The World Health Organization says a viral illness in China that has sickened hundreds of people is not yet a global health emergency. The decision came after Chinese authorities moved to lock down three cities on Thursday and cancelled major events in the capital, Beijing, during the Lunar New Year holiday period to try to contain the new virus. The United Nations health agency announced the decision after independent experts spent two days assessing information about the spread of the newly identified coronavirus. WHO defines a global emergency as an ``extraordinary event'' that constitu

The federal government and Mastercard are working together to develop technologies and standards aimed at ensuring safe and secure use of any device connected to the internet. Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, Navdeep Bains and Ajay Banga, CEO of Mastercard say the strategies will be developed at a new centre to be built in Vancouver. The Intelligence and Cyber Centre is to be funded by a $510-million investment from Mastercard and $49 million from Canada. The centre's goal is to ensure any internet-enabled device, ranging from phones and tablets to computers and vehicles, can be u

Federal Health Minister Patty Hajdu says several people in Canada are being monitored for signs they may have contracted a coronavirus from China.Hajdu says five or six people, including at least one in Quebec and another in Vancouver, are under observation but stresses the risk to Canadians remains low. She says there are no confirmed cases in Canada yet.At least 500 people in China are infected with the virus and 17 people have died.The city at the centre of the outbreak, Wuhan, is under quarantine as health officials scramble to understand the virus and keep it from spreading.The World Heal

A longtime public servant whose decades-long career has spanned portfolios from defence to foreign affairs is being tapped to be Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's third national security adviser in as many years.Vincent Rigby takes over the position after Trudeau's former national security adviser, Greta Bossenmaier, announced her retirement in November following a 35-year career in the federal public service. Rigby brings a variety of different experiences to the new role, including stints at the Department of National Defence, Public Safety Canada, the Privy Council Office and Global Affairs

Addressing a public rally in support of Citizenship (Amendment) Act in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said that anyone who is raising slogans of 'Azadi' will be charged with sedition. He said, "If anyone will raise slogans of Azadi in the name of protest, it will amount to sedition and the government will take strict action. It can't be accepted. People can't be allowed to conspire against India from Indian soil."

Multiple people have been shot in downtown Seattle, police said. The Seattle Police Department said on Twitter Wednesday that officers were investigating a shooting near the heavily trafficked area. The suspect fled and police were searching for him. Police said medics and detectives were responding to the scene. It's the third shooting in downtown Seattle in two days.

B-C's privacy commissioner says the media should exercise civility as Prince Harry and his wife Meghan take up residence near Victoria. Lawyers for the couple are reported to have threatened the British press with legal action after photos were taken of Meghan walking with her young son Archie in a public park north of Victoria. Privacy commissioner Michael McEvoy says the media should practise self-regulation when it comes to respecting the privacy rights of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. But a U-B-C journalism professor who worked as a reporter in the U-K says Harry and Meghan are hot news

The World Health Organization has put off deciding whether to declare the outbreak of a new coronavirus in China a global health emergency. It is asking its expert committee to continue meeting tomorrow for a second day. The W-H-O's Dr. Maria Kerkove says so far the evidence suggests the new respiratory illness spreads only through close contact. So far 17 deaths have been blamed on the virus, and hundreds of others are sick, mainly in China.

R-C-M-P say a 55-year-old man was hit and killed on 188th Street near 24th Avenue in south Surrey this morning. First responders tried to save the injured, but the efforts went in vain. Reports suggest the drivers stayed at scene and was cooperating. Two people have died in separate Metro Vancouver pedestrian accidents.