What's Going On

Washington (CNN) -- The U.S. State Department is expected to issue a travel alert to Americans in Europe in light of recent terror threat information, U.S. officials said Saturday. The alert could be issued as early as Sunday morning, according to one senior official. The alert is expected to urge American citizens in Europe to be vigilant , especially when in public places such as public transportation, airports, and tourist sites, officials said. It is not expected to warn Americans against travel to Europe, officials said. One senior U.S. official said that in addition to the travel alert from the State Department, "U.S. military installations are taking prudent precautions. This is a serious situation." A separate U.S. official said the alert is being prompted by the volume of intelligence on possible terror threats, rather than new intelligence. It emerged last week that U.S. intelligence officials were looking at information about a possible ...

National teams stepped up their criticisms Wednesday of hygiene and security at the Commonwealth Games in India, as organizers were forced to deal with more damage at one of the venues . Parts of a false ceiling at the weightlifting venue in New Delhi came off overnight, said Rajendra Kalla, a superintendent engineer at India's Central Public Works Department. Nine ceiling tiles fell to the floor, and Kalla described the damage as minor. It happened at the same venue -- Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium -- where a bridge collapse Tuesday injured 27 people. Those structural problems came on top of concerns about security and hygiene, mainly at the athletes' village, which has room for some 8,500 athletes. Scottish officials said they are delaying the departure of their first team of 41 athletes and staff for the games because of concerns "that a significant part of the athletes' village residential zone is far from finished and nowhere near an acceptable standard in term...

( FT ) -- Michael Geoghegan, chief executive of HSBC, has threatened to resign from his job if he is not elevated to the chairman's role, according to two people familiar with the bank's succession planning. At a meeting last week Mr Geoghegan reacted badly to the suggestion that he might be passed over, one of the people said. "He was told the board was not ready to give him the chairmanship and he was not happy." HSBC is set to decide at a board meeting next Tuesday who should replace Stephen Green, who is stepping down as chairman at the end of the year to take up a UK government job as trade minister. Executives at the bank said Mr Geoghegan would be unhappy to see another chairman appointed over the top of him, particularly the favourite for the job, ex-Goldman Sachs banker John Thornton. HSBC has a history of elevating its chief executive to chairman. It remains unclear who the bank will ultimately pick for the role of chairman, with Douglas Flint, fina...

Stockholm, Sweden (CNN) -- The historic success of a far-right party in Swedish elections is a response to the country's "extreme immigration policies," which have " shattered " Swedish society, the party leader said Monday. And it's part of a wave of victories for anti-immigration parties across Europe, Jimmie Akesson of the Sweden Democrats told CNN. "All of Europe is suffering big problems from mass immigration and of course, people are becoming more and more frustrated in several European countries, which we can see from the election results," Akesson said. His Sweden Democrats party won 5.7 percent of the vote on Sunday and a place in the national parliament for the first time. "We now have a platform for our ideology , and that is very important because we know that we have a big opportunity to get even more supporters," he said, insisting that the media had presented a "false image" of the party in the past. A...

(CNN) -- U.S. officials formally declared an end to the worst oil spill in U.S. history Sunday, a milestone that followed nearly five months of dashed hopes and blistering criticism of nearly everyone involved. After a weekend of pouring cement into the base of the ruptured well in the Gulf of Mexico, pressure tests conducted early Sunday confirmed the seal was holding, former Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen said announced. The Interior Department agency that regulates offshore drilling pronounced the well dead at 5:54 a.m. (6:54 a.m. ET), Allen said in a written statement. "With this development, which has been confirmed by the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, we can finally announce that the Macondo 252 well is effectively dead," said Allen, the federal government's point man on the disaster. The spill saw oil-patch jargon like "junk shot," "static kill" and "blowout preventer" join the American lexicon, t...

