Beyond Local

OTTAWA — The federal government declared victory over a massive backlog of passport applications Tuesday as the social development minister announced that 98 per cent of the delayed applications have now been processed.

OTTAWA — Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly gave no explanation Tuesday for Cameroon claiming it had never sought Canada's help in peace talks, but said Ottawa still wants to broker a deal.

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis has shed light on the Catholic Church’s handling of sex abuse allegations against East Timor’s Nobel Peace Prize-winning independence hero, suggesting that he indeed was allowed to retire early rather than face prosecution or punishment.

WASHINGTON — A Quebec woman accused of mailing poison to former president Donald Trump has pleaded guilty and agreed to a prison sentence of nearly 22 years.

WHITECAP, Sask. — Survivors of a residential school that housed Métis children in Saskatchewan have filed a proposed a class-action lawsuit against the federal and provincial governments.

HELSINKI (AP) — Finland’s foreign minister suggested Tuesday that the country may consider joining NATO without neighboring Sweden if Turkey continues to block their joint bid to enter the military alliance.

OTTAWA — The Canadian military has concluded on the balance of probabilities that Maj.-Gen. Dany Fortin "did not engage in sexual misconduct" after the senior military officer was acquitted of sexual assault late last year.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Artificial intelligence is writing fiction , making images inspired by Van Gogh and fighting wildfires . Now it's competing in another endeavor once limited to humans — creating propaganda and disinformation.

LONDON (AP) — Opposition parties and children’s advocates accused the U.K. government on Tuesday of putting vulnerable young people in danger, after authorities said scores of children who arrived in Britain as asylum-seekers have disappeared.

OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says provinces should not be pre-emptively using the notwithstanding clause, because it means "suspending fundamental rights and freedoms."