU members might try to scuttle the deal, but Van Rompuy, the European Council president and Barroso, the European Commission president, both joined Harper in dismissing any suggestion the deal faced any significant difficulties.

It must still be approved by all 28 EU members and the Canadian provinces.

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Staff Sgt. Kal Ghadban identified as officer who died at Police HQ - 580 CFRA Radio

Ottawa Police Chief Charles Bordeleau says the loss of an Ottawa Police officer pains the entire force.

Bordeleau said in a statement Sunday afternoon that an officer has died at the Elgin Street police station.

In a press conference Sunday evening, Bordeleau identified the officer as Staff-Sgt Kal Ghadban, a 22-year veteran of the force. He was 43 years old.

Staff Sgt Ghadban had three young children. His family is being supported by police in this tragic time.

Bordeleau says the Service's thoughts and prayers are with Ghadban's family.

The Special Investigations Unit of Ontario is on scene to investigate Ghadban's death. The SIU's mandate is automatically enacted whenever a police officer is involved in an incident in which someone has been seriously injured or has died.

Ghadban reportedly took his own life.

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Hong Kong pro-democracy protesters resist calls to disperse - CBC.ca

Pro-democracy protesters wearing masks and wielding umbrellas to protect against pepper spray and tear gas expanded their rallies throughout Hong Kong on Monday, defying calls to disperse in a major pushback against Beijing's decision to limit democratic reforms in the Asian financial hub.

Riot police withdrew from the extraordinary scene of chaotic tear gas-fuelled clashes that erupted the evening before and the government asked the student-led protesters to disperse peacefully.

But the demonstrators, whose use of umbrellas, plastic wrap and other improvised defences has led some to dub their movement the "Umbrella Revolution," remained camped out on a normally busy highway near the Hong Kong government headquarters. Supporters were using the phrase on social media.

Police had tried earlier to negotiate, with an officer asking them through a bullhorn to clear the way for the commuters. A protester, using the group's own speaker system, responded by saying that they wanted Hong Kong's Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying to demand a genuine choice for the territory's voters.

"Do something good for Hong Kong. We want real democracy!" he shouted.

China has called the protests illegal and endorsed the Hong Kong government's crackdown. The clashes, images of which have been beamed around the world, are undermining the city's image as a safe financial haven, and raised the stakes of the face-off against President Xi Jinping's government. Beijing has taken a hard line against threats to the Communist Party's monopoly on power, including clamping down on dissidents and Muslim Uighur separatists in the country's far west.

A protester raises his arms as police officers try to disperse the crowd near the government headquarters in Hong Kong. Riot police advanced on Hong Kong democracy protesters in the early hours of Monday, firing volleys of tear gas that sent some fleeing as others erected barricades to block the security forces amid chaotic scenes in the former British colony. (Carlos Barria/Reuters)

The mass protests are the strongest challenge yet to Beijing's decision last month to reject open nominations for candidates under proposed guidelines for the first-ever elections for Hong Kong's leader, promised for 2017. Instead, candidates must continue to be hand-picked by a committee of mostly local pro-Beijing tycoons — a move that many residents viewed as reneging on promises to allow greater democracy in the semi-autonomous territory.

Umbrellas handed out to protesters

With rumours swirling, the Beijing-backed and deeply unpopular Leung reassured the public that speculation that the Chinese army might intervene was untrue.

"I hope the public will keep calm. Don't be misled by the rumours. Police will strive to maintain social order, including ensuring smooth traffic and ensuring the public safety," Leung said. "When they carry out their duties, they will use their maximum discretion."

That came hours after police lobbed canisters of tear gas into the crowd on Sunday evening. The searing fumes sent demonstrators fleeing, though many came right back to continue their protest. The government said 26 people were taken to hospitals.

To ward off tear gas, demonstrators used homemade defences such as plastic wrap, which they used to cover their face and arms, as well as goggles and surgical masks.

But umbrellas, used to deflect pepper spray, have become the movement's most visible symbol. They were the main line of defence Sunday for a huge crowd demonstrators trying to push past barricades manned by police dousing the crowd with pepper spray from backpack sprayers.

As the crowd surged forward, officers tore umbrellas away one by one and threw them aside.

Demonstrator Rick Chan summed up the feelings of many on Monday when he shouted to police watching the encampment, "We're only carrying umbrellas!"

"I came last night and saw police fire many rounds of tear gas at the crowd, who were mostly young students and even included some old people," said Chan, a 32-year-old finance worker. "I feel it was extremely unnecessary. They could see protesters were not dangerous. Instead they made everyone very angry. I plan to stay here indefinitely."

Supporters donated new umbrellas, which were distributed to those needing them at stations around the protest zone. They also did double duty, providing shade from the blazing sun.

The protest has been spearheaded largely by college and university-age activists but has gathered momentum among a broad range of people from high school students to the elderly.

Calls for chief executive Leung to resign

Protesters also occupied streets in other parts of Hong Kong Island, including the upscale shopping area of Causeway Bay as well as across the harbour in densely populated Mong Kok on the Kowloon peninsula.

More than 200 bus routes have been cancelled or diverted in a city dependent on public transport. Subway exits have also been closed or blocked near protest area.

After China took control of Hong Kong from the British in 1997, it agreed to a policy of "one country, two systems" that allowed the city a high degree of control over its own affairs and kept in place liberties unseen on the mainland. It also promised the city's leader would eventually be chosen through "universal suffrage," a pledge that Hong Kongers now say Beijing is failing to keep.

Hong Kong and Taiwan student demonstrators supporting pro-democracy protests taking place in Hong Kong, sleep in front of a banner which reads Hong Kong Today, Taiwan Tomorrrow, on the floor as they occupy the first floor of Hong Kong Economic, Trade and Cultural Office in Taipei, Taiwan, early Monday. (Chiang Ying-ying/The Associated Press)

While it was under British rule, Hong Kong's leader was chosen by London in an arrangement that faced virtually no opposition. But now, residents want a greater say in their own government and future.

Momentum for the protests started building after university and college students began a class boycott last Monday, which they said would continue until officials meet their demands for reforming the local legislature and withdrawing the proposal to screen election candidates.

Leaders of the broader Occupy Central civil disobedience movement joined them early Sunday, saying they wanted to kick-start a long-threatened mass sit-in demanding Hong Kong's top leader be elected without Beijing's interference.

Occupy Central issued a statement Monday calling on Leung to resign and saying his "non-response to the people's demands has driven Hong Kong into a crisis of disorder." The statement added that the protest was now "a spontaneous movement" of all Hong Kong people.

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Obama says US 'underestimated' rise of ISIS, admits 'contradictory' Syria policy - Fox News

President Obama acknowledged Sunday that U.S. intelligence officials "underestimated" the threat posed by the Islamic State and overestimated the Iraqi army's capacity to defeat the militant group.

The president said in an wide-ranging interview on CBS' "60 Minutes" that the Islamic State militants went "underground" after being squashed in Iraq and regrouped under the cover of the Syrian civil war.

"During the chaos of the Syrian civil war, where essentially you have huge swaths of the country that are completely ungoverned, they were able to reconstitute themselves and take advantage of that chaos," Obama said.

The president said his director of national intelligence, James Clapper, has acknowledged that the U.S. "underestimated what had been taking place in Syria." He also said it was "absolutely true" that the U.S. overestimated the ability and will of the Iraqi army.

However, Obama also acknowledged that the U.S. is dealing with a conundrum in Syria, as the U.S.-led military campaign against the Islamic State is helping Syrian President Bashar Assad, whom the U.N. has accused of war crimes. 

"I recognize the contradiction in a contradictory land and a contradictory circumstance," Obama said. "We are not going to stabilize Syria under the rule of Assad," whose government has committed "terrible atrocities."

However, Obama called the threat from the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, and other terror groups a more "immediate concern that has to be dealt with."

"On the other hand, in terms of immediate threats to the United States, ISIL, Khorasan Group -- those folks could kill Americans," he said. 

The Islamic State group, also known as ISIS or ISIL, has taken control of large sections of Iraq and Syria. The Khorasan Group is a cell of militants that the U.S. says is plotting attacks against the West in cooperation with the Nusra front, Syria's Al Qaeda affiliate.

Both groups have been targeted by U.S. airstrikes in recent days; together they constitute the most significant military opposition to Assad. Obama said his first priority is degrading the extremists who are threatening Iraq and the West.  To defeat them, he acknowledged, would require a competent local ground force, something no analyst predicts will surface any time soon in Syria, despite U.S. plans to arm and train "moderate" rebels.

"Right now, we've got a campaign plan that has a strong chance for success in Iraq," the president said. "Syria is a more challenging situation."

In discussing Iraq, Obama said the U.S. left the country after the war with "a democracy that was intact, a military that was well-equipped and the ability then (for Iraqis) to chart their own course."

However, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki "squandered" that opportunity over roughly five years because he was "much more interested in consolidating his Shia base and very suspicious of the Sunnis and the Kurds, who make up the other two thirds of the country," the president said.

Obama said military force is necessary to shrink the Islamic State's capacity, cut off financing and eliminate the flow of foreign fighters. He said political solutions are also needed that accommodate both Sunnis and Shiites, adding that conflicts between the two sects are the biggest cause of conflict throughout the world.

 Earlier Sunday, House Speaker John Boehner questioned Obama's strategy to destroy the Islamic State group. Boehner said on ABC's "This Week" that the U.S. may have "no choice" but to send in American troops if the mix of U.S.-led airstrikes and a ground campaign reliant on Iraqi forces, Kurdish fighters and moderate Syrian rebels fails to achieve that goal.

