British food and drink is having a moment: thanks to a bright new generation who are pushing the boundaries of culinary talent and creativity. Now their skills and innovation are being recognised.

It is a long way from an Essex pub: the celebrity-chef- turned-food-campaigner Jamie Oliver is picking up a prestigious Harvard award for his work to combat childhood obesity.

Nato leaders are meeting in Chicago to endorse plans to hand over command of combat operations in Afghanistan by the middle of next year - as President Obama declares the war is effectively over.

More than a billion people are at risk of hunger and malnutrition in the developing world: President Obama hopes private investment will help boost agricultural production and improve food security.

The new French president Francois Hollande will meet Barack Obama in the White House, ahead of the G-8 summit at Camp David on Thursday: is a new Franco-American relationship being forged?

From Petra the dog to the sunken garden, generations of Britons have grown up watching Blue Peter. Now they will have to find it on digital channels - as part of BBC plans to slash costs.

Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney apologises, after reports that he bullied a classmate at his high school, who was presumed to be gay. Not good enough, say his critics.

How much would you pay for dinner with George Clooney? A fundraising meal at the Hollywood star's Los Angeles home is set to raise a record $12 million for President Obama's re-election campaign.

The parents of the murdered black American teenager Trayvon Martin have come to Britain to meet the family of Stephen Lawrence, and visit the spot where he was murdered in 1993.

From Greece to France, from Britain to Italy, the message seems clear. Voters have had enough of the politics of austerity, enough of economic pain. But is there a realistic alternative?