These two 1947 broadcasts mark the start and finish of the Friendship Food Train's U.S. journey, a project conceived to help the people of Europe get through the winter. 

Four cities in Italy have created what is known as the Circuito Lirico Lombardo, a consortium that works collaboratively to create four opera productions every season. Fred Plotkin reports from Italy.

Just last year, Silvio Berlusconi officially submitted his resignation as Italy's prime minister, but Berlusconi has announced that he'll be seeking a return to power. Rachel Donadio, Rome bureau chief for our partner The New York Times, discusses Italy's newest challenges and Berlusconi's continued influence

The name Jovanotti might not mean much to Americans. But the Tuscan artist has been putting out best-selling albums overseas since the late 1980s -- including his 2011 record Ora, which premiered at the top of the Italian charts. Jovanotti recently released his first-ever album in the United States, a career-spanning record titled Italia: 1988-2012. The Italian superstar joined us in the Soundcheck studio to talk about falling in love with early American hip hop and thinking like a cook rather than a musician -- plus, he performed live.

We look at some of the UN speeches from countries that aren't getting the headlines, including Mali, Guatemala, and Italy. Featuring:

• Barbara Schieber, editor of Guatemala Times, examines President Molina's speech and his proposal around drug legalization
• Adam Nossiter, West Africa correspondent for the New York Times, discusses the UN reaction to the crisis in Mali.
• Hugo Dixon, founder and editor of Reuters Breakingviews, on Italian PM Monti's speech and how the Eurozone crisis is playing out at the UN.

In 2003, an Egyptian terrorist suspect was abducted and flown to Egypt, where he says he was tortured and interrogated by the CIA. Years later, several Americans were indicted in Italy and found guilty in absentia for kidnapping. Now one has the chance to have her conviction overturned.

After the national anthems are finished, the focus of the Euro 2012 final will be squarely on the field. But in the background of what's sure to be a fantastic soccer match, there's still plenty of music to be heard.

Before the Euro 2012 final even starts on Sunday, both Italy and Spain will display their national melodies front and center. What exactly will the players be singing (or humming along with) when their anthems are played?

Turin, or Torino, is the only city in Italy right now that rivals Milan when it comes to opera and symphonic music, writes Fred Plotkin. Its food, wine and feeling of sophistication make it worth a visit.

What exactly happened on board the Costa Concordia? How did a luxury cruise go so wrong? Expertise in the psychology of risk perception, the explanation for why our perception of and response to risk sometimes seems pretty irrational. We’re too afraid of some things, and not afraid enough of others, which sometimes leads to new risks all by itself.

Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti is to meet Thursday with his German and French counterparts to discuss euro zone issues. On Wednesday, Germany attempted to raise €6 billion in 10 year bonds, but only sold €3.6 billion. Louise Cooper, markets analyst for BGC Partners in London, has the latest.

His days as prime minister of Italy are coming to an end, but Silvio Berlusconi isn't fading away quietly. On Tuesday, his fourth album of love songs will be released to the public. Titled "Il Vero Amore" (True Love), the album features 11 ballads, which are performed with the help of his long-time collaborator Mariano Apicella. But Berlusconi is hardly the only politician with musical aspirations. Here in the States, political figures from Bill Clinton and Ted Kennedy to Orrin Hatch and Condoleezza Rice have tried their hands at music.

With Silvio Berlusconi officially submitting his resignation this weekend, the Mario Monti era begins in Italy. The interim prime minister's first task will be to form a new government to enforce the country's recently approved austerity package to get the country's debt burden under control. But who is Italy's new leader? And will his new government be enough to prevent a further crisis in the euro zone?

As the European sovereign debt crisis has spread from Greece to Italy, investors worst fears are coming true. "Contagion" is the word of the day, as Italy's precarious situation threatens to destabilize the entire euro zone, possibly posing a systemic risk to the global economy. A central member of the euro zone, and Europe's third largest economy, Italy is too large to be bailed out by Europe as was the case with Greece. Italian bond rates have skyrocketed to above 7 percent, as investor fret over whether Italy's government will be capable of dealing with the crisis, even with the departure of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.

A different look at the euro zone crisis with a look at the very idea of the European Union. It grew out of the wreckage of World War II, with politicians determined to end the rivalries which had driven Europe to war twice in 25 years. Former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, presiding at the Hague Congress in 1948, launched the call for a political, economic and monetary union of Europe. This landmark conference would eventually see six European countries coming together to sign the Treaty of Rome in 1957 which created the European Economic Community — now of course, the much larger 27-member European Union.

Interest rates on Italy's debt have soared to dangerously high levels, as bond yields hit 7.4 percent — the level that has driven other euro zone countries to seek bailouts. In comparison, Germany's interest rates stand at just 0.24 percent. Wednesday's news comes just a day after Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi pledged to step down on the condition that Parliament pass an austerity budget required by the European Union. Uncertainty over whether Europe's third largest economy will be able to meet its fiscal challenges will continue to test world markets.

2011 has been a year of sweeping changes in leadership worldwide. The Arab Spring meant the end of decades-long dictatorships across the middle east, and now threats of default have forced Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi to resign. As the European debt crisis continues to unfold, more changes--including a shift which countries step up to deal with these problems--are assuredly ahead.

For two decades, Silvio Berlusconi has dominated Italian politics as the longest serving national leader in Europe. But in the last 24 hours, it seems his reign may finally be coming to an end — an idea unthinkable to many Italians who thought he would be in power for life. Berlusconi pledged to resign on Tuesday on the condition Parliament passes an austerity package. From his outrageous comments to his sex scandals to repeated allegations of corruption in his government, the BBC's Rome correspondent, David Willey looks back at the remarkable and colorful career of Silvio Berlusconi.