"These are barbarians. They intend to kill us," Boehner said. "And if we don't destroy them first, we're going to pay the price."

However, Obama again made clear he has no interest in a major U.S. ground presence beyond the 1,600 American advisers and special operations troops he already has ordered to Iraq. When asked if the current conflict was not really a war, Obama said there are clear distinctions between this campaign and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"We are assisting Iraq in a very real battle that's taking place on their soil, with their troops," the president said. "This is not America against ISIL. This is America leading the international community to assist a country with whom we have a security partnership."

"That's always the case," Obama added. "We are the indispensable nation. We have capacity no one else has. Our military is the best in the history of the world. And when trouble comes up anywhere in the world, they don't call Beijing. They don't call Moscow. They call us."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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UPDATE 2-At least 36 feared dead on Japanese volcano, search called off - Reuters

Mon Sep 29, 2014 1:30pm IST

* Number of confirmed deaths rises to 10, at least 36 feared dead

* Sixty-three injured, whereabouts of eight still unknown

* Search called off mid-afternoon for fear of toxic gas near summit (Updates confirmed death toll, adds details)

By Elaine Lies

TOKYO, Sept 29 (Reuters) - At least 36 people are feared to have died after a Japanese volcano erupted without warning at the weekend, raining ash and stones on hikers, but the search for victims was abandoned on Monday because of fears of rising levels of toxic gases.

Rescuers at the peak of Mount Ontake, now an eerie moonscape under a thick layer of grey ash, on Monday found what may be five new victims of Saturday's eruption at Japan's second-highest active volcano.

The eruption of the 3,067-metre (10,062-feet) peak, 200 km (125 miles) west of Tokyo, took place as the popular hiking site was packed with climbers, including children, admiring autumn foliage under a brilliant blue sky.

Ten people have so far been confirmed dead in Japan's first fatal volcanic eruption since 1991, and 63 have been injured, some with broken bones. Eight are missing, but officials said some of them could possibly be among those who perished.

"It's my son, my second son. We've had absolutely no contact at all," a grey-haired man told Japanese television, adding that his 26-year-old son had gone to the mountain with his girlfriend. "We're utterly exhausted."

More than 500 rescuers had been combing the summit, ploughing through knee-deep ash and passing mountain lodges with holes punched in their roofs by rocks shot out of the volcano.

Helicopters lifted laden stretchers one by one from the summit on Monday, before rescue efforts were abandoned. As on Sunday, the smell of sulphur strengthened at the peak, fanning fears of toxic fumes and forcing rescuers off the mountain.

Japan is one of the world's most seismically active nations. In 1991, 43 people died in a pyroclastic flow, a superheated current of gas and rock, at Mount Unzen in the southwest.

Ontake, Japan's second-highest active volcano, last had a minor eruption seven years ago. Its last major eruption, the first on record, was in 1979.

Hikers said there was no warning of Saturday's eruption just before noon and hundreds were trapped for hours before descent became possible later in the day.

"I felt a hot wind blast against my back and crouched down to the ground," a man told NTV. "I was sure I was going to die."

It was natural that Japan's Meteorological Agency, which monitors volcanic activity, might reconsider its surveillance system, said Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga.

"However, I believe that, given current levels of knowledge, they made the only judgment they could," he told a news conference.

Suga also said the eruption would have no impact on the restart of the Sendai nuclear plant in southwestern Japan, an area of active volcanic sites. The plant was just cleared to restart in early September.

Experts said it was hard to have predicted the eruption, despite tremors in the area this month, since there were no other changes in the mountain.

Also, the eruption appears to have resulted from a steam-driven explosion of a kind that is especially hard to forecast, said Toshitsugu Fujii, a volcano expert.

"They often occur quite suddenly and there is absolutely no guarantee that the earthquakes earlier this month were connected," he told a news conference on Sunday. "There is no guarantee of total safety when you're dealing with nature." (Additional reporting by Kaori Kaneko; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)

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Rob Ford makes first public speech since being hospitalized - Toronto Star

Greeted by the cheers of a crowd in the thousands, Rob Ford made his first public speech since his hospitalization on Saturday evening, at a Ford Fest barbecue in Etobicoke postponed by his cancer diagnosis.

Looking pale and bleary-eyed after chemotherapy treatments last week, Mayor Ford walked slowly onto the stage as the audience erupted.

"Folks, I am so thankful. I am so heartened by the support that you've given me," he told listeners.

His wife, Renata, two young children and mother Diane stood behind him, the two women smiling. At one point his son reached out and pulled at his father's jacket, then hid behind Ford as he spoke.

Ford said he had to take "a bit of a break," but that didn't mean he was out of the race.

"When you're down and out, folks — I think we've all been there. Every single person has had personal problems in life," he said, his voice becoming raspy. "You find out who your real friends are."

Carlos Osorio/ The Toronto Star

Rob Ford with his daughter Stephanie during Ford Fest in Etobicoke on September 27, 2014.

Chris Young/The Canadian Press

Doug Ford greets the crowd after being endorsed by his brother Toronto Mayor Rob Ford at Ford Fest.

Accompanied by Tom Petty's hit "I Won't Back Down," Ford said he conquered his substance abuse problems after the crack cocaine scandal, and will conquer his cancer as well.

"Go tell cancer that I'm going to put him where I put that guy in the mirror three months ago," he said.

He thanked his supporters and family and referred to his brother, Doug Ford, as the "next mayor of Toronto."

"You know folks, he just gets out of the hospital a couple days ago and he comes here to see all of us," Doug said later, as he replaced his younger brother at the microphone. He attempted to burnish his ordinary-guy persona by talking about his early years delivering newspapers, labouring "on the plant floor" and working his way up — as well as reiterating Rob's comments about support for subways. He concluded by saying he wouldn't let his brother down.

Carlos Osorio / The Canadian Press

At the event, held on a grassy area beside a Sears outlet mall parking lot, attendees waited in lines hundreds of people long for free burgers and pop.

Supporters sported t-shirts reading "Ford Mayor 2014" on the front and "Stop the Cash Grab" in a red stop sign on the back.

Chris Young / The Canadian Press

Bobbleheads of Mayor Ford, one a Hollywood version of him wearing a tuxedo and the other of him as he appeared on Jimmy Kimmel's late night talk show at the height of the crack scandal — wearing a black suit, black shirt and red tie — were sold for $30 each.

Chris Young / The Canadian Press

Members of the crowd wait to greet Toronto Mayor Rob Ford and his brother Doug Ford at Ford Fest.

Chris Young / The Canadian Press

Chris Young/The Toronto Star

Ford supporters told the Star they feel the brothers are one and the same politically; many said they would support either for mayor.

"If it's not Rob Ford, it's Doug Ford. If it's not Doug Ford, it's the nephew Ford. If it's not the nephew Ford it's the Ford family," said Camille Campbell, who attended Ford Fest with her four children.

The Fords played a hasty game of musical chairs after Rob Ford's hospitalization, with Rob resigning from the mayoral race, Doug taking his place and Michael switching from the Ward 2 council race to the trustee race to make way for Rob to run for councillor instead.

Rob Ford showed up at 7:30 p.m., but the crowd was told he would not be shaking hands. "Germs are not going to be a good thing for the mayor right now," said his chief of staff, Dan Jacobs.

He'd spent time the previous evening campaigning door-to-door in Etobicoke, where he hopes to regain the Ward 2 council seat he held before being elected mayor.

There were a few tense moments throughout the event but no protests, as there were at the summer Ford Fest.

With a file from The Canadian Press

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Temporary foreign worker data 'don't correspond' with reality - The Globe and Mail

Two business groups say they're alarmed government research used to justify sweeping changes to the temporary foreign worker (TFW) program appears to contain several flaws as more companies find inaccuracies.

More than a dozen employers surveyed by The Globe said they do not employ anywhere near the number of temporary foreign workers attributed to them in a government report released to The Globe and Mail through access to information laws. The report, which found that more than 2,500 companies have a work force made up of at least one-third TFWs, has been cited by the government and Employment Minister Jason Kenney as an example of how the program has morphed beyond its original mandate. It may be the latest example of poor data informing important policy changes.

More Related to this Story

(What is the temporary foreign worker program? Read The Globe's easy explanation)

In one case, a Burger King in Truro, N.S., is listed as having a large number of temporary foreign workers. But it has never actually employed any, owner Paula Brown said.

"I do not have any foreign workers. Never did. Don't now," Ms. Brown said. "I shouldn't be on any list."

A Montreal-area health centre was listed as having 2,000 TFWs when it had only 15, according to a spokeswoman. "The numbers on this list don't correspond at all," said Raymonde Crête, communications officer at the Dorval-Lachine-LaSalle health and social service centre.

The figures were compiled using information submitted by the employers when they applied for temporary work permits. In one case the error was the government's fault, the Department of Employment and Social Development said. The data were used to support the government's case for limiting foreign workers to 10 per cent of a company's work force in low-paying and low-skilled jobs, among other changes.

Dan Kelly, president of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, said the government has been making decisions on some "really poor pieces of evidence."

"Some of the numbers seem laughable on the surface, and yet sadly, this kind of crappy information has been guiding government policy," Mr. Kelly said.

Mr. Kelly said he is aware of some employers who rely heavily on foreign workers, but said they're typically small businesses in rural or remote communities.

Restaurants Canada president Garth Whyte said he had concerns about the data when the government released its figures in June but the names of the employers weren't known until now. He said the government should have checked the information before using it. "The math doesn't add up," he said.

