Gleb Garanich / Reuters
Secondary school graduates dressed in traditional uniforms dance in a fountain as they celebrate the last day of school in Kiev on May 27. Students across Ukraine celebrated the end of the academic year on Friday, traditionally called the "last bell".
Sergey Dolzhenko / EPA
Ukrainian students fool around in a fountain as they celebrate the end of their school term at the Independence square in downtown Kiev, Ukraine, on May 27.
msnbc.com staff and news service reports: Around 80,000 people have fled since the north Sudanese army seized the disputed, oil-rich Abyei region almost a week ago, a southern official said Friday.
Pete Muller / AP
Father Emmanuel Malau stands with internally displaced children who recently fled heavy fighting in Abyei inside his church in the village of Mayan Abun, southern Sudan on May 26. Malau spent days scouring the area in his pickup truck looking for young children who struggled to walk from Abyei to safer areas. Tens of thousands fled heavy fighting in the hotly contested border town earlier this week during with the northern Sudanese military took effective control of Abyei.
Stuart Price / UNMIS via EPA
Homes burning in the center of Abyei town following the 21/22 May attack by the Northern Sudan Armed Forces (SAF), who swept in and seized the area ahead of the south's independence in July.
"The situation is going from worse to even worse," said Dominic Deng, commissioner of the southern Twic country in south Sudan bordering Abyei, where most refugees arrived.
"They are sleeping under the trees. They need food and water ... some people are dying," he told reporters.
Pete Muller / AP
Atong Aken, 9, weeps while clutching a suitcase in a makeshift internally displaced persons camp in Mayan Abun on May 26. While fleeing heavy fighting in the border town of Abyei, Atong became separated from her mother. Heavy fighting and the rapid exodus from Abyei left many families separated.
Stuart Price / UNMIS via AFP - Getty Images
Burnt and destroyed village huts on the outskirts of Abyei on May 24.
On Thursday, John Prendergast, co-founder of the advocacy group the Enough Project, said the international community must intervene to halt the north's actions.
"The ultimate strategy is to ethnically cleanse Abyei, similar to what the regime has done in parts of Darfur," Prendergast said. Continue reading.
Stuart Price / UNMIS via Reuters
Armed men walk past a U.N. peacekeeping mission camp in Abyei town on May 24.
Pete Muller / AP
Internally displaced southern Sudanese sleep on the floor of a church in the village of Mayen Abun on May 26. Tens of thousands of southern Sudanese fled heavy fighting in the hotly contested border town of Abyei earlier this week. More than one hundred people have holed up inside the Mayen Abun church, south of Abyei. Owing to the intensity of the fighting, many people fled their homes with nothing. International humanitarian organizations are moving to supply them with even the most basic of goods and services.
Stuart Price / UNMIS via EPA
Looted items scattered on the ground in front of a deserted homestead on the outskirts of Abyei town on May 24, following an attack and subsequent occupation of the town and surrounding area by the northern Sudan Armed Forces (SAF).
Ahmad al-Rubaye / AFP - Getty Images
Relatives and friends of the head of Iraq's controversial anti-Baath committee Ali al-Lami mourn during his funeral in Baghdad on May 27. Lami, the executive director of the Justice and Accountability, was gunned down while on his way home in the Iraqi capital on May 26.
The AP reports from BAGHDAD:
The head of a committee tasked with rooting out Iraqis with ties to Saddam Hussein's deposed regime and who was once arrested for alleged ties to Shiite militias has been shot to death in Baghdad, officials said.
Ali al-Lami was a divisive figure in Iraqi politics who had close ties to neighboring Iran's Shiite Muslim government and was known for the vigor with which he tried to root out Saddam-era loyalists from all levels of Iraqi government. Continue reading.
Uri Friedman of The Atlantic writes that al-Lami's death may be part of an alarming new wave of assassinations in Iraq.
David Gray / Reuters
A migrant worker rests his head on his construction hat and a soft-drink bottle as he sleeps in front of a construction site in central Beijing, China on May 27. Over the past decades, China's economic boom has largely been built on cheap labor and excessive use of resources. But a new generation of migrant workers demanded higher pay and better treatment, which adds to labor costs at home, Xinhua News Agency reported.
As he sleeps in front of an unreal vision of blue skies and fluffy clouds, I wonder if this migrant worker dreams of a bucolic life far from the Chinese capital.
Pedro Acosta / AP
Demonstrators sit in an abandoned couch after spending the night at Sol square during a protest in Madrid, Spain on May 27. Thousands of Spaniards have mounted a protest camp in the heart of the Spanish capital to express anger at political parties and the country's handling of the economic crisis.
