WBEZ 91.5 Chicago

In lavish style, President Obama and Queen Elizabeth II on Tuesday affirmed a bond between the United States and the United Kingdom that has strengthened through the sacrifice of war and a history of common values. As the queen put it, the relationship is "tried, tested and, yes, special."

President Obama leaves Sunday night on a week-long trip to Europe. He'll visit with the Queen of England, attend a G-8 summit meeting in France, and sit down with a group of central European leaders in Poland.

It's bound to be a tense meeting. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with President Obama at the White House Friday, just hours after rejecting the central tenet of Obama's latest peace plan proposal.In his speech about Middle East issues Thursday, Obama reiterated U.S.

In his speech addressing the Muslim world on Thursday, President Obama will attempt partially to close the gap between U.S. ideals about democracy and its strategic interests in the Middle East and North Africa.

A recent study in Germany shows that for women, business boardroom doors remain largely shut. They constitute a mere 2.2 percent of the executive boards of Germany's top 100 companies.

Food prices are rising, but the impact is not being felt equally around the world, says environmentalist Lester Brown.Brown, the founder and president of the Earth Policy Institute, argues that food has quickly become the hidden driver of world politics in a piece published in the May/June issue of