Mr. Kenney's office said he was not available for an interview Friday. A department spokeswoman responded to The Globe's questions about the data in an e-mail by saying that the government's changes are intended to restore the TFW program to its original purpose, as a short-term last resort for employers. She did not say whether they intend to review the data.

There have been other data problems in the federal government. Statistics Canada issued a major correction to its July jobs numbers after human error led the agency to vastly under-report growth in hiring. And in March, The Globe revealed that Finance Canada was using job postings from Kijiji, a popular online classified site, in its job-vacancy calculations. As a result, Finance Canada's numbers differed from Statistics Canada's.

Restaurants Canada and the CFIB are concerned that TFW program changes will harm businesses in regions with labour shortages.

Consulting firm Accenture Canada was on the government's list of employers who rely heavily on TFWs. According to the government document, the firm employed 1,775 foreign workers in 2013, more than 30 per cent of its staff. A spokeswoman said the firm has about 3,800 employees in Canada and less than 10 per cent are foreign workers.

Consulting and tax firm PwC was included on the list of companies with more than 50 per cent of their work force as TFWs. But the true figure is less than 1 per cent, according to PwC. The government conceded it made an error with PwC's data.

Information listed for Sharico Holdings, a firm that distributes snowmobile parts in British Columbia, is also incorrect, according to the company. The government said the company employed 750 TFWs in 2013. "That's totally wrong," company owner Sheri Batt said. "We only had one."

The Semple Gooder roofing company in Toronto is listed as having 206 TFWs employed, which came as a shock to comptroller Marla Hammond.

"We don't even have 200 employees," she said.

With a report from Carrie Tait

Follow Joe Friesen on Twitter: @FriesenJoe

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Amber Marshall Gets Big Makeover for Season 8 Opener of "Heartland" - E Canada Now

Actress Amber Marshall, age 26, has enjoyed a wonderful seven seasons on the set of the CBC family program Heartland. In part, this is due to the fact that her character closely mirrors her real life persona. On the set of Heartland, she is Amy Fleming, a natural born horse whisperer. In real life, she has worked as a veterinary assistant and lives on a ranch on the outskirts of Calgary where she tends to her horses and other four-legged pets. In fact, she admits that when she married Shawn Turner last year, she didn't even bother getting her nails done. In her down to earth way of saying things, she says she didn't even get the dirt cleaned from under her fingernails.

However, the times are changing and for the opener of season 8, her character is seen in Paris participating in the World Equestrian Games with the support of Prince Ahmed. For the role, she had her nails nicely done, makeup applied in an upscale high-fashion manner, and wears an eye popping easy flowing dress reminiscent of Mae West. The look has taken many of her fans by surprise. Marshall wryly admitted that in response to seeing her nails done in a dainty manner some fans have questioned her state of mind.

For the series, her character finds that ascending to the heights of upper-class Paris has made her rapid descent back to the Alberta Rockies quite painful. Her character hasn't yet realized that the months she spent in Southern Europe put her on a path of progression that is different from the ones her friends and family are on. They've changed while she was gone. At the same time, Amy has not yet come to terms with the fact that she is no longer the same girl that went to France.

Reference material:

http://www.canada.com/entertainment/Heartland+star+Amber+Marshall+gets+makeover+Season/10239230/story.html

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Police officer shot in Ferguson, Mo.; 2 suspects sought - Los Angeles Times

A Ferguson, Mo., police officer was shot in the arm Saturday night while responding to a burglary report at a town community center, police said.

An officer confronted two males leaving the Ferguson Community Center about 9 p.m., said St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar. The officer had been responding to a burglary, said Ferguson Police Chief Tom Jackson. The officer chased the men and as he approached them, shots were fired at the officer, who raised his arm and was hit in the left arm, Belmar said.

The officer, whose identity was not released, "was able to get off a couple of shots," Belmar said, adding he has "no indication that either suspect was shot."

The officer's condition was not released, but Belmar said he suffered a non-life-threatening wound. Police from several St. Louis area departments were searching for the suspects in the early morning hours of Sunday.

The shooting came after another tense week in Ferguson, which has been roiled by unrest since Michael Brown, a black, unarmed 18-year-old, was fatally shot by white Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson on Aug. 9.

At one point Saturday night, Missouri Highway Patrol Capt. Ron Johnson, who oversaw police during last months' protests, appeared near the shooting scene and confirmed to the gathering crowd that "an officer has been shot." He told the crowd to disperse. By midnight Central Time the crowd had dwindled. The community center is about three miles north of the Canfield Green apartments where Brown was shot. 

Anthony Gray, a Brown family attorney, said the Saturday night shooting was unrelated to the Brown case. Belmar also said the officer's shooting was unrelated to protests surrounding the Brown case.

A grand jury is examining evidence in Brown's shooting and will determine whether Wilson will face any charges. Some in the community, including Brown's parents, have called on Ferguson's police chief to step down. In a video earlier this week, Jackson said to Brown's family that he was "deeply sorry for their loss."

Brown's parents said they were unmoved by Jackson's apology in an interview with the Associated Press.

Lesley McSpadden, Brown's mother, said, "yes," when asked if Chief Tom Jackson should be fired, and his father, Michael Brown Sr., said rather than an apology, they want to see the officer who shot their son arrested for his Aug. 9 death.

"An apology would be when Darren Wilson has handcuffs, processed and charged with murder," Brown Sr. told the Associated Press.

President Obama, who spoke at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation's award dinner Saturday night, addressed the Brown shooting, saying that Brown's death and the unrest that followed exposed a "gulf of mistrust" between residents and police in many communities.

"Too many young men of color feel targeted by law enforcement — guilty of walking while black or driving while black, judged by stereotypes that fuel fear and resentment and hopelessness," he said, according to the Associated Press.

Federal officials intervened on Friday to stop police in Ferguson from wearing "I am Darren Wilson" bracelets in solidarity with their co-worker. Jackson agreed to bar his officers from wearing the bracelet while in uniform.

On Tuesday outraged protesters clashed with police after a memorial at the scene of the Brown shooting was burned and photographs surfaced showing police watching in the background.

The Justice Department's civil rights division announced this month that it had expanded its investigation of the Brown shooting to include the entire Ferguson police department. In the days after the shooting, heavily armed police clashed with demonstrators, and threw used tear gas and smoke canisters at the crowds in scenes that drew both national and worldwide attention.

Copyright © 2014, Los Angeles Times

8:53 p.m.: This story has been updated with location of police staging area.

9:28 p.m.: This story has been updated with comments from Ferguson Police Chief Tom Jackson

11:12 p.m.: This story has been updated throughout

11:53 p.m.: This story was updated with information from St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar

Sept. 28, 12:38 a.m.: This story was updated with details on the officer's injury and shooting scene 

This story was first published on Sept. 27

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UPDATE 2-At least 31 people feared dead after Japan volcano erupts - Reuters

Sun Sep 28, 2014 4:35am EDT

* 31 presumed dead, 42 injured in surprise eruption

* Peak was crowded with hikers, including children

* First fatalities in Japanese volcanic eruption since 1991 (Updates number of people presumed dead, adds details))

By Elaine Lies

TOKYO, Sept 28 (Reuters) - Thirty-one people were presumed dead on Sunday near the peak of a Japanese volcano that erupted unexpectedly a day earlier while it was packed with hikers out to admire autumn foliage, sending a huge cloud of ash and rock tumbling down its slopes.

Police said the 31 people were found in "cardiopulmonary" arrest but declined to confirm their deaths pending a formal examination, as per Japanese custom. An official in the area said rescue efforts had been called off due to rising levels of toxic gas near the peak, as well as approaching nightfall.

Hundreds of people, including children, were stranded on the mountain, a popular hiking site, after it erupted without warning on Saturday, sending ash pouring down the slope for more than 3 km (2 miles.)

Most made their way down later on Saturday but about 40 spent the night near the 3,067 metre (10,062 feet) peak. Some wrapped themselves in blankets and huddled in the basement of buildings.

"The roof on the mountain lodge was destroyed by falling rock, so we had to take refuge below the building," one told NHK national television. "That's how bad it was."

More than 40 people were injured, several with broken bones.

Earlier, the Fire and Disaster Management Agency had said authorities were trying to confirm the whereabouts of 45 people.

It was not clear whether those 45 included the 31 people found in cardiopulmonary arrest.

The volcano was still erupting on Sunday, pouring smoke and ash hundreds of metres into the sky. Ash was found on cars as far as 80 km (50 miles) away.

Volcanoes erupt periodically in Japan, one of the world's most seismically active nations, but there have been no fatalities since 1991, when 43 people died in a pyroclastic flow, a superheated current of gas and rock, at Mount Unzen in southwestern Japan.

Ontake, Japan's second-highest volcano 200 km (125 miles) west of Tokyo, last erupted seven years ago. Its last major eruption was in 1979.

Satoshi Saito, a 52-year-old hiker who climbed Ontake on Saturday and descended less than an hour before the eruption, said the weather was good and the mountain, known for its fall foliage, was crowded with people carrying cameras.

"There were no earthquakes or strange smells on the mountain when I was there," Saito, who usually climbs Ontake several times a year, told Reuters. He also said there were no warnings of possible eruptions posted on the trail.

"But a man who runs a hotel near the mountain told me that the number of small earthquakes had risen these past two months, and everyone thought it was weird," Saito said.

ENVELOPING BLACKNESS

Video footage on the internet showed huge grey clouds boiling towards climbers at the peak and people scrambling to descend as blackness enveloped them.

