The week at a glance...Europe

Düsseldorf, Germany

Al Qaida bust: German police have arrested three suspected al Qaida members for allegedly working toward building a shrapnel bomb. The suspects are a Moroccan, a German with Moroccan citizenship, and a German with Iranian citizenship. Police said the three, who had been under surveillance for months, were experimenting with explosives and detonators and had discussed attacking a bus or train. An unnamed U.S. official told NBC that at least one of the men had been trained by al Qaida in Pakistan. “This was well beyond aspirational,” the official said. “The police had been watching for some time, watching and monitoring, planning on disrupting it at the right time.”

Rome

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Pope John Paul II beatified: More than a million pilgrims packed St. Peter’s Square and surrounding streets in Rome this week for the beatification of Pope John Paul II, the last step before he is canonized as a saint. It was the largest crowd at the Vatican since John Paul’s funeral, in 2005. One of those present was Sister Marie Simone-Pierre, a French nun who said that she recovered from Parkinson’s disease after praying to John Paul. Pope Benedict XVI has already declared that cure a miracle; a second miracle is required for canonization. In addition to being a strong voice against communism, John Paul II presided over many firsts for the Catholic Church: He was the first non-Italian pope in centuries, the first to apologize for the church’s mistreatment of Jews and heretics, and the first to visit a mosque and a synagogue.