In brief: Alberta elects NDP, ending 44 years of conservatism

Alberta, Canada’s most conservative province, has elected a left-of-center government, ending a 44-year-old conservative party dynasty.

Voters in the western oil-rich province chose a New Democratic Party government in Tuesday’s election. Few had predicted such a result just 28 days ago when the election was called by Progressive Conservative Alberta Premier Jim Prentice, a former cabinet minister in Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s Conservative federal government.

“I think we might have made a little bit of history tonight,” said incoming New Democratic Premier Rachel Notely. “Change has finally come to Alberta.”

Notely has vowed to raise corporate tax rates and conduct a review of the province’s royalty structure to ensure that Albertans are getting a fair return for their oil and gas resources. Alberta has the world’s third largest oil reserves, with 170 billion barrels of proven reserves.

Serra will be saint, despite past accusation of crimes

Vatican City – Friar Junipero Serra, an 18th century Franciscan who brought Christianity to California and is accused by Native American groups of colonial crimes, will be made a saint, the Vatican said Wednesday.

The decision was taken by Pope Francis in a Tuesday meeting with the head of the Vatican’s saint-making department, Cardinal Angelo Amato, a statement said.

The move had long been expected. Francis announced sainthood plans for Serra in January, and said he would personally preside over his canonization mass during a Sept. 23 visit to Washington, part of a trip taking him to Cuba and the United States.

U.S. prepares for Iraq oil refinery loss to IS militants

Washington – U.S. military officials on Wednesday acknowledged that Iraq’s biggest oil refinery is in danger of falling to Islamic State militants and appeared to be setting the stage for its eventual loss.

Less than a month ago, Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, had said “the refinery is at no risk right now” and said that Baiji, the town where the refinery is located, “is a more strategic location” than Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province, which also is under siege from the Islamic State.

On Wednesday, Pentagon spokesman Army Col. Steve Warren offered a different view.

“The Baiji refinery is threatened,” he said. “Enemy forces have placed a tremendous amount of pressure on the friendly (Iraqi) forces that are in Baiji. The enemy does have control of some of the refinery now. It’s a tough fight. I don’t know which way it’s going to go.”

But he said from a strategic standpoint the Islamic State would gain little from its capture.