Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - June 24, 2012, Winnipeg, Manitoba C M Y K PAGE A5 Get ready! MTS Rogers TELUS Bell WESTMAN COMMUNICATIONS GROUP DON'T FORGET TO ADD THE CODE! 10- DIGIT DIALING IS COMING TO MANITOBA. Starting July 29, 2012, all local communications in Manitoba will need to be dialed using the area code and the telephone number. This will prepare us for adding a new area code, which will double the available phone numbers in the province. Get prepared. As of July 29, 2012, local 7- digit dialed calls will generally be interrupted by a network message before being connected. Keep in mind that transmissions made by devices like alarm systems, fax machines, and dial- up Internet modems may be affected by this message. Because of this, it's critical to adopt 10- digit dialing before July 29, 2012. Remember to add area code 204 to all local numbers stored in places like telephones, speed dial lists, databases, and alarm systems. And, make sure to update your number on stationery, advertising, and signs. As of October 20, 2012, local calls dialed without the area code will not be completed. A new area code: 431. The new area code 431 will be gradually introduced starting November 3, 2012, and will co- exist with area code 204. The new code will simply join the current one, with no impact on existing telephone numbers - a real advantage. The new area code will be assigned only when the existing inventory of 204 numbers is used up. Numbers in existing area code 204 will not change Only new telephone numbers will be assigned the new area code Local calling areas stay the same Special numbers like 9- 1- 1 will still be dialed using 3 digits - no area code required www. dial10. ca NEWS CANADA I WORLD A5 SUNDAY, JUNE 24, 2012 E LLIOT LAKE, Ont. - Emergency crews were scrutinizing mounds of debris for possible victims after part of a roof collapsed at a busy mall in the northern Ontario city of Elliot Lake Saturday. It's still unclear if anyone was seriously injured or killed after concrete and metal came crashing down at the Algo Centre Mall, but one community member said some people appeared to be unaccounted for after the roof gave way a little before 2: 30 p. m. " Some of these families are concerned that they haven't heard from their loved ones," said NDP Member of the Provincial Parliament Michael Mantha, whose constituency office was above the mall. " You see a lot of people holding hands right now. There's a lot of hugging going on. There are going to be many, many prayers that are being held tomorrow morning in many of the churches and tonight." Mantha said he knew a few people were injured, but he couldn't say how badly they had been hurt. A local state of emergency was declared soon after a portion of the mall's roof, which serves as a parking area, came thundering down through two floors. " I heard this big noise. The ground started shaking, so I ran out. My co- workers are freaking out," said Cora Richer, who was working at the Dollarama located near the site of the collapse. " The roof was caved in, wires everywhere." The collapse left a tangle of twisted metal and concrete supports and triggered a gas leak that prompted emergency officials to cut power to the centre. Richer said one of her co- workers rushed to help a man who had been hit by falling debris before the group hurried out of the mall through a back entrance. " We were freaking out," the 20- year- old said. " The rest of it could have collapsed, so we went out the back." Two kiosks selling lottery tickets and cigarettes were located in the area where the roof gave way, and they were open before the collapse, Richer said, adding the entire incident has rocked the community. " I was shaking. I was pretty shocked," she said. " A lot of my co- workers melted down and started crying." Another mall employee said he saw a few cars fall through the roof when it came down near the centre's escalators. " You can see the roof with the cars hanging inside," said Joe Drazil, who works at the mall's Zellers. " Everybody was cleared from the whole mall. After that, there were numerous police and emergency vehicles coming from all over." Emergency officials quickly evacuated the mall and closed surrounding roads. Authorities remained on scene Saturday night. Ontario Provincial Police said they couldn't confirm any serious injuries nor that there were missing people, but they asked anyone who feared for a loved one to check in at an information centre. " We have OPP officers there, along with vicars and critical- incident- stress people who are there to assist them, and we want to know if there is anyone missing," OPP Const. Marilyn Cameron said. " Right now we can't report on whether we have any injuries or missing people at this point - nothing confirmed." The cause of the roof collapse is unclear. Authorities said they are currently focused on rescue efforts and stabilizing the scene. The mall houses a grocery store, restaurants and a number of retail outlets. A hotel is also attached to the centre, which is the largest mall in Elliot Lake. The city is 160 kilometres west of Sudbury. - The Canadian Press People missing after roof falls Concrete and metal crash into Ontario mall ' You see a lot of people holding hands right now. There's a lot of hugging going on. There are going to be many, many prayers' - Michael Mantha, NDP MPP ANKARA, Turkey - Syria said Saturday it shot down a Turkish reconnaissance plane because the plane entered its airspace, insisting it was " not an attack" as both sides desperately tried to de- escalate the episode before it exploded into a regional conflagration. Turkey threatened to retaliate but did not say what action it would take as it searched for the aircraft's two missing pilots. The downed plane heightened tensions between two countries that were allies before Syria's 15- month violent uprising, and signalled that the violence gripping Syria is increasingly bleeding outside its borders. Germany and Iraq were among the countries urging restraint in the region. Syria and neighbouring Turkey had cultivated close ties before the Syrian revolt began in March 2011, but since then Turkey has become one of the strongest critics of Syria's regime. Turkey hosts civilian and military Syrian opposition groups, including hundreds of army defectors who are affiliated with the Free Syrian Army and collect food and other supplies to deliver to comrades on smuggling routes. Turkish authorities also suspect Damascus, which was collaborating with Turkey in its fight against autonomy- seeking Kurdish rebels, is now turning a blind eye to Syria- based Kurdish fighters who belong to the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, considered a terrorist organization in the U. S. and Europe. The plane, an unarmed F- 4, went down in the Mediterranean Sea about 13 kilometres from the Syrian town of Latakia, Turkey said. Syria claimed the jet violated its airspace over territorial waters. It said Syrian forces only realized it was a Turkish jet after firing at it. In a telephone interview with Turkish TV news channel A Haber on Saturday, Syrian Foreign Ministry spokesman Jihad Makdissi said the downing was " not an attack." " An unidentified object entered our airspace and unfortunately, as a result it was brought down. It was understood only later that it was a Turkish plane," A Haber quoted Makdissi in a translation of the interview. " There was no hostile act against Turkey whatsoever. It was just an act of defence for our sovereignty." Turkish President Abdullah Gul conceded the plane may have unintentionally crossed into Syrian airspace, but said it was " routine" for jets to unintentionally cross borders for short periods. The government has not described the plane's specific mission. Gul said his government was still investigating what happened, but " no one should have any doubt that whatever ( action) is necessary will be taken." It was not clear if that action would involve military retaliation, increased sanctions or other steps, including demands for compensation or an apology. - The Associated Press Turkish plane shot down over Syrian airspace By Suzan Fraser CORA RICHER / THE CANADIAN PRESS A woman checks out the damage after part of a roof collapsed at the Algo Centre Mall in Elliot Lake, Ont., on Saturday. A_ 05_ Jun- 24- 12_ FP_ 01. indd A5 6/ 23/ 12 11: 33: 31 PM ;