Yesterday President Obama announced that he is scrapping the Bush administration's plans for a land-based missile defense system in Poland and the Czech Republic. He's opting instead to focus on a defense system that would intercept shorter-range missiles from Iran. This move has upset Poland and the Czech Republic, but pleased Russia, who was against Bush's plan. Is this an intelligent decision based on new information about Iran's weapons? Or will it empower Russia and Iran at the expense of American allies? We speak to former U.S. Ambassador John Bolton, who served under President Bush, and to Alexander Cooley, professor of International Relations and Foreign Policy at Barnard College. (Click through for a full interview transcript.)

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown will launch an inquiry into the Iraq War. Britain backed up the U.S. during the invasion of 2003 and British soldiers fought in Iraq. The war was unpopular in the U.K. and hurt the political standing of Brown's predecessor Tony Blair. Joining The Takeaway is BBC Political Correspondent and a Former BBC Pentagon Correspondent Nick Childs to talk about the inquiry.

As residents of the central Italian city L'Aquila slept on Sunday, a deadly earthquake hit the surrounding region. Entire blocks of buildings were destroyed, rendering an estimated 17,000 people homeless and causing the deaths of 179 people. According to the U.S. Geological Survey the quake registered a 6.3 magnitude, while Italy's National Institute of Geophysics recorded it as a 5.8. Aftershocks and inclement weather have been interfering with rescue efforts and an estimated 37 people are still missing. Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi declared a state of emergency for the Abruzzo region, approximately 60 miles from Rome. For more we turn to the BBC's Rome Correspondent David Willey.

Watch Italian rescue teams sift through rubble in the aftermath of the earthquake in L'Aquila.

As residents of the central Italian city L'Aquila slept, a deadly earthquake hit the surrounding region, killing at least 50 people. Entire blocks of buildings were destroyed, displacing around 10,000 people. According to the U.S. Geological Survey the quake registered a 6.3 magnitude, while Italy's National Institute of Geophysics recorded it as a 5.8. For more we turn to the BBC's Rome Correspondent David Willey.

Watch CNN's footage of the devastating earthquake in the clip below.

French police have clashed with anti-Nato protesters in Strasbourg, firing tear gas and rubber bullets to stop a crowd getting to the city center. Masked protesters smashed bus shelters and set fire to rubbish bins. There are reportedly some 25,000 police are on duty to control the tens of thousands of protesters expected to attend.



Despite the ruckus in the streets, speaking at the start of the celebration and meeting, President Barack Obama hailed NATO as the most successful alliance in modern history and a central pillar is strong European defense:

There's been plenty of outrage in the U.S. over collapsing banks, bailouts and bonuses, but the financial crisis is turning violent in Europe. Fred Goodwin, the former chief executive of the ailing Royal Bank of Scotland, had his house and car vandalized this week and the manager of a 3M factory in France was barricaded in an office by workers demanding better severance packages for employees being laid off. All this comes ahead of the G20 meeting in London next week, where some protesters are planning to hang effigies of bankers from lamp posts. Damian McLoughlin, managing director of the security firm Guardian GS, joins us for a look at the security concerns for bankers in this environment.

For a look at the vandalism on Fred Goodwin's home in Edinburgh watch the video below.

Back in 1981, in the United Kingdom, a group of men from the Irish Republican Army made headlines. They were imprisoned in a British jail in Belfast, Ireland. They said they were political prisoners. Margaret Thatcher said otherwise.The award-winning film "Hunger" tracks the last six weeks in the life of Irish hunger striker Bobby Sands. Sands starved himself to death at the age of 27, in a brutal Belfast prison called The Maze. His death raises questions about out notions of martyrdom and fanaticism. The Takeaway is joined by visual artist Steven McQueen, who directed the film.

Over one million French workers are expected to join the country's second nationwide strike in two months. They are protesting French President Sarkozy's handling of the economic downturn. As unemployment has reached almost two million, organizers predict the protest will be even bigger than the last one in January. For more we turn to Hugh Schofield, the BBC's Paris correspondent.

Two soldiers and a policeman have been murdered in Northern Ireland in the past few days. It’s brought a shock to the province which—in the most part—has enjoyed peace since the Good Friday Agreement in 1998, that led to power-sharing. The murders have been claimed by two Republican splinter groups—the so-called Continuity IRA, and the Real IRA—who are both against the peace process.

Seasoned Northern Ireland watcher Kevin Cullen at the Boston Globe discusses the significance of what’s happening in Northern Ireland, and how this story is being viewed by Irish Americans in Boston. John Hockenberry hosts from Boston.

Germany is Europe's largest economy and like much of the world it has been hit in the financial crunch. Senior members of Chancellor Angela Merkel's coalition government have agreed on an enormous economic stimulus package for the country. The stimulus package is worth 50 billion euros and is in addition to a plan passed last month that was worth 23 billion euros. This adds up to one of the strongest stimulus plans so far in Europe. Bertrand Benoit is following the story for the Financial Times and joins us from Berlin.