NHK footage showed windows in a mountain lodge darkening and people screaming as heavy objects pelted the roof.

"All of a sudden ash piled up so quickly that we couldn't even open the door," Shuichi Mukai, who worked in a mountain lodge just below the peak, told Reuters. The building quickly filled with hikers taking refuge.

"We were really packed in, maybe 150 people. There were some children crying, but most people were calm. We waited there in hard hats until they told us it was safe to come down."

Flights at Tokyo's Haneda airport suffered delays on Saturday as planes changed routes to avoid the volcano, which straddles Nagano and Gifu prefectures, but were mostly back to normal by Sunday, an airport spokeswoman said.

Japan lies on the "Ring of Fire," a horseshoe-shaped band of fault lines and volcanoes circling the edges of the Pacific Ocean, and is home to 110 active volcanoes.

One of these, Sakurajima at the southern end of the western island of Kyushu, is 50 km (31 miles) from Kyushu Electric Power's Sendai nuclear plant, which was approved to restart by Japan's nuclear regulator earlier in September.

The Nuclear Regulation Authority has said the chance of volcanic activity during the Sendai plant's lifespan was negligible even though five giant calderas, crater-like depressions formed by past eruptions, are also nearby.

Kyushu Electric has said it would install new monitoring equipment around nearby calderas and develop plans to remove highly radioactive fuel to a safer site if the threat of an eruption is detected.

There are no nuclear plants near Ontake.

An official at the volcano division of the Japan Meteorological Agency said that, while there had been a rising number of small earthquakes detected at Ontake since Sept. 10, the eruption could not have been predicted easily.

"There were no other signs of an imminent eruption, such as earth movements or changes on the mountain's surface," the official told Reuters. "With only the earthquakes, we couldn't really say this would lead to an eruption." (Reporting by Elaine Lies and Stanley White; Editing by Nick Macfie and Paul Tait)

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Paul Calandra apologizes for non-answers as sources pin blame on PMO - CBC.ca

Conservative MP Paul Calandra choked back tears while apologizing Friday for responding to NDP Leader Tom Mulcair's questions on Canada's mission in Iraq this week with an attack on the NDP position on Israel.

But CBC News has learned that Calandra was put up to the responses by a senior staffer in the Prime Minister's Office. Several Conservative MPs also told CBC they were furious as they listened to Calandra's answers in the House.

A teary Calandra rose after question period Friday to "unconditionally, unreservedly apologize to the House" for his glib non-answers earlier this week.

"Clearly, I allowed the passion and anger at something I read to get in the way of appropriately answering the question to leader of the Opposition," Calandra told the mostly empty Commons chamber.

"For that, I apologize to you and to this entire House, and to my constituents," he said.

Parliamentary secretary Paul Calandra was visibly teary as he rose to apologize for his comments to NDP Leader Tom Mulcair earlier this week. (Adrian Wyld/Canadian Press)

He also went out of his way to exonerate the so-called "kids in short pants" — the catch-all derogatory term opposition members use to refer to senior political staff, particularly within the Prime Minister's Office — for his actions.

"I take full responsibility, and I apologize to the leader of the Opposition, and to all of my colleagues."

But sources tell CBC News that Calandra was handed material by Alykhan Velshi, director of issues management in the PMO, during the Conservatives' daily preparation for question period and was told to use it in his answer no matter what question was asked in the House.

Many Conservative MPs were upset when they heard Calandra give his answers in the House. At least one wrote an angry email to the PMO saying it was wrong and had to stop.

In an exclusive interview with CBC Radio's The House airing Saturday, a penitent Calandra again took the blame and repeated his assertion that the answers were his. Asked by host Evan Solomon about Velshi's role in the answers, Calandra denied that version of events and said he wasn't given anything to say.

In his apology Friday, Calandra, who serves as Prime Minister Stephen Harper's parliamentary secretary, did not promise that it won't happen again.

"I'm fairly certain there will be other opportunities in this House where I will be answering questions that you don't appreciate," he said. "I don't think this will be the last time that I get up and answer a question that doesn't effectively respond."

But in The House interview, Calandra told Solomon he didn't mean his words to come out that way, and he would clarify his remarks in the Commons.

Calandra's non-sequitur replies sparked sharp criticism from across the media and political spectrum. His conduct was roundly rebuked by CBC's At Issue panel on Thursday night.‎

On Friday, the Globe and Mail published an editorial lamenting the lack of respect for Parliament both Calandra's comments, and the approving response from his Conservative colleagues, had revealed.

"To call Mr. Calandra a clown is to do a disservice to the ancient profession of painted-face buffoonery," the Globe editorial writer wrote.

Meanwhile, Calandra's unapologetic appearance on CBC News Network's Power & Politics on the day he made his initial remarks became an international viral sensation due to the remarkable response it elicited from NDP MP Paul Dewar, whose "face palm" was quickly immortalized in clip and animated gif format.

Shortly after Calandra expressed his regrets in the House, Dewar made a point of acknowledging the apology before returning to regular parliamentary business.

Outside the House, Mulcair told CBC News he accepted Calandra's apology, and noted his party intends to put forward an opposition day motion on Monday that would change House rules to explicitly authorize the Speaker to crack down on irrelevant or repetitive answers.

"I hope that Mr. Calandra and all his colleagues will be voting for the NDP motion to allow the Speaker to do that," he said.

If passed, that motion would take effect immediately.

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Flaws appear in research on temporary foreign worker program - The Globe and Mail

Two business groups say they're alarmed government research used to justify sweeping changes to the temporary foreign worker (TFW) program appears to contain several flaws as more companies find inaccuracies.

More than a dozen employers surveyed by The Globe said they do not employ anywhere near the number of temporary foreign workers attributed to them in a government report released to The Globe and Mail through access to information laws. The report, which found that more than 2,500 companies have a work force made up of at least one-third TFWs, has been cited by the government and Employment Minister Jason Kenney as an example of how the program has morphed beyond its original mandate. It may be the latest example of poor data informing important policy changes.

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(What is the temporary foreign worker program? Read The Globe's easy explanation)

In one case, a Burger King in Truro, N.S., is listed as having a large number of temporary foreign workers. But it has never actually employed any, owner Paula Brown said.

"I do not have any foreign workers. Never did. Don't now," Ms. Brown said. "I shouldn't be on any list."

A Montreal-area health centre was listed as having 2,000 TFWs when it had only 15, according to a spokeswoman. "The numbers on this list don't correspond at all," said Raymonde Crête, communications officer at the Dorval-Lachine-LaSalle health and social service centre.

The figures were compiled using information submitted by the employers when they applied for temporary work permits. In one case the error was the government's fault, the Department of Employment and Social Development said. The data were used to support the government's case for limiting foreign workers to 10 per cent of a company's work force in low-paying and low-skilled jobs, among other changes.

Dan Kelly, president of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, said the government has been making decisions on some "really poor pieces of evidence."

"Some of the numbers seem laughable on the surface, and yet sadly, this kind of crappy information has been guiding government policy," Mr. Kelly said.

Mr. Kelly said he is aware of some employers who rely heavily on foreign workers, but said they're typically small businesses in rural or remote communities.

Restaurants Canada president Garth Whyte said he had concerns about the data when the government released its figures in June but the names of the employers weren't known until now. He said the government should have checked the information before using it. "The math doesn't add up," he said.

Mr. Kenney's office said he was not available for an interview Friday. A department spokeswoman responded to The Globe's questions about the data in an e-mail by saying that the government's changes are intended to restore the TFW program to its original purpose, as a short-term last resort for employers. She did not say whether they intend to review the data.

There have been other data problems in the federal government. Statistics Canada issued a major correction to its July jobs numbers after human error led the agency to vastly under-report growth in hiring. And in March, The Globe revealed that Finance Canada was using job postings from Kijiji, a popular online classified site, in its job-vacancy calculations. As a result, Finance Canada's numbers differed from Statistics Canada's.

Restaurants Canada and the CFIB are concerned that TFW program changes will harm businesses in regions with labour shortages.

Consulting firm Accenture Canada was on the government's list of employers who rely heavily on TFWs. According to the government document, the firm employed 1,775 foreign workers in 2013, more than 30 per cent of its staff. A spokeswoman said the firm has about 3,800 employees in Canada and less than 10 per cent are foreign workers.

Consulting and tax firm PwC was included on the list of companies with more than 50 per cent of their work force as TFWs. But the true figure is less than 1 per cent, according to PwC. The government conceded it made an error with PwC's data.

Information listed for Sharico Holdings, a firm that distributes snowmobile parts in British Columbia, is also incorrect, according to the company. The government said the company employed 750 TFWs in 2013. "That's totally wrong," company owner Sheri Batt said. "We only had one."

The Semple Gooder roofing company in Toronto is listed as having 206 TFWs employed, which came as a shock to comptroller Marla Hammond.

"We don't even have 200 employees," she said.

With a report from Carrie Tait

Follow Joe Friesen on Twitter: @FriesenJoe

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Rob Ford to attend Ford Fest on Saturday: Doug Ford campaign - Toronto Star

Saturday's Ford Fest will welcome a special guest with Mayor Rob Ford scheduled to make his first public appearance since being diagnosed with a malignant tumour in his abdomen and dropping out of the mayoral race.

A release issued by Doug Ford's campaign invited Torontonians to join the incumbent mayor, his councillor-turned-candidate brother and their family at the annual barbecue at 2200 Islington Ave. W. in Etobicoke Saturday night.

