prime minister mario monte was attending a nato summit in chicago. he decided to return home ahead of schedule. >>> it's been four years since a powerful earthquake struck china's sichuan province, it left more than 80,000 people dead or missing. the government has spent more than $270 billion on rebuilding the area, but its efforts do little to help bereaved families recover from their pain. nhk world's utell oktani reports. >> reporter: four years after the earthquake, the government sponsored memorial services across the province. yingxhu is the nearest town to the quake's epicenter. the powerful jolt flattened all the houses. 6,000 people died. about half the town's population. i visited a junior high school that used to stand in the town's center. the remains of several students are still buried under the wreckage. officials are preserving what is left of the building as a quake memorial. they say with the parents' consent. china's government is quickly restoring the destroyed areas. because the region has become widely known as the one closest

and italians are voting in the first election since mario monte was tapped to save the country from itsis. austerity measures in italy are also angering voters. monica viamizar. >> halan will be sworn in as france's new president may 18th. >>> here is a look at the stories you will see in the baltimore sun. concerns of gas pipelines that will run through baltimore. >>> and more on chris davis' unforgettable pitching performance. these stories and much more on tomorrow's baltimore sun. >>> a team of super heros is taking a box office by storm. the avengers that's what you're looking at took home a record $200 million opening weekend. that shatters the previous record held by the final harry potter movie. worldwide the marvel epic brought in $600 million. >> all these heros from the past are coming back to the screen. >> we need them. just in time. >>> energy drinks that will give you a boost but the damage to your teeth may not make it worth it. details in health watch. >>> the families of two teens killed in an accident. >>> i'm bob turk, more showers headed our way. i'll have five day

. >>> italy's prime minister mario monte is heading home from the nato summit after a strong earthquake shook parts of his country early this morning. the u.s. geological survey says the epicenter of the 6.0 quake was just northwest of bologna. they're still looking through the rubble looking for survivors. at least seven people are dead and 50 injured. >>> a blind chinese activist is spending his first sunday with his family in new york. he got here only after a tricky diplomatic. after a lot of mediation, he was given clearance to leave the country. he spoke through a translator after arriving in new york yesterday. >> at the most critical juncture, the american embassy in china provided a safe haven, and the american government has provided great assistance. and given me partial citizenship rights here. >> chen will begin his fellowship at new york university here. >>> nyu offered this opportunity after the chinese government said he could leave the country to study abroad. i spoke to chen's friend, an nyu professor, jerome cohen, earlier. he was involved in the mediation that finall

whether there's other actions that can be done that can make it a little easier for people like mario monteare doing the right things but have to support the politics. my guess is you'll see out of the haland election there will be agreement to try to add to investment facilities, i wrote about the european investment bank to try to support some the overall structural reforms. this is going to be a very tough period. >> you said it could makes markets nervous. does it make youer er you nerv? >> yeah. europe is one of the big uncertainties for the world economy. >> if had you to put money on it, do you think this is something at the end of 2012 we'll have our arms around and will have as good a grip as we have now or will it get worse or better? >> i think it's a long stumbling through. there's a lot of deleveraging that has to take place in europe. we see the effects of that globally because european banks are global players. for a number the economies it's going to take a while. since europe can deal with the issues like spanish bank, you start to restore some of the market confidence. if