The week at a glance...Europe

London

Fetuses burned: Thousands of aborted and miscarried fetuses have been burned to heat British hospitals. An exposé by Channel 4 news last week found that 27 state-run hospital trusts incinerated fetal remains, sometimes burning the bodies with other hospital waste or using them in “waste-to-energy” plants that generate power and heat. In some cases, women who miscarried were told that the remains had been cremated. The report prompted an outcry, and the government imposed an immediate ban on the incineration of fetal remains. “This practice is totally unacceptable,” said health minister Dan Poulter.

Paris

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Woman in charge: Paris has its first female mayor. Anne Hidalgo, who was a deputy mayor for 13 years under outgoing Mayor Bertrand Delanoë, took a decisive 55 percent of the vote in one of the few big gains for Socialists in local elections this week. The campaign focused not on gender, as Hidalgo’s opponent was also a woman, but on class: Born in Spain, Hidalgo has a working-class background. She campaigned on promises to build more subsidized housing and expand affordable child care. “Mine was a victory for authenticity,” she said, “a victory for a Left loyal to its principles and effective at implementing them.”

Brussels

NATO cuts ties with Russia: Foreign ministers from NATO’s 28 member countries have called on Russia “to reverse the illegal and illegitimate ‘annexation’ of Crimea” and “refrain from any further interference and aggressive actions in Ukraine.” The alliance said it would intensify cooperation with Ukraine, which is not a member, and would help train its armed forces. NATO also cut off “all practical civilian and military cooperation” with Russia because of its takeover of Crimea. It stopped short, however, of dissolving the NATO-Russia Council, saying diplomatic dialogue should continue. Unnamed NATO officials told CNN they were considering sending reinforcements to Eastern European member states and boosting the NATO Response Force, made up of 13,000 land, air, and sea units that can be deployed on short notice.

Rome

Penitent pope: Pope Francis broke with centuries of precedent this week by publicly going to confession in St. Peter’s Basilica. It was believed to be the first time a pope had ever been seen confessing his own sins. The priest hearing his confession appeared to laugh at one point. Last week, the pope met President Obama privately for nearly an hour, twice longer than expected, an encounter that aides said included discussion of how to help the poor and those caught in conflicts. The pope gave Obama a copy of his book The Joy of the Gospels. “I’m sure it will give me strength and calm me down,” the president said.