Mayor Ford was released from Mount Sinai hospital Tuesday, a week after he was diagnosed with a malignant liposarcoma. He received three days of chemotherapy before starting an 18-day "washout period." Renowned colorectal surgeon Dr. Zane Cohen said last week he did not yet know whether Ford's cancer would require radiation or surgery.

The illness caused Ford to drop out of the current mayoral race. He is now running for councillor in Ward 2. His brother Doug is now running in his place.

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Police: Fired worker beheaded Oklahoma woman - TVNZ

Published: 7:10PM Saturday September 27, 2014 Source: AP

• 

  Alton Nolen - Source: AP

A man fired from a food processing plant beheaded a woman with a knife and was attacking another worker when he was shot and wounded by a company official, police say.

Moore Police Sgt. Jeremy Lewis said police are waiting until Alton Nolen, 30, is conscious to arrest him and have asked the FBI to help investigate after co-workers at Vaughan Foods in the south Oklahoma City suburb told authorities that he recently started trying to convert several employees to Islam.

During Thursday's attack, Nolen severed the head of Colleen Hufford, 54, Lewis said.

"Yes, she was beheaded," Lewis told The Associated Press before a Friday news conference.

Lewis said Nolen then stabbed Traci Johnson, 43, a number of times before Mark Vaughan, a reserve sheriff's deputy and the company's chief operating officer, shot him.

"This was not going to stop if he didn't stop it. It could have gotten a lot worse," Lewis said. "The threat had already stopped once we arrived."

Lewis said Moore police have asked the FBI to look into the man's background because of the nature of the attack, which follows a series of videotaped beheadings by Islamic State militants.

In a statement, FBI Special Agent in Charge James E. Finch said the motive for the attack has not been determined but that there is no reason to believe there is a threat to anyone else.

A law enforcement official familiar with the investigation told the AP that while there was indication that Nolen was a Muslim convert and was trying to convert others to Islam, there is so far no connection to terrorism and no evidence of any worrisome travel.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing, said Nolen had a Facebook page that was of potential interest to investigators but that "there doesn't appear to be any nexus to terrorism right now." But the official also said investigators were still looking into Nolen's background.

Johnson and the suspect were hospitalized and in stable condition Friday, Lewis said. Nolen had not yet been charged and Lewis said he didn't know what charges the suspect would face.

Oklahoma Department of Corrections records say Nolen has served time in prison and is on probation for assault and battery on a police officer. He also was convicted of cocaine possession with intent to distribute in 2011.

Corrections records show Nolen has what appear to be religious tattoos, including one referencing Jesus and one in Arabic that means "peace be with you."

Lewis said Nolen had been fired in a building that houses the company's human resources office, then immediately drove to the entrance of the business. Lewis said he didn't know why the man was fired.

A Vaughan spokeswoman said the company was "shocked and deeply saddened" by the attack.

Copyright © 2014, Television New Zealand Limited. Breaking and Daily News, Sport & Weather | TV ONE, TV2 | Ondemand

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Why the Topsail stabbing has shaken parents to the core - CBC.ca

Driving along Route 60 into the community of Topsail at 6:30 a.m. on Friday, with daylight slowly bringing the landscape into focus, it was hard not to notice the lights at the soccer field shining brightly onto the green artificial turf below.

It was the first hint of something out of the ordinary.

The next tell-tale sign of trouble was the RNC patrol vehicle, parked on one corner of this impressive complex, the officer inside keeping a watchful eye on things.

But it was the scene on the field that sent chills up my spine. 

Dozens of soccer balls were scattered over the playing surface. Training cones remained in orderly positions, ready for players to be put through their paces. 

Nicholas Layman, 19, has been charged with attempted murder following a stabbing at a soccer pitch in Topsail. (Vik Adhopia/CBC)

An uninformed passerby might wonder why the field had been left in such a state at this early hour.

The silence and peacefulness on this morning, however, was in stark contrast to the chaos and confusion that broke out just before 8 o'clock on Thursday night. 

Young, fresh-faced athletes were honing their skills during a soccer camp when someone from the stands bolted onto the playing field and stabbed an 11-year-old boy in the neck, 

Dozens of players and coaches were on the field, and family members were watching from the sidelines.

The usual sounds of a coach giving instructions, boots connecting with a ball and laughter were replaced with sobs and shouts for help.

Immediately, shockwaves spread far and wide as news of the chilling attack was transmitted via social media and news organizations, As the victim was being tended to by stunned parents and, later, seasoned emergency responders, a frantic manhunt was initiated. The search climaxed a few hours later when police arrested a 19-year-old male suspect.

The questions began almost immediately. Why would someone publicly stab a young boy? Would the victim survive? What justice is merited for such a horrendous crime?

The entire country has been gripped by this tragedy, and the local soccer community is especially jolted. 

The field in Topsail is a modern facility, situated on the Conception Bay shoreline. The atmosphere is picturesque and placid, the perfect place for young people to congregate and enjoy a sport that is played around the world.

This act, however, will forever taint the community and scar those who had the misfortune of witnessing it or, worse yet, were directly involved.

Elite soccer levels have long been associated with hooliganism, with overzealous fans often becoming unruly, violent and destructive.

But what happened at the field in Topsail went beyond all comprehension.

I have covered many crime- and disaster-related stories over the past two decades. But this is not just a crime story; I felt a connection that runs much deeper, and is much more personal. 

As a parent of two young boys, who have both played soccer, my thoughts immediately went to the family of this young victim, and how they must be coping with such a traumatic and senseless act.

It won't be an easy road, but it's a certainty that the wider community will do all it can, proving once again that the indomitable spirit so prevalent in this province cannot be easily broken.

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Hong Kong Police Clash With Pro-Democracy Student Protesters - Wall Street Journal

HONG KONG—Student demonstrators clashed with police overnight after they scaled fences at the government's headquarters, following a week of pro-democracy protests.

At around 10:30 p.m. on Friday, about 150 protesters climbed over a fence at a site called Civic Square in an effort to get inside a plaza at government headquarters. Police arrested and carried away dozens of students and used pepper spray.

As thousands of...

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Boy stabbed at Topsail soccer field in serious condition, suspect in custody - CBC.ca

Police in St. John's say they now have a suspect in custody in connection with the stabbing of a boy, believed to be 11, at a soccer field in Topsail on Thursday evening.

An eyewitness told CBC News that roughly 100 kids were on the soccer field in the Conception Bay South-area field at the time of the incident as part of a soccer camp, when an older boy, about 18, ran from the bleachers and stabbed the young boy in the neck.

The Royal Newfoundland Constabulary said the boy is in serious condition.

RNC Chief Bill Janes says officers responded to a call of a stabbing around 7:50 p.m. NT at the soccer field in Topsail. Shortly before 10 p.m., police has a suspect in custody. (CBC)

An eyewitness said people, including many parents who were watching from the stands, were in shock and started screaming and yelling. Although some people tried to stop the attacker, he got away.

One witness said the young boy was holding his injured neck. The witness said he applied pressure to the boy's wound while waiting for emergency responders to arrive.

The coaches got the children off the field and into the dressing rooms in lockdown mode while they waited for police to arrive.

Witnesses reported seeing the suspect flee the scene in a vehicle.

Incoming premier Paul Davis, who gets sworn into office on Friday, visited with families who were in attendance after the incident, which he called "devastating."

"This is my own community and my own neighbourhood and I know many of the families and children that were here tonight when this happened," he said.

"Right now our thoughts are with this young boy and with his family as well. And we're all hoping, and all our focus is ensuring, that he recovers," Davis added.

RNC Chief Bill Janes confirmed later Thursday night that police have a suspect in custody, and officers had seized a vehicle from the area of the incident.

Police said they will not be releasing any information about the suspect or how he was apprehended, and cannot say if the suspect and victim were known to each other.

Janes said a stress management co-ordinator has been called in to help victims and witnesses deal with the situation.

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David Chen ditches Olivia Chow, John Tory abandons debates and Doug Ford ... - National Post

Another day of campaigning, another series of efforts by mayoral candidates to steal the spotlight. The National Post's Richard Warnica and Natalie Alcoba provide the details.

Chen ditches Chow

For years as an MP, Olivia Chow championed the cause of David Chen, the Lucky Moose shopkeeper arrested in 2009 for detaining a shoplifter. In Ottawa, she pushed for legislation — named for Lucky Moose — to loosen citizen's arrest laws. At his trial in 2010, she even acted as his interpreter when he spoke to the press. So perhaps it should have come as no surprise Thursday when Mr. Chen decided to wade into the municipal race. At a press conference not far from his store, he spoke about the problems facing Chinatown. He mentioned parking, taxes and more. Toronto, he said, needs "a good mayor to run the city, to make the city more nice." Unfortunately, from Ms. Chow's perspective, he doesn't want that mayor to be her.

In a press release sent out by a rival campaign, Mr. Chen offered an unqualified endorsement. "John Tory is the person our city needs," he said. "I am supporting John Tory to be the next Mayor of Toronto." Ms. Chow's campaign manager says she isn't bitter. "It's an election and people make choices," said Jamey Heath in an email. "Olivia respects Mr. Chen's. He was a constituent who needed help, she was happy to do so and would do it again."