A Washington woman who told police that a stranger threw acid in her face admitted Thursday that her injuries were self- inflicted , authorities said. Bethany Storro, 28, told Vancouver Police that an African-American woman passed her on the street and threw a cup of caustic liquid in her face the evening of August 30. She was released from an Oregon hospital on September 5 after undergoing surgery for her injuries after the alleged attack. But discrepancies emerged during the investigation, Vancouver Police Chief Clifford Cook said in a press conference Thursday. "Ms. Storro admitted her injuries were self-inflicted and the attack itself had not occurred as she had previously reported," he said. Storro had credited a pair of sunglasses that she bought shortly before the attack with saving her eyesight. But details such as those led police to question her version of the attack, said police Commander Marla Schuman. "It was all the little things that didnt quite ...

London, England (CNN) -- Pope Benedict XVI expressed his "deep sorrow" Saturday for the child sexual abuse scandal that has rocked the Catholic Church, the first time he has publicly addressed the issue on his four-day trip to Britain. "I think of the immense suffering caused by the abuse of children, especially within the church and by her ministers," Benedict said during Mass at Westminster Cathedral. "Above all, I express my deep sorrow to the innocent victims of these unspeakable crimes, along with my hope that the power of Christ's grace, his sacrifice of reconciliation , will bring deep healing and peace to their lives. "I also acknowledge with you the shame and humiliation which all of us have suffered because of these sins; and I invite you to offer it to the Lord with trust that this chastisement will contribute to the healing of victims, the purification of the church, and the renewal of her age-old commitment to the education and care o...

(CNN) -- Toyota has reached a settlement with two families over product liability claims following a crash that killed four family members, a spokesman for the automaker said. California Highway Patrolman Mark Saylor; his wife, Cleofe Lastrella; a 13-year-old daughter, Mahala; and Saylor's brother-in-law, Chris Lastrella, were killed when a Lexus sedan they were in accelerated uncontrollably on a freeway near San Diego last year and crashed over an embankment. Lexus is a division of Toyota. "Toyota and the Saylor and Lastrella families reached an amicable agreement in mediation that fully resolves their product liability claims against Toyota and a Lexus dealership," Brian R. Lyons said. "Through mutual respect and cooperation, we were able to resolve this matter without the need for litigation ." Lyons said the company and two families "wish to keep the amount of the settlement confidential." Saylor family attorney John Gomez told CNN affil...

(CNN) -- Conditions from Hurricane Igor are expected to deteriorate Saturday as the "very large hurricane" stays on track to approach Bermuda this weekend, the National Hurricane Center said. Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Julia continues to diminish farther east in the Atlantic. As of early Saturday morning, Igor was about 510 miles (825 km) south-southeast of Bermuda, according to the Miami, Florida-based hurricane center. It packed winds of about 110 mph (175 kph) and was headed northwest at about 13 mph (20 kph). A hurricane warning is in effect for Bermuda , where Igor is projected to hit or approach by Sunday night. "Adverse weather conditions will be begin to affect Bermuda" on Saturday evening, the weather agency said. Igor is considered a "very large" hurricane, with hurricane-force winds extending up to 105 miles (165 km) from the center. The hurricane is expected to dump 5 to 8 inches of rain over Bermuda. "A dangerous storm surge is...

As a sex abuse scandal rocked the Roman Catholic Church, what did Pope Benedict XVI -- then a cardinal and Vatican official -- know, and when? Watch the investigation "What the Pope Knew," September 25 & 26 at 8 p.m. ET on CNN U.S. and on September 25 at 7 p.m. CET and September 26 at 8 a.m. HK on CNN International.   London, England (CNN) -- Investigators in Britain arrested six men on suspicion of terrorism Friday and reviewed security arrangements for Pope Benedict XVI's trip there, authorities said. Some news reports said the arrests involved a potential threat to the pope, who was in London on Friday, but the Metropolitan Police declined to say whether the case was directly linked to the pontiff 's visit. Police said they were satisfied the pope's security plan remains "appropriate," and the pope's itinerary did not change. Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said the pope and his representatives were not particularly worried...