Beyond Local

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan’s media regulator said Monday it blocked Wikipedia services in the country for hurting Muslim sentiment by not removing purportedly blasphemous content from the site.

EDMONTON — Hudson's Bay is shuttering two department stores in Alberta, saying the decision reflects market changes and the company's vision for the future.

NORTH SAANICH, B.C. — She was once hailed as Canada's best athlete and Elaine Tanner has the accolades to prove it as a teenage swimming prodigy known as "Mighty Mouse" at Olympic, Commonwealth and Pan American games.

OTTAWA — The federal government says it wants the RCMP to ban the use of two crowd-control tools that forces across the country say they have in their arsenals: sponge rounds and CS gas.

Hunters from Pond Inlet, Nvt. — known as Mittimatalik in Inuktitut — have said they're seeing fewer narwhal in areas where they were once abundant, making it harder to feed their families, and that the whales' behaviour is changing.

NEMASKA, QUE. — As Freddy Jolly’s pickup truck travels the dusty roads through the spruce forests outside Nemaska, Que., the one radio station fades in and out, and Jolly fills the gaps between country ballads with conversation.

ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE (AP) — Pope Francis was backed by the ceremonial head of the Anglican Communion and top Presbyterian minister in calling for gays to be welcomed by their churches as he again decried laws that criminalize homosexuality as unjust.

BEIJING (AP) — China on Monday accused the United States of indiscriminate use of force in shooting down a suspected Chinese spy balloon , saying it “seriously impacted and damaged both sides’ efforts and progress in stabilizing Sino-U.S. relations.

OTTAWA — A former Liberal MP is seeking the dismissal of two criminal charges connected to his time in office.

OTTAWA — A new study says Canada's justice system features "significant and pervasive" barriers for transgender people who encounter legal issues.