The AP reports:
Spain's young people face a dark outlook. The jobless rate in the under-25 age bracket makes the national unemployment rate of 21.3 percent seem mild by comparison. Widen the bracket to the age of 29 and the rate is still a stunning 35 percent.
To voice their discontent, young people have been coordinating over the past two weeks via social media like Twitter and Facebook to set up huge camps in city centers. The camp in Madrid features makeshift clinics and libraries with grungy sofas as well as stands with donated apples and bananas, juice and baguette sandwiches.
"More than anything, this is about being fed up. We are absolutely fed up," said Maria Martinez, 32, sitting in a lounge chair under blue sheeting protecting the Madrid camp from a blazing midday sun.
"I am the first one to acknowledge we have reacted late and we have been asleep for a long time," Martinez said.
Read the full story on the background to the protests in Spain.
Mohammad Zubair / AP
Men carry a lifeless body of a man out of the rubble of a government building targeted in a suicide bombing in the Pakistani town of Hangu on May 27.
The AP reports from PESHAWAR, Pakistan:
A suicide bomber in a pickup truck detonated his explosives near several government offices in northwest Pakistan on Thursday, killing at least 32 people, in the latest violence to hit the country since the U.S. raid that killed Osama bin Laden. Continue reading.
Charles Rex Arbogast / AP
Miami Heat forward LeBron James (6) reacts as Miami wins Game 5 of the NBA basketball Eastern Conference finals against the Chicago Bulls on Thursday, May 26, in Chicago. Miami won 83-80.
Ratko Mladic, Europe's most wanted war criminal, was arrested on Thursday in a northern Serbian village after 16 years on the run. This photograph, which has just been released by Reuters, was taken after his arrest.
Politika via Reuters
Bosnian Serb wartime general Ratko Mladic in seen in a photo taken in Belgrade, Serbia on May 26. Mladic was arrested in Serbia on May 26 after years on the run from international genocide charges, opening the way for the once-pariah state to approach the European mainstream.
Serbian President Boris Tadic hopes that Mladic's arrest will clear the way for the former pariah state to join the European Union.
"This removes a heavy burden from Serbia and closes a page of our unfortunate history," Tadic said.
Milos Jelisijevic / EPA
The words "Ratko Hero" are hung on a sign at the entrance to the village of Lazarevo, where Mladic was arrested on May 26.
Many Serbs, though, still view Mladic as a hero.
In the village of Lazarevo, where Mladic was arrested yesterday morning, around 150 people joined a demonstration in support of the former general. The Guardian's Kevin Burden describes the scene.
Milos Jelisijevic / EPA
Some 150 pro-Mladic villagers protest in the village of Lazarevo after his arrest there on May 26.
Read more in our story about developments today in the extradition process and in Robert Windrem's special report on how the U.S. backed off in the hunt for Mladic in the late 1990s.
Desmond Boylan / Reuters
A Cuban Blue cat is pictured in Havana May 25, 2011. Cuban cat lovers believe there is a newly identified breed of short-hair cat they call the Cuban blue. Uriarte Rubio, president of the Cuban Association of Cat Enthusiasts, is spearheading the effort to identify the Cuban blue as a new breed and hopes it will one day take its place alongside the world's five other cat breeds known as "Blues"
From Reuters:
They act like typical house cats, but these are not just any felines. They are members of what Cuban cat lovers believe is a newly identified breed of short-hair cat they call the Cuban blue. full story
Related content:
John Donegan / Getty Images
Surfers return to the seas at Bronte beach as sea conditions return to normal following days of high tides, on May 27, 2011 in Sydney, Australia. Sea conditions were reported as clean with swells of 1-3 ft this morning after several days of high tides and strong winds, encouraging Sydney's surfers back to the water.
Ingolfur Juliusson / Reuters
Surfers paddle past icebergs covered in ash from the Grimsvotn volcano eruption, in the glacier lagoon at the base of Vatnajokull, Iceland, May 26. Iceland's Grimsvotn volcano is producing mostly steam rather than ash and should calm down within a few days, national police said on Thursday encouraging hopes there will be no further disruption to flights in northern Europe.
Ingolfur Juliusson / Reuters
Ingolfur Juliusson / Reuters
The Grimsvotn volcano has made for some incredible images, and apparently is becoming less of a threat.
