The Netherlands today held municipal elections in hundreds of cities and towns across the country. The Freedom Party, a populist, anti-Muslim, and anti-immigration party led by Geert Wilders, ran in just two of those elections. In one city, it came in first, and in the other city, the Hague, it came in second. The party wants to outlaw Muslim headscarves in Holland.

In addition to brake problems, Toyota announced today that it will be fixing oil hoses in 1.6 million vehicles around the world, most of them in the U.S. A famous American adage states, "As General Motors goes, so goes the nation." In Japan, many are wondering if the same principle applies to Toyota. Our German partner Deutsche Welle reports from Japan.

The Royal Bank of Scotland has become the leading symbol of the U.K.'s banking crisis. RBS announced more big losses this week yet still found room to award its employees almost $2.5 billion in bonuses. That has sparked a good deal of outrage. The bank's rationale for the bonuses is similar to what many U.S. banks have said to justify big payouts.

A wave of unrest is building across Europe, as governments there seek to impose austerity measures. Several European countries -- Greece, Spain and Ireland -- are deeply in debt and under intense pressure to slash spending. For more, Martin Savidge interviews John Authers, and Deutsche Welle reports from around Europe.

General David Petraeus, the commander who oversees the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, said yesterday that the Marjah battle was the opening salvo in a broader campaign to turn back the Taliban, which could last 12 to 18 months. On NBC's "Meet the Press," he described the Taliban as both "formidable" and "a bit disjointed at this point."