The world at a glance . . . Europe

Leicester, U.K.

Plot to behead British soldier: A British Islamic extremist has pleaded guilty to planning to murder a British Muslim soldier by cutting off his head “like a pig.” Parviz Khan, 37, who holds dual British and Pakistani citizenship, organized the plot to have a Muslim soldier snatched while on leave in Birmingham. Khan planned to film the beheading and release the video, hoping to frighten Muslims into leaving the British army. Police learned details of the plot by bugging Khan’s home, where he lived with his mother, his wife, and three kids. Khan was under surveillance as part of an alleged terrorist cell that supplied militants in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Three accomplices also pleaded guilty.

Paris

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Charity workers guilty: Six French charity workers were sentenced this week to eight years in prison for trying to kidnap 103 children from the Central African country of Chad. Eric Breteau, the founder of the charity Zoe’s Ark, and five others said they were trying to get orphans from the war-torn Darfur region of Sudan adopted in France. But most of the kids turned out to be from Chad, not Darfur, and they were not actually orphans. In December, a Chadian court sentenced the six to eight years’ hard labor. But Chad agreed to extradite the six to France, and this week, a French appeals court upheld the convictions but converted the sentences to jail time to be served in France.

Rome

Berlusconi’s comeback: Media mogul and former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi could soon be back in power. Berlusconi this week called for immediate elections, which his center-right coalition would probably win, after Prime Minister Romano Prodi stepped down when one of the nine parties in his fractious coalition defected to the opposition. The flamboyant Berlusconi, Italy’s richest man, heads the country’s biggest party, Forza Italia, and owns three TV stations. During Berlusconi’s last stint as premier, from 2001 to 2006, he was investigated numerous times for corruption and conflict of interest, but was never convicted. President Giorgio Napolitano can either order elections or appoint a caretaker government for a year.

Hamburg, Germany

Schmidt defies smoking ban: Hamburg prosecutors opened an investigation this week into whether former Chancellor Helmut Schmidt “caused bodily harm” to others by smoking in a public place, in defiance of a new indoor smoking ban. Schmidt, 89, is famous for his nicotine habit and even writes a weekly magazine column called “A Cigarette with Helmut Schmidt.” Last month, he and his wife attended a reception at a Hamburg theater, where workers provided them special seats and ashtrays. After photos of the couple smoking indoors made the front pages of the tabloids, an anti-smoking group alerted the authorities. If convicted, Schmidt could face fines and up to five years in prison. Given Schmidt’s status as beloved elder statesman, though, he is expected to get off with just a warning.

Goteborg, Sweden

Muslim women win case: Two Muslim women who were asked to leave a Swedish swimming pool because they were overdressed won more than $3,000 each in damages this week. The women were wearing head scarves, sweatpants, and long-sleeved shirts when they took their children to a public pool in Goteborg, Sweden’s second-largest city, in April 2004. Lifeguards asked them to change into lighter clothes or leave, because their clothing did not comply with the pool’s hygiene regulations. An appellate court ordered Goteborg to compensate the women after ruling that they had been discriminated against on religious grounds.

Vilnius, Lithuania

Name that country: Lithuania is considering changing the English version of its name to make it more memorable and easier to pronounce. A commission led by Prime Minister Gediminas Kirkilas last week approved a new image campaign that says the small Baltic country should promote itself as “daring” and consider a new name. “Lithuania’s transcription in English is difficult to pronounce and remember for English speakers,” said government spokesman Laurynas Bucalis, “but the name change is only an idea under consideration.” In Lithuania, the country is called Lietuva. No suggestions for a new English name have been offered so far.