Planet News: Global

An earthquake struck the northern Italian region of Emilia Romagna on Sunday, killing five people, wounding dozens and damaging historic buildings as well as warehouses and factories.

Tomislav Nikolic, an ardent admirer of Russia, won 49.8 percent of the vote compared with 47 percent for Boris Tadic, the former president.

François Hollande, in his first meeting with President Obama as France’s president, restated his pledge to withdraw combat forces from Afghanistan by the end of the year.

The arrests of a group of generals were without precedent in recent memory, and reports suggested that other key figures in the drug war could be arrested.

Germany may be Europe's driving force in the euro crisis, but a prominent US think tank has accused the country of shirking its defense duties. In a report released ahead of the NATO summit in Chicago, a group of experts criticizes Germany for threatening the future of the whole alliance through its weakness.

During the election campaign, French President François Hollande threatened to slap an income tax rate of 75 percent on high earners. Since then, wealthy French have been looking for ways to get themselves and their money out of the country. And nowhere looks more attractive than millionaire-friendly London.

Years of foot-dragging and brinkmanship have prepared the currency union for life without Greece.

President Obama and four African leaders will introduce the group of companies, the Alliance for Food and Nutrition Security, on Friday at a forum on food security and agriculture.

Prosecutors at the trial of Ratko Mladic set out in detail the events leading to and during the 1995 massacre of some 8,000 men and boys.

The leader of the Coalition of the Radical Left in Greece, challenged European leaders to find ways to preserve the euro area in its present form while relieving Greeks of their hardships.

North Korea has resumed construction of a nuclear reactor that can be used to expand the country’s nuclear weapons program, an American-based institute said Thursday.

The Central American country is a growing focus of American efforts aimed at drug cartels that have sought to use its ungoverned spaces.

Greece is on the verge of economic collapse and yet the country's left wants to jettison austerity measures. Would this leave any alternative other than exiting the euro? SPIEGEL ONLINE invited the leader of Greece's pro-business Drasi party and an anti-austerity Syriza parliamentarian to debate the issues.

Ratko Mladic, the former Bosnian Serb military commander, went on trial at The Hague on Wednesday for war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity in the 1990s.

Many Mexicans are increasingly disturbed by their disaffection as drug violence has taken a turn for the worse.