Doug dreams of subways

Doug Ford has a plan to build subways in Toronto. You might recognize it. His brother had the same one. The Ford scheme imagines new subway lines to the east, west and north in the city, all of them paid for without an increase in municipal taxes. How would Mr. Ford accomplish this, you might ask? Simple, he would reply, with nine possible "revenue tools," including money from the federal and provincial governments and public-private partnerships. At a press conference Thursday, Mr. Ford elaborated on another such tool: dividends from Build Toronto, the city agency in charge of selling municipal real estate. "There's $540-million in real estate that are on our books right now," Mr. Ford said. "That $540-million — the vast majority of it — I want to [use to] build subways." There is a catch. As many critics have pointed out, most of that money — $415-million — has already been earmarked for other projects as part of the city's capital financing plan. What's more, Build Toronto didn't provide the city any dividends at all last year. In fact, the agency lost money, more than $2-million. But that does not deter Mr. Ford. "Well I'll tell ya," he said. "You have to realize, the market, it's up and down."

Tory tired of all the talking

On Wednesday, John Tory announced that he might not participate in future debates if they don't include Doug Ford. On Thursday, Olivia Chow responded by accusing him of being too scared to debate her. "You expect that kind of behaviour from Doug Ford. What is surprising is that Mr. Tory is taking a page from Mr. Ford's playbook. I'm starting to see a pattern here," Ms. Chow said at a press conference outside city hall. "For four years we have a mayor that would say anything and stretch the truth and now Mr. Tory will say anything to get elected. Enough already," she said. "Mr. Tory, stop hiding. Stop picking and choosing who you will speak to and attend all the debates and don't be afraid of debating me." Later Thursday, Mr. Tory responded. "Well, I debated her last night. I'm debating her tonight. I'm debating her tomorrow," he said. "I'm standing here answering your questions right now." The Tory camp said Doug Ford's decision to pick and choose among the coming debates gives him "an immense advantage." With the election now five weeks away they want to maintain some flexibility to plan their events. The Tory campaign added that he plans to attend three more debates this week, including one on Friday that will feature Doug Ford. Ms. Chow plans to continue attending all debates, even if she is the only one on the stage.

National Post

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Wynne not worried about Cliffs pulling out of Ring - The Sudbury Star

Premier Kathleen Wynne isn't wasting time worrying about Cleveland-based Cliffs Natural Resources looking to possibly sell key assets in the Ring of Fire.

Cliffs will make its own business decisions and the Government of Ontario doesn't have any control over that, said Wynne.

"There are many companies that are interested in the development of the Ring of Fire and we are going to be working with all of those companies that are interested," Wynne told reporters after a cabinet meeting Thursday at the Willet Green Miller Centre at Laurentian University.

At one time, Cliff had plans to open a chromite mine in the Ring of Fire, and ship the ore to a plant in Capreol for processing. That would have created as many as 600 jobs in the Sudbury area.

The premier and most members of her inner circle met at the session, at which ministers received mandate letters outlining the priorities for their ministries.

High on the priority list for Northern Development and Mines Minister Michael Gravelle was developing the Ring of Fire, rich chromite deposits located 500 kilometres northeast of Thunder Bay.

Gravelle was instructed to continue to collaborate directly with other ministers, First Nations and key stakeholders to develop the mineral-rich area. That includes establishing the Ring of Fire development corporation that was promised to be set up within 60 days of the Liberal government's throne speech delivered in July.

The "devco" was established just under that 60-day deadline, comprised of an initial board of civil servants.

Wynne said that board will work with partners to build Ring of Fire infrastructure because her government has committed a billion dollars, "regardless of whether the federal government steps up or not."

The board will "flesh out" the role of the development corporation and bring in representatives from First Nations and the business community.

Some Matawa Council chiefs expressed displeasure after the announcement about the development corporation was made earlier this month that they weren't included on the initial board.

But Wynne said her government has worked hard with Matawa First Nations, the nine first nations located closest to the Ring of Fire, to ensure there's a framework agreement in place to move forward for further discussions.

"I have a lot of faith that that relationship building and that framework agreement is going to allow us to get past these moments where, maybe there's some discomfort.

"There will be those moments," said Wynne. "There's no doubt about that. But fundamentally we're committed to working in partnership with the First Nations. The framework agreement is an absolute testament to that."

Wynne told reporters there weren't any surprises in the mandate letters distributed to ministers at the Sudbury meeting, but they were historic because they are being made public for the first time in Ontario.

"From my perspective, that is absolutely consistent with our commitment to be an open and transparent government," said Wynne.

The Ontario Liberals are committed to leading Canada's most open and transparent government, and their economic plan to build Ontario up is comprehensive and collaborative, she said.

The letters encourage crossover between ministries and ask ministers to collaborate on solutions that cut across ministerial boundaries.

The letters are high-level outlines of priorities that will be followed by work plans for how to achieve those goals.

Wynne presented the letters to ministers at a photo opportunity in a boardroom at the Willet Green Miller Centre where she told ministers: "These are your missions, should you choose to accept them. And you've already accepted them."

Ontario New Democrats' Treasury Board and Finance critic Catherine Fife said in a news release the mandate letters were more about a "Liberal public relations exercise than giving Ontarians any answers about their plan to cut public services and what public assets are on the chopping block. These mandate letters are heavy on spin and light on substance."

New Democrats will go through the letters with "a fine-tooth comb," said Fife. But if Liberals want to be open and transparent, they should start with basics such as their budget with 6% cuts to most ministries and plans to sell $3.15 billion in full or partial assets.

To read the ministers' mandate letters, go to http://www.ontario.ca/government/mandate-letters.

carol.mulligan@sunmedia.ca.

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Iraq reveals Isil 'terror plot' to attack America and France - Telegraph.co.uk

"I want to assure the people of New York that we are monitoring these reports closely and are in close communication with officials in Washington," Mr Cuomo said.

France, which has conducted air strikes in Iraq, said it would increase security on transport and in public places after a French tourist was beheaded in Algeria.

Mr Abadi said he was "not sure" if the planned attacks were imminent. Asked if the attacks had been thwarted, he said: "No, it has not been disrupted yet. This is a network.

"They plan to have attacks in the metros of Paris and the US. I asked for more credible information. I asked for names. I asked for details, for cities, you know, dates. And from the details I have received, yes, it looks credible."

The New York City police department said it was aware of the Mr Abadi's warning and in close contact with the FBI and other agencies to assess the threat.

US national security officials said that they were investigating the reports but had no evidence yet to confirm the plots.

"We've seen the reports of Prime Minister Abadi's comments," said Caitlin Hayden, spokesperson for the National Security Council.

"We have not confirmed such a plot, and would have to review any information from our Iraqi partners before making further determinations."

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Ghani vows to bring peace to Afghanistan - The Nation

KABUL - Afghan President-elect Ashraf Ghani congratulated the country Monday on what he called its first democratic transfer of power, but the former rival with whom he signed a power-sharing deal was absent from the celebrations.
Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah struck an agreement Sunday to form a "unity government", after months of disputes over who was the rightful winner of the fraud-tainted June 14 presidential election. The bitter stand-off tipped Afghanistan into a political crisis, weakened the aid-dependent economy and emboldened Taliban insurgents who have launched several major offensives in recent months.
The two men must now govern Afghanistan as international funding declines and US-led combat troops pull out by the end of this year after fighting the Taliban since 2001. "It is a big victory for the Afghan nation that for the first time in our bright history, power is transferred from one elected president to another president based on the people's votes," Ghani told cheering supporters in Kabul.
In the "national unity government", Ghani will become president and Abdullah will serve as chief executive - a new role similar to prime minister.
The chief executive could become the official prime minister in two years' time - a major change to the strongly presidential style of government laid out in the constitution. Coalition relations could prove tricky after the two campaigns traded allegations of ballot-box stuffing in the race to succeed President Hamid Karzai, who will hand over power at an inauguration ceremony next week.
"Foreigners said it was not possible for Afghans to peacefully transfer power," Ghani told a crowd of noisy supporters in a nationally televised speech. "Now you see it has happened after the people of Afghanistan waited very patiently for six months for the results," he said, referring to the first-round vote in April.
"You voted for us so we could bring peace and stability. Stability in Afghanistan is more important to us than anything. "The goal of the national unity government is peace. We are tired of blood."
The Taliban on Monday described the power-sharing deal as a US plot to control Afghanistan. "Installing Ashraf Ghani and making a new administration is not acceptable to Afghans," the insurgent group said in a statement. "Just as the election was shameful and fake, so was the result, and Afghans have always rejected puppet governments throughout history." The United States has welcomed a power-sharing and said it hopes a crucial security agreement will be signed within a week.
US Secretary of State John Kerry congratulated Afghanistan for what he called a "moment of extraordinary statesmanship" in which personal interests had been put aside for the sake of the country.
Abdullah and his supporters did not attend Ghani's speech, and were not immediately available for comment. Election officials on Sunday named Ghani as the winner, but declined to release the margin of victory or the turnout figure - triggering accusations of lack of transparency. With fears growing that the stand-off could revive the ethnic violence of the 1990s civil war, the outcome was widely welcomed by United Nations, United States and other countries.
Meanwhile, three Afghanistan National Army soldiers have been reported missing from a joint military training exercise taking place in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, officials said on Sunday. The officers were reported missing from US Central Command's Regional Cooperation exercise at Joint Base Cape Cod late on Saturday by base security, said Massachusetts National Guard spokesman Lieutenant Colonel James Sahady.
The three soldiers, Major Jan Mohammad Arash, Captain Mohammad Nasir Askarzada and Captain Noorullah Aminyar, were last seen at a nearby mall and were not considered a threat to the public, Sahady said. "They were sent here to participate in this exercise. There's no reason we have to believe that they are any threat," Sahady said, adding that they did not have access to weapons as part of the exercise.

