Volcanic ash cloud forces Harper, Obama to cancel trip to Poland

Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the leaders of all three opposition parties were forced to cancel their trip to Poland to attend Sunday's state funeral for the country's late president because of the expanding cloud of volcanic ash hovering over much of Europe.

Hours after Canadian leaders called off their trip Saturday morning, U.S. President Barack Obama made a similar announcement.

"Given the dangers of flying through volcanic ash, it is simply not possible. We've been advised that the dangers are real and for security purposes obviously it remains impossible for the prime minister to be able to travel there," said Dimitri Soudas, Harper's director of communications.

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