PTvirtual News Headlines

Canada

T.O. hospital integrates mentally ill patients

The 160-year-old Centre for Addiction and Mental Health is tearing down walls literally and figuratively, revamping its Toronto site into an urban village that will integrate its buildings and the people it cares for into the surrounding neighbourhood.

Duceppe to take Canadians' pulse on sovereignty

Bloc Quebecois Leader Gilles Duceppe begins the first leg of a cross-country tour on Tuesday to get Canadians' opinions about Quebec sovereignty, starting with a meeting with university students in Frederiction, N.B.

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan grows to $96.4B in 2009

The Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan says its assets grew nearly 10 per cent to $96.4 billion in 2009 as stock markets recovered but the pension fund manager's deficit swelled.

Loonie briefly moves past U.S. greenback

The loonie moved above the American dollar for a short time Tuesday morning, going as high as US100.07 cents before falling back below parity. But many economists say it's only a matter of time before the loonie rises solidly above the U.S. dollar.  

World

N. Korean leader Kim Jong Il may visit China

North Korean leader Kim Jong Il could visit China later this month, a lawmaker from South Korea's ruling party said Tuesday, amid speculation the trip could help revive stalled talks aimed at ending Pyongyang's nuclear programs.

Italians honour the 308 victims of L'Aquila quake

Thousands of Italians held a candlelight vigil to remember the 308 people killed in the earthquake that devastated the central city of L'Aquila a year ago.

U.K.'s Brown announces May 6 election date

Prime Minister Gordon Brown has publicly set a national election for May 6 -- a historic vote considered one of Britain's least predictable in decades. 

Tensions rise in South Africa white supremacist case

Whites and blacks faced off angrily in song Tuesday in front of a heavily guarded courthouse before the first hearing of a teenager and another farm worker who have allegedly confessed to killing a white supremacist leader in a wage dispute. 

Portugal

Portugal calls for European fund for future crises

Europe needs to create a fund to finance solutions for future economic crises, Portugal's Finance Minister Fernando Teixeira dos Santos said on Friday, a day after euro zone leaders reached a deal on potential help for debt-ridden Greece.  Although Portugal's debt and the budget deficit are much lower than Greece's, some investors see the Iberian country as the next weak link in the euro zone due its reduced competitiveness and growth prospects since the global downturn triggered its worst recession in decades.