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

Chinese health authorities are urging people in the city of Wuhan to avoid crowds and public gatherings after warning that a new viral illness infecting hundreds of people in the country and causing at least 17 deaths could spread further. A national health official says 500 cases are confirmed in China. The 17 deaths are all in Hubei province, where the first cases were reported last month. The illness comes from a new coronavirus that experts say may be spread through the respiratory tract and may be mutating. An expert meeting convened by the World Health Organization on Wednesday will det

Health officials in the United States say a Washington State man is the first person in the U-S to be diagnosed with a new coronavirus first identified in China. The man, in his 30's, is being treated in an Everett hospital, near Seattle and is said to be in good condition. He was travelling in the Wuhan area of China when the outbreak began, and returned to Washington State last week, where the virus was confirmed. Beijing says six people have died and 291 have been infected in China -- and cases of the pneumonia-like illness have been reported in four other countries prompting many airpo

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Ottawa will provide $25,000 to the families of the 57 Canadian citizens and 29 permanent residents who died when Iran shot down a Ukrainian passenger jet last week. Trudeau says the money is intended to cover the cost of funeral arrangements or travel, which comes on top of an earlier commitment to waive fees and speed up processing times for visas for those affected by the tragedy. Trudeau also made it clear that Canada still expects Iran to compensate victims, but that he knows families cannot wait any longer for support.

Iran's Revolutionary Guard says it accidentally shot down the Ukrainian jetliner that crashed earlier this week, killing all 176 aboard. The government had repeatedly denied Western accusations that it was responsible for the crash. The plane was hit hours after Iran launched a ballistic missile attack on two military bases housing U.S. troops in Iraq, in retaliation for the killing of its top general. The acknowledgement is an embarrassment for Iran's armed forces and is likely to anger the Iranian public. It also raises new questions about who ordered the strike and why Iran had not shut dow

Defence Secretary Mark Esper says the United States has made "no decision" about withdrawing troops from Iraq amid heightened tensions with neighbouring Iran.Esper spoke to reporters Monday after a letter from a U.S. Army general circulated that seemed to suggest a withdrawal had been ordered in response to a vote by the Iraqi Parliament over the weekend.Esper says, “There's been no decision whatsover to leave Iraq.”

Several dozen Iranian-Canadians danced and cheered in Toronto on Friday as they celebrated the death of a top general in their home country.An American airstrike authorized by U.S. President Donald Trump killed Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran's elite Quds Force, Thursday in Baghdad, Iraq. Iran's supreme leader vowed a "harsh retaliation."But for those who showed up to dance in a square in north Toronto Friday afternoon, Soleimani's death marked what they hoped would be a re-birth for Iran. Chants of "regime change in Iran by the people of Iran" and "we support uprising in Iran" rang ou