Beyond Local

OTTAWA — The federal government is moving to tighten its policy on bankrolling research with foreign entities that might pose a risk to national security.

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans are kicking off an investigation into the origins of COVID-19 by requesting documents and testimony for current and former Biden administration officials.

BRUSSELS (AP) — NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on Wednesday urged the 30 member countries to commit to spending at least 2% of their gross domestic product on defense by a set date, as Russia’s war on Ukraine and other threats eat into military spending.

CF-18 fighter is capable of shooting unidentified objects out of the sky — even if authorities don’t yet know what those objects are.

The downing of four aerial devices by U.S. warplanes has touched off rampant misinformation about the objects, their origin and their purpose, showing how complicated world events and a lack of information can quickly create the perfect conditions for unchecked conjecture and misinformation.

BEIJING (AP) — China said Wednesday it will take measures against U.S. entities related to the downing of a suspected Chinese spy balloon off the American East Coast.

BRUSSELS (AP) — NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg conceded Wednesday that Turkey has blocked efforts to let Finland and Sweden join the world’s biggest security alliance at the same time, and said he is heading to Ankara to discuss the issue with the Turkish president and foreign minister.

OTTAWA — The House of Commons foreign affairs committee wants the Trudeau government to report to Parliament on a regular basis about whether its sanctions regime is actually working.

NASSAU, Bahamas — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has arrived in the Bahamas where members of the Caribbean Community are gathering to discuss regional issues, including the deepening crisis in Haiti.

OTTAWA — Pandemic benefits rolled out to cushion the blow of COVID-19 lockdowns on workers had the positive side effect of dramatically reducing poverty levels overall. Now, advocates want to see the federal government build on that success.