PM to fly home with evacuees from Lebanon

Prime Minister Stephen Harper will be flying home to Canada Thursday with the first large group of evacuees from Lebanon, as efforts get underway in Beirut to help thousands of Canadians get away from Israeli military action against Lebanese targets.
The Canadian Forces plane that flew Harper to Europe last week has been diverted to Cyprus to pick upCanadians who left Lebanon on the first of seven chartered ships that Ottawa is sending to the region.
The ship, the Blue Dawn, is carrying around 280 Canadians who boarded in Beirut Wednesday after a day of confusion and uncertainty about whether the vessel would sail at all, and who would be allowed on board.
Harper made the surprise announcement that his Airbus A310 would fly to Cyprus after meeting French President Jacque Chirac in Paris.
"It's more than a symbolic trip," he said. "There is a need for air support in Cyprus.We believe this is the right thing to do."
Officials travelling with the prime minister say another plane has been chartered to take home people who don't fit on Harper's aircraft.
Media excluded
To make seats available to evacuees from Lebanon,only Harper, his wife, Laureen, an official photographer and communications staff made the trip to Cyprus.Members of the media who had accompanied the prime minister to Europe and Russia were left behind in Paris.
Critics have attacked Harper's government for not doing enough to help Canadians stranded in Lebanon.
Before the Blue Dawn left Beirut on Wednesday, there were chaotic scenes in the port as Canadians tried to get close enough to board the vessel. People complained that they hadn't been given enough information by the Canadian embassy in the Lebanese capital, reports CBC's Nahlah Ayed.
While there was confusion, spirits were raised by the sight of the vessel standing by the quayside, she said.
"People are trying to find shade, and wait it out for their turn to come.Everybody is extremely exhausted.It's been very, very hot here."
At Ottawa's expense
There were problems with Lebanese customs and immigration officials and at one point, the Israeli Navy said the Blue Dawn had to leave within 10 minutes or a so-called "security window" would close.
That prompted Foreign Affairs Minister Peter Mackay to call his Israeli counterpart to insist on more time to board the evacuees, officials in Ottawa said.
Other ships and boats are expected to start arriving in Lebanon shortly, officials said, and Canadians wishing to leave would be taken to Cyprus and Turkey.
Those waiting in Beirut said they understood they'd be flown home at Ottawa's expense.
About 30,000 Canadians are registered with the embassy in the Lebanese capital, but many more — another 20,000 — are thought to be in Lebanon.
Many are there to visit relatives for the summer holidays. Some hold dual citizenship and are permanent residents of Lebanon.
Ships to carry 2,000 per day
Canadian officials say the ships contracted to take people from Lebanon will be able to transport 2,000 passengers a day.
Kim Girtel, a spokeswoman for Foreign Affairs, said Tuesday the evacuation will take some time and the embassy does not yet know how many of the 30,000 Canadians registered with the embassy want to leave the country.
"It would be nice if we could Star Trek them out, but it's going to take time. Priority goes to people in greatest need," she told the Canadian Press.
Other countries have already moved their citizens out of Lebanon, some by bus to Syria, others by ship to Cyprus.
A cruise liner took more than 1,000 Americans out of Beirut on Wednesday, the largest number of Americans to be taken out of Lebanon in one group since the offensive began. U.S. helicopters picked up 800 Americans earlier and took them to Cyprus.
A U.S. official in charge of the U.S. evacuation effort said more than 6,000 of the 25,000 Americans in Lebanon will have left the country by the weekend.
With files from the Canadian Press