Foreign Affairs Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne says eight Canadians in Wuhan have asked his government for help. He says Canada knows of 167 citizens in the region of China that's at the epicentre of an outbreak of a new respiratory virus. China has sharply restricted travel in and out of the province of about 60 million people in an effort to keep the illness from spreading. Although the virus is new and scientists are still working on understanding it, most cases seem to be mild. Some of Canada's allies have evacuated diplomatic offices in Wuhan, the city where the coronavirus was

The government on Monday invited preliminary bids to divest its entire stake in Air India, and the airline's subsidiary Air India Express along with its joint venture Air India SATS Airport Services Private Limited. As per a preliminary information memorandum (PIM) issued by the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management, the last date for submission of expression of interest is March 17 and qualified bidders will be notified March 31. "The Government of India (GOI) has given 'in-principle' approval for strategic disinvestment of Air India (AI) by way of the transfer of management c

Premier John Horgan has appointed Nathan Cullen as a liaison between the Province and the Wet'suwet'en Hereditary Chiefs. Cullen, a former member of parliament for Skeena-Bulkley Valley, is tasked with acting as an intermediary by providing fact-finding, facilitation and analysis to support a peaceful resolution to the Coastal Gaslink dispute. "I'm pleased all parties have agreed to the appointment of a liaison," Premier Horgan said. "Nathan has agreed to act as an intermediary in the hopes of finding a solution to this challenging dispute." Cullen will work with the Wet'suwet'en Denezeh and

Earthquakes Canada says a magnitude 4.4 earthquake has struck of the coast of Vancouver Island. The seismic event was detected at 1:35 p.m. Pacific time. The United States Geological Survey says the quake occurred 26 kilometres underground about 48 kilometres southeast of Ucluelet on the west coast of Vancouver Island. It pegs the magnitude at 4.8. Some social media users say on Twitter that they felt the shake as far away as Metro Vancouver and on Vancouver Island in Nanaimo and Victoria. Friday's event comes after a sequence of eight earthquakes struck off the coast of Vancouver Island betw

With a second presumptive case of the novel coronavirus in Canada, federal Health Minister Patty Hajdu says there is no reason for Canadians to be alarmed. Hajdu told the House of Commons that government agencies are ready to respond in case the situation worsens. A man in his 50s is now confirmed to have the virus. Test results are also due for his wife. She is quarantined at home in Toronto. He is in a special hospital room.

Two men have been charged with first-degree murder after an attack on a man last November in Surrey, B.C.The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team says Jordan Bottomley and Jagpal Hothi have appeared in provincial court in Surrey.The two men were arrested Friday and the B.C. Prosecution Service approved the charges related to the attack on 30 year old Andrew Baldwin.Police said at the time that Baldwin was found unresponsive, with critical injuries in a mainly industrial area of northwest Surrey. He was pronounced dead a short time later in hospital. Investigators have not released a possible

A teacher who is living with his pregnant wife and child in a city that is at the epicentre of China's coronavirus outbreak is hoping to get his family out safely.Tom Williams is a British expat who has been living and working for about five years in Wuhan, which is the capital of Hubei province in China. His wife Lauren, who is from Langley, B.C., is about 35 weeks pregnant, he said in a telephone interview from Wuhan. He also has a two-and-a-half-year-old son, James, who was born in White Rock, B.C. “We are quarantined in the city,” he said. While he said things are “pretty calm” an

China says the death toll from a new virus has risen to 80, with 2,744 confirmed cases. The National Health Commission said Monday morning there were 769 new cases confirmed in the 24 hours through midnight Sunday. The government also reported five cases in Hong Kong and two in Macao. Small numbers of cases have been found in Thailand, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, the U.S., Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, Nepal, France and Australia. The U.S. has confirmed cases in Washington state, Chicago, Southern California and Arizona. Canada said it discovered its first case, a man in his 50s who was in Wuh

It is expected to take several days for officials to recover the bodies of former NBA star Kobe Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter and seven others from a helicopter crash outside Los Angeles. LA County Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Jonathan Lucas says the next priority after recovery is identification and notifying the families involved. The Bryants were on the flight with Orange Coast College coach John Altobelli, his wife, Keri and daughter, Alyssa, who was about 13 and played on the same basketball team as Bryant's daughter, Gianna.