Michael Reynolds / EPA
Soldiers of the 3rd US Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard) place grave decorating flags in Section 60, during the 'Flags In' ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia, USA, 26 May. The ceremony known as 'Flags In' is performed to commemorate and honor US military personnel ahead of the upcoming 30 May 2011 Memorial Day and has been conducted annually since 1948. During 'Flags In', the 3rd US Infantry Regiment will place an American flag at each of the more than 220,000 graves at Arlington National Cemetery. Section 60 is the final resting place for the majority of casualties at Arlington National Cemetery that died from Operation Iraqi Freedom in Iraq and Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan.
For many, Memorial Day is about family vacations or sales at the mall; for others it's about honoring service members or visiting the graves of deceased relatives. Visiting the Arlington Cemetery site, I was surprised to learn that they average 28 funerals a day. You can see today's funeral schedule here.
Win McNamee / Getty Images
Members of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment place American flags at the graves of U.S. soldiers buried at Arlington National Cemetery in preparation for Memorial Day May 26.
Win McNamee / Getty Images
U.S. Army Private Philip Wong places a flag at the headstone of Sgt. Paul Dumont at Arlington National Cemetery in preparation for Memorial Day May 26.
Aaron Sasson / NBC News
"...and the rebuild begins. Amazing." -- That's what NBC News photographer Aaron Sasson had to say when he tweeted this picture today. He let us know via email what the circumstances were:
We're working on a story for tonight's NBC Nightly News broadcast with Ron Mott reporting about a husband and wife who are rebuilding their hair salon in the most heavily damaged area of Joplin, MO. This couple went to the city, got a building permit, and started the rebuilding process right away. They said they hope to have a roof up by the end of the weekend.
Here's the story from Nightly:
Making a Difference: Just days after their hair salon was leveled by the deadly tornado, a builder and his wife are already getting started on the extreme makeover that rebuilding will require. NBC's Ron Mott reports.
Previously on PhotoBlog from Aaron: iPhone panoramic photograph of Joplin, Missouri tornado devastation
Matt McKean / AP
Darryl Strickland walks through what is left of his garage that was blown 50 yards along US 72 near Elgin, Ala., May 26, 2011, by Wednesday night's severe weather that raced across northwest Alabama.
Mahesh Kumar A / AP
A Royal Bengal tiger yawns at the Nehru Zoological Park in Hyderabad, India, Thursday, May 26.
See our latest roundup of great animal photos here.
Oli Scarff / Getty Images
A gallery assistant at the Saatchi Gallery observes a sculpture by artist Dirk Skreber entitled "Untitled (Crash 1)" on Thursday, May 26 in London, England. The sculpture features in the Saatchi Gallery's exhibition, "The Shape of Things to Come: New Sculpture" which showcases work from 20 international artists.
Here's an interview with artist Dirk Skreber about his crash sculptures inspired by the industrial presense in his childhood hometown. More photos at Saatchi Gallery's site here.
Photographer Sarosh Jacob shares his video and describes his experience of swimming in Palau's Jellyfish Lake with TODAY.com's Dara Brown.
Sarosh Jacob
Sarosh Jacob
Sarosh Jacob
Vicky Floresca
Sarosh Jacob
Sarosh Jacob, an msnbc.com reader, shared with us his experience at Jellyfish Lake in Palau.
This lake is unique in that it is a remnant of the ice age and these jellyfish only exist in Palau and nowhere else. Thousands of years ago the jellyfish became trapped in this lake and with no predators they evolved into a new species that no longer have harmful stings. This allows you to safely swim with tens of thousands of them! It was one of the most incredible experiences in my life.
I first heard about the lake in a BBC documentary called South Pacific. As soon as I saw what it looked like I knew I would go there one day to experience it for myself. When I arrived at the island I had to hike a pretty steep and rocky trail to get to the lake. My camera with the underwater housing is very heavy so luckily I brought a backpack to carry it because I don't think I could have managed up the steep trail trying to hold it in my hand. When I entered the lake I was not sure what to expect. At first I saw nothing but water, as I continued to swim further out I saw one jellyfish and I remember being excited by that. Then I swam some more and saw 10 or 12 jellyfish, then a hundred and all of the sudden I found myself surrounded by thousands of jellyfish! It was truly a surreal moment. In all my years of diving I had never experienced anything quite like it. A lot of people have been asking me if I was stung by the jellyfish. I was perfectly fine; from what they told me in Palau, the jellyfish in this particular lake are harmless as their stingers are not powerful enough to affect people. Palau truly is a special place.
More at Jacob's website: www.saroshjacob.com
Joe Raedle / Getty Images
Clothes are seen hanging in a closet inside a destroyed house in Joplin on Thursday, May 26, after it was destroyed when a massive tornado passed through the town. The town continues the process of recovering from the storm.