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About 100 climate protesters arrested in march on Wall Street - Reuters

By Sebastien Malo

NEW YORK Tue Sep 23, 2014 8:46am IST

1 of 6. New York City police officers arrest a man taking part in the Flood Wall Street demonstration in Lower Manhattan, New York September 22, 2014.

Credit: Reuters/Adrees Latif

NEW YORK (Reuters) - About 100 protesters were arrested on Monday in New York City during a demonstration that at one point blocked streets near the stock exchange to denounce what organizers say is Wall Street's contribution to climate change.

The demonstration, called Flood Wall Street, drew hundreds of protesters, and came a day after a bigger action that brought 310,000 people to the streets of New York in what activists described as the largest protest ever against climate change.

Sunday's turnout was about triple that of the previous biggest demonstration on climate change, a Copenhagen demonstration five years ago.

For several hours on Monday, protesters stopped traffic on Broadway south of the New York Stock Exchange.

Shortly after the close of trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Monday, demonstrators tried to push back metal barricades that police had used to keep them away, an effort that ended when police turned pepper spray on the crowd.

Police later broke up the gathering, ordering remaining protesters to disband. A core group of a few dozen activists staged a sit-in steps away from Wall Street, and police officers handcuffed and walked them away one-by-one.

In all, about 100 people were arrested on Monday, including three protesters taken into custody earlier in the day, a police representative said. Protest organizers gave the same estimate for the number of arrests.

The protest group behind Monday's action has roots in the Occupy Wall Street movement that started in a downtown Manhattan park in 2011 to protest against what it called unfair banking practices that serve the wealthiest 1 percent, leaving behind 99 percent of Americans.

Kai Sanburn, a 60-year-old nurse and mother of two from Los Angeles, said she had traveled to New York for Sunday's march and wanted to do more.

"The action here against Wall Street is really expressive of the feeling that corporations and capitalism no longer serve people," Sanburn said.

Flood Wall Street organizers said they hope Monday's action will draw a link between economic policies and the environment, accusing top financial institutions of "exploiting front-line communities, workers and natural resources" for financial gain.

The event is part of Climate Week, which seeks to draw attention to carbon emissions and their link to global warming, and it comes ahead of a Tuesday U.N. Climate Summit.

(Writing by Victoria Cavaliere and Scott Malone; Editing by Alex Dobuzinskis, Sandra Maler, Robert Birsel)

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Tory Leads In Two Latest Polls - 640 Toronto News

A couple of new polls in the mayoral election both paint a similar picture.

Both polls put John Tory in the lead with the Forum research poll giving him a modest 7 point lead over Doug Ford and a Nanos poll giving him a 22 point lead.

The Forum poll found Tory had 38% with Doug Ford in second at 31% Olivia Chow trails in third at 25%.

The Nanos Poll has Tory in front with 49%, Doug Ford is in second with 27% and Olivia Chow is third with 24%.

The forum poll has Tory with the same 7 point lead he had last week when Doug Ford entered the race but with lower overall numbers.

Olivia Chow has gained ground since the last Forum poll, improving by six points to 25%.

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PM welcomes S. Korean president following completion of free trade pact - The Telegram

Harper was understandably buoyant as he welcomed South Korean President Park Geun-hye to Parliament Hill, where the two leaders formally signed their bilateral free trade agreement, announced earlier this year, as well as a strategic partnership agreement.

Harper repeatedly referred to Park's state visit, which included dinner at the Governor General's residence on Sunday, as "historic."

The Harper government has said the free trade deal, finalized after a decade of on-again, off-again negotiation, would increase Canadian exports to South Korea by 32 per cent and expand the economy by $1.7 billion.

As its first major trade deal in the Asia Pacific, it is also seen by many as a major stepping stone for Canada's trade ambitions in the region.

In addition to the South Korean pact, Canada's recent investment protection agreement with China is seen as an important step towards the government's goal of boosting business ties with Asia to help the economy.

Park and Harper both expressed confidence they could build on their agreement. The prime minister went one step further when he alluded to another similarity between the two countries: big neighbours such as China and the United States.

"We are countries that share values, and share interests," Harper said. "At the same time, countries that have to work with others to be effective because we're surrounded by giant neighbours who often take all of the attention, all the airspace."

Harper said co-operation with South Korea dates back more than 60 years to Canada's participation in the Korean War.

"It really began, in a sense, as a strategic partnership in a theatre of war," he said, adding that Canadian troops helped "keep the people of South Korea free from the tyranny of communism."

Park said that in energy and other sectors, Canadian and South Korean collaboration could help the countries lead the global market.

She said Canada has expertise in exploration and extraction of shale gas and oilsands crude, while South Korea can offer its specialization in smart grid and clean energy technology.

"Both sides have these strengths and advantages," she said. "This is an ideal situation for technological co-operation."

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Brian Gallant's Liberals prepare for transition after win - CBC.ca

Liberal Leader Brian Gallant won a tight election campaign that was beset by a vote-counting fiasco that still may take more time to settle.

The unofficial results have Gallant's Liberals holding 27 seats compared to 21 ridings for David Alward's Progressive Conservatives.

New Brunswick voters also made history by electing Green Party David Coon in Fredericton South. The well-known environmentalist has become the first-ever MLA elected under the Green Party's banner in New Brunswick.

Gallant did his best to quell any questions about the legitimacy of the Liberal win when he spoke to reporters early on Tuesday morning.

The premier-designate said Elections New Brunswick believes in the fairness of the results and he will leave it up to the independent agency to explain the vote-tabulation debacle.

"Obviously there was a delay but that doesn't deny the results tonight. So we believe that Elections New Brunswick will certainly let New Brunswickers know as to why there was a delay," Gallant said.

"But we believe we clearly had a convincing plurality of the votes and we certainly have a majority of the seats. So it makes it very clear that New Brunswickers have asked for change and that's exactly what we'll try to deliver for them."

The Liberals won 42.7 per cent of the voted compared to 34.6 per cent for the Progressive Conservatives, 13 per cent for the NDP, 6.6 per cent for the Greens and 2.1 per cent for the People's Alliance.

'Valid concerns' about vote tabulators

The final results were in question for nearly two hours after Elections New Brunswick staff halted results coming from the vote tabulators, which were intended to speed up the counting of the ballots.

Progressive Conservative Leader David Alward won handily in his western riding of Carleton on Monday. (CBC)

​There were problems with how a number of memory cards, which contained votes from across the province, were being uploaded.

Michael Quinn, the province's chief electoral officer, said he understood that many people were concerned about the process.

"Those are valid concerns. We have complete faith in it," Quinn said of the results.

Jason Stephen, the president of the Progressive Conservatives, took the stage in Woodstock on Monday night and questioned what was then a narrow Liberal lead.

The Tories said the party would wait until later on Tuesday to decide whether they would accept the result or challenge it.

Tom Bateman, a political scientist at St. Thomas University, said the independent agency must account for the vote-counting problems.

"If you cannot trust that the technology has indicated exactly how New Brunswickers wanted their vote expressed, how do you say to the people of New Brunswick this is an election and these are the results you can have faith in?" Bateman said.

The Progressive Conservatives were not alone in expressing concern with the count. The People's Alliance of New Brunswick also called for ballots to be counted by hand.

This was the first time the vote-tabulation machines were used in a provincial election. Although, the machines were used in the last New Brunswick municipal election.

Brian Gallant prepares for transition

The Liberals did not waste any time on Tuesday morning to make it clear they were ready to start governing.

Brian Gallant greeted supporters and declared victory in Monday's election. (CBC)

​Even though Alward has not conceded defeat, Gallant thanked him for his time as premier before raising the topic of transition.

"I would like to thank Mr. Alward for his service and dedication to our province and our country. I look forward to meeting with him in the coming days and I hope that what happened tonight does not stand in the way of a smooth transition," Gallant said.

Gallant will also have to start looking at his roster of successful candidates as he plans to build a cabinet.

All of the Liberals who re-offered in this election won their seats on Monday. Many of the returning Liberals held cabinet positions in the former Liberal government of Shawn Graham.

Gallant emerged from Monday's election with a significant power base in northern New Brunswick. The Liberals dominated in the region and knocked off Paul Robichaud, who served as the province's deputy premier, in Shippagan-Lamèque-Miscou.

Liberal Serge Rouselle won in Tracadie-Sheila, which is the first time the Liberals have held that seat since 1994.

Rouselle is the only lawyer, aside from Gallant, in the Liberal caucus, which should put him in good position for a cabinet post.

The Liberals, however, were not as fortunate in southern New Brunswick, particularly in Fredericton and Saint John.

Gallant's party won Saint John East by eight votes and Saint John Harbour by 71 votes. The only Liberal in Fredericton is Stephen Horsman, who won his Fredericton North seat.

The Liberals also won seats in northwestern New Brunswick. Francine Landry was elected in Madawaska les Lacs-Edmundston.

Focus on David Alward's future

​If the election results stand, the senior Tory cabinet ministers who lost on Monday includes Robichaud, Energy Minister Craig Leonard, Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Claude Williams and Education Minister Marie-Claude Blais.

Other cabinet ministers that were defeated, included Agriculture, Fisheries and Aquaculture Minister Mike Olscamp, Government Services Minister Sue Stultz, Justice Minister Troy Lifford, Human Resources Minister Robert Trevors and Environment Minister Danny Soucy.

Tory supporter Aaron Bouma reacts as he watches the election results unfold at David Alward's campaign party. (Jacques Boissinot/Canadian Press)

Alward has not conceded defeat, but if that happens, an immediate focus will be put on his future as leader.

