Foreign Affairs Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne has spoken to his Chinese counterpart about the coronavirus outbreak, a day after the World Health Organization called it a global health emergency.A statement from Champagne's office today says he and China's Wang Yi also discussed the situation of the two Canadians imprisoned in China without access to lawyers or family members for more than a year.Canada is seeking Chinese approval to send a plane to the Chinese city of Wuhan to collect the 196 Canadians who have asked for help to leave. Champagne says Wang responded positively to that re

China's foreign ministry said Friday it will send charter flights to bring home residents of virus-afflicted region from overseas. The one-sentence statement gave few details, but said those from Hubei province and its capital Wuhan would be sent directly back to Wuhan in light of the “practical difficulties" they were encountering. The new type of virus originated in Wuhan and has since spread to more than a dozen nations and regions overseas. Most of the overseas cases were found among people who had travelled from Wuhan, although physicians are concerned about person-to-person transmissio

The man, who held hostage more than 15 children at a house in Farrukhabad, has been killed and all of them have been safely evacuated, Uttar Pradesh Additional Chief Secretary and Principal Secretary Home, Awanish Kumar Awasthi said. "The person who was holding the children as hostages has been killed in an operation and all children have been safely evacuated," Awasthi told ANI here. "Chief Minister (Yogi Adityanath) has announced an award of Rs 10 lakhs for the Uttar Pradesh Police and its team that successfully carried out the operation. All personnel who took part in operation will be giv

The Premier's Office has issued the following statement: "We welcome today's announcement by the Wet'suwet'en Hereditary Chiefs that they will join the Province of B.C. at a Wiggus/Respect Table."This Wiggus/Respect Table is an opportunity for all parties to work in good faith towards de-escalation, and we view this announcement as a positive sign that all involved are determined to find a peaceful resolution."

An international survey finds Vancouver continues to face the worst traffic congestion among major Canadian cities. The TomTom Traffic Index for 2019 gives Vancouver a congestion level of 39 per cent, the highest in Canada for the third year since the study began and up slightly from 38 per cent in 2017 and 2018. That means the average trip in the city takes 39 per cent longer than it would if the roads were free of traffic gridlock. Vancouver is 40th on the list of 416 cities studied across the globe but still far behind Bangalore and Manila which top the list with a congestion level of 71 p

Claire Trevena, Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure, has issued the following statement outlining new government initiatives designed to benefit the passenger transportation industry and passengers: “As part of our continued efforts to ensure fairness and opportunity for those who make a living in the passenger transportation industry and the passengers they carry, I am pleased to share two additional government initiatives. “For the past several months, our government has been working with ICBC and the taxi industry to create a new insurance product option for taxi drivers. The

The RCMP says it has identified a suspect linked to seven alleged assaults of women in or near Glen Park in Coquitlam, B.C. The Mounties say plainclothes investigators have identified the individual who was previously unknown to police. Cpl. Michael McLaughlin says in a news release there are ``extenuating circumstances'' involving the suspect that may have played a role in the alleged assaults. He says due to privacy concerns, the RCMP cannot go into detail about the suspect's circumstances, but public safety is its priority. The RCMP has previously said that the suspect targeted adult women

Police are warning the public about the sex assault of a teenage girl on Vancouver's west side. Vancouver police say a 17-year-old girl was walking home around 6 p.m. Tuesday. Police say an unknown man grabbed her from behind but she was able to fight him off and run away. The man is described as tall and wearing all black clothing. Police are asking anyone who was driving in the area of West 54th Avenue and Oak Street on Tuesday evening to contact police. Officers hope to track down footage from dash cams or Tesla vehicles equipped with factory video surveillance.

China counted 170 deaths from a new virus Thursday and more countries reported infections, including some spread locally, as foreign evacuees from China's worst-hit region returned home to medical observation and even isolation. India and the Philippines reported their first cases, in a traveller and a student who had both been in Wuhan, the central Chinese city where the new type of coronavirus first surfaced in December. South Korea confirmed a case that was locally spread, in a man who had contact with a patient diagnosed earlier. Locally spread cases outside China have been a worrying con