Eric Gaillard / Reuters
Ferrari Formula One driver Fernando Alonso of Spain drives in the Ferrari pit during the second practice session of the Monaco F1 Grand Prix on Thursday, May 26.
Mark Thompson / Getty Images
General view as cars drive around the harbor during practice for the Monaco Formula One Grand Prix at the Monte Carlo Circuit in Monte Carlo, Monaco, on Thursday.
AP reports:
Fernando Alonso took a liking to the Pirelli supersoft tires, posting the quickest time in Thursday's second practice session for the Monaco Grand Prix with Lewis Hamilton just behind.
Alonso had been second behind defending F1 champion Sebastian Vettel in the first practice. But the Ferrari driver shaved more than a second off his morning session time as drivers tried the supersoft optional tires under a hot afternoon sun. Continue reading.
Binod Joshi / AP
Supporters of Nepal's pro-monarch National Democratic Party take out a torch rally close to Nepal's Constitutional Assembly building in Katmandu, Nepal, Thursday, May 26.
According to the AP: Nepal's National Democratic Party, which supports monarchy and wants the former king to be reinstated, were protesting demanding a national referendum. Five years after the country's communist rebels gave up a bloody revolt to join a peace process, raising hopes of a new era of stability, the country is sinking deeper into political turmoil, leaving its dreams of becoming a modern Switzerland of the East unrealized.
John Macdougall / AFP - Getty Images
The vehicle of the Lycee Saint Joseph (France) racing teamcompetes in the Shell Eco Marathon at the Lausitz Eurospeedway in Klettwitz May 26, 2011. Some 200 teams from 26 countries are competing in this year's edition of the Eco Marathon to determine who has built the most energy efficient vehicle.
John Macdougall / AFP - Getty Images
The vehicle of the Lycee Technique des Arts et Metiers (Luxemburg) racing team competes in the Shell Eco Marathon at the Lausitz Eurospeedway in Klettwitz May 26, 2011.
John Macdougall / AFP - Getty Images
Members of the Universidad Catolica San Antonio (Spain) racing team sit under the shade of their vehicle's solar panel as they wait for a technical inspection before competing in the Shell Eco Marathon at the Lausitz Eurospeedway in Klettwitz May 26, 2011.
John Macdougall / AFP - Getty Images
The vehicle of the Microjoule La Joliverie (France) racing team undergoes a technical inspection before competing in the Shell Eco Marathon at the Lausitz Eurospeedway in Klettwitz May 26, 2011.
John Macdougall / AFP - Getty Images
The vehicle of the Philipp-Matthaeus-Hahn-Schule (Germany) racing team competes in the Shell Eco Marathon at the Lausitz Eurospeedway in Klettwitz May 26, 2011.
More information about the competition on Shell's website.
Mukesh Gupta / Reuters
Inmates play bagpipes as part of their routine training inside Kotbhalwal central jail in Jammu, India on May 20.
Reuters reports:
Jail authorities have formed a 20-member pipe band of a team of prisoners who are being trained to play and perform musical instruments. Once the band is ready, they will be sent to perform at weddings and other social functions, a jail superintendent said. The main aim of creating the pipe band is to develop relations of these prisoners with the rest of the outside world and to involve them in various social functions so as to change their mindset, the superintendent added.
AP
Residents try to extinguish flames on a small plane which crashed in a residential area in Faridabad, on the outskirts of New Delhi, India, early on May 26.
The AP reports:
The chartered plane was being used as an air ambulance to ferry a patient to a New Delhi hospital when it crashed Wednesday, killing 10 people, government officials said. According to the Press Trust of India, the airplane lost control during a dust storm and plunged from about 8,000 feet.
Ibraheem Abu Mustafa / Reuters
Palestinians wait in a taxi to cross into Egypt at the Rafah border crossing in the southern Gaza Strip on May 26. Egypt will open its border with the Gaza Strip "on a daily basis" starting from May 28, the state MENA news agency said on Wednesday, to ease entry restrictions for Palestinians.
Read more about Egypt's decision to end its blockade of Gaza.
AFP - Getty Images
Officials standing beside damaged cars at a government office after an explosion in Fuzhou city, in eastern China's Jiangxi province, on May 26. Three explosions including two car blasts struck government buildings, an official said, with state media reporting at least five people were injured.
The AP reports from BEIJING: Explosions, some from car bombs, occurred within a half-hour outside three government buildings in a south China city Thursday, killing two people and wounding at least six others, officials said. Continue reading.
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