Former premiers Bernard Lord and Shawn Graham did not waste any time in announcing they would step aside as party leaders after they were defeated in 2006 and 2010.

Alward's decision on his future as the Tory leader will have a direct impact on whether the party needs to select both an interim leader and a permanent replacement.

NDP leader resigns after failing to win seat

NDP Leader Dominic Cardy seemed like he had momentum heading into the final week of the election campaign.

​When the votes came in on Monday, however, the NDP had another disappointing evening. While the NDP can point to an increase in the popular vote to 13 per cent from 10.8 per cent in 2010 as a moral victory, the party once again failed to elect any MLAs.

Cardy placed second in his riding of Fredericton West-Hanwell, finishing more than 400 votes behind Tory Brian Macdonald.

The NDP ran a moderate campaign and even recruited three former MLAs to run for the party.

NDP Leader Dominic Cardy resigned his party's leadership on Monday after he failed to win a seat in the legislature. (CBC)

Former cabinet minister Tory Bev Harrison finished second in Hampton, former Liberal Abel LeBlanc finished third in Saint John Lancaster and former Liberal cabinet minister Kelly Lamrock finished fourth in Fredericton South.

Even with the high-profile candidates on the ballot, the NDP could not make an electoral breakthrough.

Cardy did not waste any time in clarifying his future. He told his supporters on Monday night that he would resign and allow for a new leader to be picked.

"I'm taking accountability for that by announcing this evening my resignation," he said.

The election's final result will be a disappointment, but the NDP leader performed well at other points in the campaign.

Cardy was picked by many as the winner of the first televised leaders' debate. He even issued a statement outlining his demands for participating in a coalition government last week.

But the NDP limped to the finish line. Cardy had to apologize after one of his candidates was linked to a parody video that portrayed the Liberals as Nazis and he had to deal with one of his candidates who raised questions about the party's shale gas policy.

Green Party leader elected in Fredericton South

The Green Party's Coon joins B.C.'s Andrew Weaver as the only other politician to be elected to a provincial legislature as a Green Party MLA.

Green Party Leader David Coon was elected in the riding of Fredericton South. He is the province's first-ever Green MLA. (Redmond Shannon/CBC)

​Coon defeated Progressive Conservative Craig Leonard in a close race in the riding of Fredericton South.

"It's been a night to remember on many counts," Coon said.

"And certainly a historic night to remember for the people of Fredericton South, for New Brunswick and really for Canada."

Gallant recognized Coon's achievement when speaking to reporters on Tuesday morning.

"To Mr. Coon in particular, I offer a special congratulations," Gallant said.

"Although I definitely would have liked to see our candidate win, his victory is truly historic and our democracy will benefit from having his voice in the legislature."

Third parties only elected one MLA on Monday but, overall, each party increased their share of the popular vote over the results from four years ago.

In addition to the NDP, the Greens saw their vote jump up to 6.6 per cent from 4.5 per cent and the People's Alliance almost doubled its vote to 2.1 per cent from 1.2 per cent.

Several candidates from third parties finished second in their ridings.

People's Alliance Leader Kris Austin finished 26 votes behind Tory Pam Lynch.

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US attacks Islamic State in Syria with five Middle East partners - Washington Post

The United States and several Middle East partners pounded Islamic State targets in Syria Tuesday with waves of warplanes and Tomahawk cruise missiles in an aggressive and risky operation marking a new phase in the conflict.

A statement issued by the U.S. Central Command early Tuesday said that a "mix of fighter, bomber, remotely-piloted aircraft and Tomahawk" cruise missiles destroyed or damaged multiple Islamic State targets in several parts of Syria, where a civil war has been raging for more than three years.

The U.S. statement said "partner nations," including Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, "participated in or supported" the operation. The involvement of these regional allies are key for the legitimacy and logistics of the operation.

The written statement said training compounds, storage facilities, a finance center, supply trucks and armed vehicles were destroyed.

It said 47 Tomahawk cruise missiles were launched from international waters from two U.S. carriers. U.S. Air Force, Navy and Marine Corp fighters were also involved in the strikes, the statement said.

Residents of the northeastern Syrian city of Raqqah — the Islamic State's self-declared capital — reported news of large explosions and said repeated passes from military aircraft were clearly audible.

"There were 18 air strikes in Raqqa," said Abo Jilan, an activist from Raqqa who runs the group Raqqa is Being Silently Slaughtered. "Seven of them hit the main headquarters of ISIS, which was hugely damaged."

While U.S. planes have been hitting Islamic State militant targets for more than a month in Iraq, airstrikes within Syria has considerably expanded the effort.

The United States has worked assiduously to build an international coalition against the Islamic State and has placed a special emphasis on recruiting Muslim countries. Until Monday, those countries had been reluctant to join, at least publicly, fueling doubts about their willingness to attack an Arab neighbor.

By enlisting five Arab countries to participate in the Syria operation, however, the Obama administration could boast of a major diplomatic achievement. Saudi Arabia, Jordan and the UAE in particular have well-trained and well-equipped air forces, thanks largely to long-standing military partnerships with the Pentagon.

President Obama and other U.S. leaders had all but promised in recent days that they would order airstrikes against Islamic State strongholds in Syria. The jihadist movement — which the CIA estimates has up to 31,000 fighters at its disposal — controls much of eastern Syria and has used its bases there as a springboard for seizing territory in neighboring Iraq.

But in ordering the attacks, Obama also thrust the U.S. military directly into Syria's devastating civil war, something that he had steadfastly tried to avoid since the country began breaking apart in 2011.

The U.S.-led military operation in Syria came just hours before Obama was scheduled to arrive in New York to attend the annual meeting of the United Nations General Assembly and make a further pitch for other countries to join the U.S.-led coalition against the Islamic State.

Obama was on the cusp of ordering U.S. military strikes in Syria a year ago to punish President Bashar al-Assad after strong evidence emerged that the Syrian government had used chemical weapons against civilians. Obama backed away at the last minute, however, when Syria agreed to an international plan to destroy its massive chemical weapons arsenal.

This time, the Americans' target is not Assad, who has managed to cling to his seat in Damascus, but the Islamic State, a onetime al-Qaeda affiliate that has exploited the chaos in Syria to attract a huge flow of recruits, weapons and money.

The Islamic State also represents a mortal threat to Assad and has beaten back his forces on several fronts. The Obama administration has said repeatedly that it would not cooperate with Assad in any way, even though the two sides now share an enemy. As a result, it was unclear how Assad's armed forces would respond to unauthorized intrusions into Syrian airspace by U.S. warplanes.

The Syrian government has some of the most formidable air defenses in the Middle East. Obama had publicly warned Syria in advance not to interfere with any U.S. operations against the Islamic State, saying the Pentagon would respond forcefully. In the end, U.S. military planners said they expected Assad would stand down and allow them to attack Islamic State targets freely.

The Pentagon did not say which military bases it relied upon to conduct the airstrikes. It has several major air bases in the Persian Gulf, including in the UAE, Qatar and Kuwait. The U.S. Navy, whose ships launched the Tomahawk missiles into Syria, keeps its 5th Fleet headquarters in Bahrain.

Those bases have played a crucial role in the U.S. military campaign in Iraq. Since Aug. 8, U.S. warplanes and drones have conducted 190 airstrikes against Islamic State targets in Iraq, but the U.S. military has only a handful of reconnaissance aircraft in the country.

The Pentagon has sent 1,600 advisers and other troops to Iraq to help Iraqi government forces and Kurdish fighters combat the Islamic State. But air power has been the crux of the U.S. military involvement in the region.

To reach eastern Syria from the Persian Gulf, the U.S. military and its allies almost certainly would have had to rely on long-range tanker aircraft to refuel their warplanes.

The Pentagon also has a large number of aircraft stationed at Incirlik Air Base in Turkey, a NATO installation. But with the exception of unarmed U.S. surveillance drones based there, Turkish authorities have said they won't allow the U.S. military to conduct airstrikes against the Islamic State from their territory.

Earlier Monday, Obama and other senior administration officials informed congressional leaders about plans to target the Islamic State in Syria.

Obama spoke Monday evening by telephone with House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), telling them of plans to begin an expanded military campaign into Syria, according to senior congressional aides.

Vice President Biden phoned Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and her GOP counterpart, Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.), aides said. And House Armed Services Committee Chairman Howard P. "Buck" McKeon (R-Calif.) was informed by Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, according to an aide to the lawmaker.

Arab participation in the operation began to solidify in recent days.

Secretary of State John F. Kerry met with the Arab states involved last week. All had told the administration weeks ago that their air forces would participate in Syria strikes if the United States provided a viable plan and convinced them that it would follow through.

Although France has agreed to join in airstrikes in Iraq, and last week conducted a bombing raid there, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said Monday that his government did not believe it had the legal basis to join the Syria operations.

Since the Iraq strikes began during the summer, the U.S.-backed Syrian Opposition Coalition has pleaded for similar action in Syria, along with the Obama administration's agreement, approved last week by Congress, to sharply increase weapons shipments and authorize the U.S. military to provide training on the ground in the region.

In remarks Monday to reporters at the United Nations, coalition President Hadi al-Bahra reiterated his plea for "immediate" U.S. and coalition strikes in Syria. "Time is of the essence," Bahra said. "Hitting them in Iraq alone will not work if they can continue to operate, regroup, train and plan inside Syria."

Ed O'Keefe and Karen DeYoung contributed to this report from Washington, Rebecca Collard from Beirut, and Daniela Deane from Rome.

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