Leading up to the NATO summit, the heads of NATO armed forces met in Brussels on April 25 to discuss the Afghan war withdrawal and other matters. Photo by Kristof Van Accom/AFP/Getty Images. When world leaders gather this weekend at the NATO and Group of Eight summits, they have two major items on the table — wrapping up the Afghan war and handling Europe's financial crisis. So what are the signs that they will make any progress? We talked to Charles Kupchan, senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, about what might happen at the G8 summit at Maryland's Camp David (May 18-19) and the NATO talks in Chicago (May 20-21). #1 An Afghan Plan At the NATO summit, leaders will work on developing a plan for the remaining time they are in Afghanistan (until 2014) and come up with a common schedule for departure, said Kupchan. Some country heads, most recently new French President Francois Hollande, have said they want their troops to leave earlier than 2014. But President Obama appeared to try to preempt some of the debate and set the tone for the NATO meeting when he went to Kabul earlier this month and "more or less announced that we're witnessing the beginning of the end of the mission," said Kupchan. "That's what other NATO leaders want to hear" to provide them cover at home, where the Afghan war is getting increasingly unpopular, he said. They'll likely discuss the issue at length and try to reach a compromise on pulling out combat troops before 2014 but leaving some forces there for other purposes, he added. #2 Pakistan and Supply Routes On Tuesday, NATO invited Pakistan to attend the summit, which means Pakistan might announce the reopening of NATO supply routes from the port town of Karachi to Afghanistan. The invitation reportedly wasn't contingent on Pakistan reopening the routes, but it does show the United States and Pakistan are making some progress in trying to repair relations, said Kupchan. "If the Pakistan government decides to attend, I would expect it would entail either an announcement of the supply line opening up again or some other major step forward, because it would be awkward for Pakistan to come to Chicago without some concrete improvement in the relationship with NATO and with the United States," he said. Pakistan closed the supply routes after U.S.-Afghan coalition forces opened fire on two Pakistani military checkpoints in the Salala area of northern Pakistan near the Afghan border on Nov. 26, killing 24 Pakistani soldiers. Both sides said they were fired upon first. Tanker trucks, used to transport fuel to NATO forces in Afghanistan, are jammed at oil terminals in Pakistan's port city of Karachi. Photo by Asif Hassan/AFP/Getty Images. U.S.-Pakistani relations already had been on shaky terms since the finding and killing of al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad, Pakistan, on May 2, 2011. That incident further degraded trust on both sides. The Pakistani government has said it wants the United States to end all drone strikes on suspected terrorists based in the Federally Administered Tribal Area of Pakistan and apologize for the Nov. 26 incident before reopening the supply routes. #3 Future of NATO NATO has learned some lessons from the Afghan war and the March 2011 operation in Libya that helped the opposition unseat Libya's long-time leader, Moammar Gadhafi. "NATO has a lot of activities in the Mediterranean, in the Middle East; it has partners in East Asia," Kupchan said. "And I think there will be a focus on those activities (at the summit) because it helps send the message that NATO is globally engaged and therefore relevant to a world in which the most significant security challenges of the day are no longer in the North Atlantic zone." Another likely topic of discussion is the question of burden-sharing and the concern that the United States carries more than its fair share in NATO, Kupchan said. "That concern is growing now because European defense spending is declining, and because the Libya operation — even though the Europeans took the lead — exposed certain shortcomings in European defense capabilities." But NATO members probably won't focus on pressuring Europe to spend more, "because that's not going to happen anytime soon," said Kupchan, but instead on rationalizing defense spending, pooling resources, deciding on areas of specialization and a new division of labor to get a Europe that is a more capable military partner. Something that probably won't be discussed is adding new members, according to Kupchan. NATO has its hands full, and the countries that are on track — Macedonia, Montenegro, Georgia and others — for various reasons are not ready to start the process of joining the international body, he said. #4 Austerity v. Stimulus Turning to the G8 summit (the meeting of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the UK, United States and European Commission), all long-term development projects will be set aside to focus on the more immediate problem of the European financial crisis. French President Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel at a joint press conference in Berlin on May 15. Photo by Bertrand Langlois/AFP/Getty Images. "I would think there will be a lot of discussion, and not a small amount of arm-twisting, between Merkel and Hollande trying to find a mix between stimulus, which Hollande wants, and austerity, which has been Merkel's program," said Kupchan. Nothing concrete will come of the meeting — "It's not as if the Obama administration is going to step up and say, 'we're now going to contribute X dollars to help shore up the financial situation in Europe'," he said. "So I think it will be more about what can and should Europe be doing to find its way out of this mess." #5 Other Issues Ripe for Consensus Although the European crisis will take up a lot of oxygen, other matters that could arise at the G8 summit include what to do about Iran's nuclear program and Syria's continued deadly crackdown on protesters. The G8 has taken some criticism for being small and informal, and its longer-term agenda is often pushed aside by other urgent matters, said Kupchan. "But one of the strengths is when you have a smaller grouping like the G8 — mostly countries that have been allies for a long time — they can sometimes put their heads together and come up with plans that wouldn't emerge in a more formal or larger setting." So the G8 will provide a good forum, for example, for a discussion about Iran's nuclear program — the next steps for verification, the upcoming negotiations in Baghdad, and when and how to implement increasing sanctions, he said. View all of our World coverage and follow us on Twitter.

