Metro Vancouver Transit Police are searching for a man accused of attacking a woman who defended two Asian woman in a racially motivated incident last month. Police say it began when a man aboard a bus made discriminatory remarks directed at two Asian women who got on wearing masks. They say the suspect kicked another woman and punched her in the head after she told him to leave the other women alone before he got off the bus and ran away. Vancouver police have reported an increase in anti-Asian assaults and vandalism in the last several weeks amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

A University of British Columbia marine biologist has won the world's top award for animal conservation. UBC says Amanda Vincent won this year's Indianapolis Prize for her trail-blazing work to protect seahorses and other marine life. It says Vincent is the first marine biologist to win the prize that recognizes conservationists who've made significant progress in saving a species from extinction. Vincent says she's thrilled to receive the closest honour someone can get to a Nobel Prize in animal conservation.

B.C. is reporting just seven new cases of COVID-19 and no new community outbreaks. Provincial health officer Doctor Bonnie Henry says another resident of a long-term care home in the Fraser Health region has died, raising the death toll to 131. Out of the 2,360 confirmed cases, Dr. Henry says 397 are still considered to be active. She says B.C. is launching a province-wide survey to gather feedback on how people have been affected by the pandemic to help prepare for the future.

Canada's chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam is advising extreme caution when it comes to reopening the Canada-United States border. She says Canada needs to see what happens when it eases its own public health measures to contain the virus before allowing foreign travel again. It will also depend on the international epidemiology. She says Canada should be looking carefully at the United States' COVID-19 situation before allowing cross-border travel. Next phase will involve testing people with a wider range of potential symptoms Dr. Theresa Tam says the next phase of Canada's COVID-1

The body of a 22 year old man who was last seen swimming with friends in a Chilliwack, B.C., river has been found. RCMP say the man's friends reported that he entered the Vedder River on Monday night and became distressed. Police say the friends tried to pull the man from the water without success. The body was discovered by Chilliwack Search and Rescue crews on Tuesday. Police say the man is a South Asian national from India. Both the RCMP and the BC Coroners Service are investigating the death.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canada will be very cautious when it comes to reopening international travel. He would not say whether he expects the Canada-U.S. border to reopen when a mutual ban on non-essential travel expires next week. But rather he says preventing transmission of COVID-19 into Canada from other countries will be an essential part of preventing a second wave of the outbreak. He says Canada will need to see a decrease in the number of new cases in the country, and will need to have the ability to detect and track new cases.

Quebec Premier Francois Legault is strongly recommending that Quebecers wear a mask whenever they leave home. Legault, who wore a mask as he entered his daily briefing, says the mask can help prevent the spread of illness in situations where people can't stay at least two metres apart. He announced 118 more deaths in the last 24 hours, for a total of 3,131. He said there were also 756 new cases for a total of 39,225, including 10,056 who have recovered.

Vulnerable and homeless people across British Columbia could soon receive a smartphone to access support services and to stay connected with friends and family while practising physical distancing. Social Development and Poverty Reduction Minister Shane Simpson says providing up to 3,500 smartphones for vulnerable people will give them easier access to services and helps them connect to others when public spaces are closed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Simpson says 1,000 smartphones have already been distributed, with 200 provided to people moved to hotels from homeless encampments in Vic

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced Tuesday that the government will spend more than $260 billion, the equivalent of nearly 10% of the country's GDP, on a coronavirus economic relief package designed to make the world's second most populous nation more self reliant.“The package’s main aim is to build a self-reliant India,” Modi said in a televised speech, adding that it will help the country compete globally.India entered its sixth week of a stringent nationwide lockdown on Tuesday, pushing an economy already enfeebled before the pandemic to the brink of collapse.The lockdown