Former News International CEO expressed anger that those close to her had been 'dragged into the affair'Rebekah Brooks made a defiant attack on the "weak and unjust" decision by the prosecuting authorities to bring charges against her on Tuesday and dismissed the case as an "expensive sideshow and waste of public money".Outside her solicitor's office in London, the former chief executive of News International said she could not express how angry she was that those close to her had been "unfairly dragged into this".An emotional and nervous-looking Brooks, 43, spoke out after a momentous day in the phone-hacking affair saw her facing three charges of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice over allegations that she concealed "material, documents and computers" from detectives investigating phone hacking at the News of the World and alleged bribes to public officials by journalists at the Sun.Her husband, Charlie Brooks, a racehorse trainer and friend of the prime minister, faces one charge of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice by acting with others to "conceal documents, computer and other electronic devices" from detectives.Speaking alongside his wife, he also condemned the decision as "an attempt to use me and others as scapegoats, the effect of which is to ratchet up the pressure on my wife, who I believe is the subject of a witch-hunt".The couple were among six individuals – including News International's head of security, Mark Hanna – charged over allegations that they were engaged in a cover-up to hide evidence from police investigating phone hacking at the News of the World.One of the most high profile figures in the newspaper industry, and a close confidante of Rupert Murdoch, Brooks was charged by police at a police station in Lewisham on Tuesday afternoon. She had travelled to London with her husband from their home in Oxfordshire to answer bail after their arrest in March.The couple were made to attend different police stations – Mrs Brooks at Lewisham, and her husband at Hammersmith – to have the charges laid against them.The decision to bring the first charges in the long-running phone-hacking investigation, Operation Weeting, had been announced earlier by Alison Levitt QC, of the CPS, in a high-profile televised statement, the lawyer said, in the interests of "transparency and accountability".Brooks, however, condemned the live broadcast as "the further unprecedented posturing of the CPS".All the alleged offences took place in July last year when the phone-hacking investigation was at its height.The charge is a serious one which carries a maximum penalty of life, although the average term served in prison is 10 months. Brooks also remains on bail over phone-hacking allegations and allegations over bribes to public officials.Levitt said the decision to charge six of the seven individuals arrested for conspiring to pervert the course of justice came after prosecutors applied the two-stage test they are required to when making charging decisions."I have concluded that in relation to all suspects except the seventh there is sufficient evidence for there to be a realistic prospect of conviction," she said."I then considered the second stage of the test and I have concluded that a prosecution is required in the public interest in relation to each of the other six."Brooks and her husband were arrested in March. Detectives from Operation Weeting then handed their file of evidence on the couple and the other individuals to the CPS on 27 March. The five others arrested were Hanna, Cheryl Carter, Ms Brooks's former personal assistant for 19 years, Paul Edwards, Brooks's chauffeur and employee of News International, and Daryl Jorsling, who provided Brooks with security, supplied by News International.The seventh suspect – who has not been named – also provided security.Scotland Yard said later that the seventh man – for whom no charges were laid – had been released with no further action to be taken.The first charge against Mrs Brooks alleges that between 6 July and 19 July 2011 she conspired with Charlie Brooks, Cheryl Carter, Mark Hanna, Paul Edwards, Daryl Jorsling and persons unknown to conceal material from officers of the Metropolitan Police Service.The second charge, which she faces along with Carter, alleges that between 6 July and 9 July 2011 they conspired together to permanently remove seven boxes of material from the archive of News International.In the third charge she is accused, along with her husband, Mark Hanna, Paul Edwards and Daryl Jorsling and persons unknown, of conspiring together between 15 July and 19 July 2011 to conceal documents, computers and other electronic equipment from officers of the Metropolitan Police Service.Brooks and her husband revealed they were to be charged some 10 minutes before the CPS live announcement on Tuesdaymorning.They promised they would make a further statement after attending the police station. They did that shortly after 5pm outside their solicitors, Kingsley Napier, in London.Looking tired, Brooks said: "Whilst I have always respected the criminal justice system, you have to question whether this decision has been made on a proper impartial assessment of the evidence. Although I understand the need for a thorough investigation, I am baffled by the decision to charge me."However, I cannot express my anger enough that those close to me have unfairly been dragged into this."As the details of the case emerge people will see today as an expensive sideshow, and a waste of public money as a result of this weak and unjust decision."Standing next to her, Mr Brooks raised doubts that his wife would get a fair trial."There are 172 police officers, about the equivalent of eight murder squads, working on this; so it doesn't surprise me that the pressure is on to prosecute, no matter how weak the cases will be," he said."I am confident that the lack of evidence against me will be borne out in court, but I have grave doubts that my wife will ever get a fair trial, given the volume of biased commentary which she has been subject to."Scotland Yard said all six defendants were released on bail to appear at Westminster magistrates on 13 June.Sandra LavilleDan Sabbaghguardian.co.uk © 2012 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. 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Greece will hold a new election in June after President Karolos Papoulias failed on Tuesday to persuade parties to form a government. The anti-austerity SYRIZA party could win next month, raising the prospect that Greece will abandon its reforms and quit the euro. Markets fell sharply on the news.

François Hollande, 57, was invested Tuesday morning as the first Socialist president of France since 1995.

British prosecutors said that Rebekah Brooks, a former key aide to Rupert Murdoch, will face prosecution along with her husband and four others.