Muhammed Muheisen / AP
Vehicles move past Pakistani day-laborers, sleeping under a mosquito net, in the middle of a street in Islamabad, Pakistan, early Monday, June 4, 2012.
Muhammed Muheisen / AP
Images of daily life, political pursuits, religious rites and deadly violence.
See more images from Pakistan in our slideshow at left and on PhotoBlog.
Peter Muhly / AFP - Getty Images
Olympic Torch bearers Clare Leahy and Denis Broderick carry the torch over the Carrick-A-Rede rope bridge in Ballintoy, Northern Ireland, on June 4. The Olympic Torch relay started at Land's End, the southwest tip of England, to begin an 8,000-mile (12,875-kilometre) journey around Britain, with a detour to also visit the Irish capital Dublin. It will culminate in the flame being brought to the Olympic Stadium for the opening of the Games on July 27.
Peter Muhly / AFP - Getty Images
Olympic Torch bearer Peter Jack carries the torch at the Giants Causeway, Bushmills, Northern Ireland, on June 4.
The torch is on a 5-day tour of Ireland on its way to London for the start of the Olymic games, July 27. Full story.
Jim Watson / Pool via AFP - Getty Images
U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta speaks to USNS Richard E. Byrd Chief Mate Fred Cullen while on a water taxi out to the ship docked at Vietnam's Cam Ranh Bay on June 3, 2012. Panetta arrived from Singapore on June 3 to visit a major base used by U.S. forces in the Vietnam War, as Washington seeks to deepen ties with its former enemy to counter a more assertive posture from China. Panetta was to visit the naval cargo ship currently at the port, the USNS Richard E. Byrd, which moves cargo for the naval fleet with a mostly civilian crew.
Kham / Reuters
U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta reviews the guard of honor during a welcoming ceremony at the Defence Ministry in Hanoi June 4, 2012. Panetta is in Hanoi on a three-day visit to Vietnam from June 3 to 5.
Jim Watson / Pool via Reuters
U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Vietnam's Defence Minister Phung Quang Thanh speaks at a joint news conference in Hanoi June 4, 2012.
Jim Watson / Pool via Reuters
Vietnam's Defence Minister Phung Quang Thanh looks at U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta at left during their joint news conference at the Defence Ministry in Hanoi June 4, 2012. Panetta returns the gaze at right.
Jim Watson / Pool via Reuters
Reuters reports: The Vietnamese government on Monday gave a boost to the search for missing U.S. servicemen from the Vietnam War, telling visiting U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta they would open three previously closed sites to permit excavation for remains.
The announcement came as U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Vietnam Defense Minister Phung Quang Thanh exchanged long-held artifacts collected during the war -- including letters written by a U.S. soldier who was killed that had been kept and used as propaganda, and a small maroon diary belonging to a Vietnamese soldier. A U.S. service member took the journal back to the U.S. Full story.
Photos at right: Top: A picture is seen next to the diary which belonged to Vietnamese soldier Vu Dinh Doan, which was originally taken from Doan's body by U.S. Marine Robert Frazure following Operation Indiana in 1966, on a table at the Defence Ministry in Hanoi June 4, 2012. U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta presented the diary to Vietnam's Defence Minister General Phung Quang Thanh during a news conference at the ministry.
Bottom: The personal letters of U.S. Army Sgt. Steve Flaherty, who was killed during the Vietnam war in 1969, are seen on a table at the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) in Hanoi June 4, 2012. Vietnam's Defence Minister General Phung Quang Thanh presented the letters to U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta during a news conference at the Defence Ministry. Panetta is in Hanoi on a three-day visit to Vietnam from June 3 to 5.
More about the letters by Sgt. Flaherty
Vietnam has given U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta the personal letters of a soldier who was killed in the Vietnam war in 1969. Msnbc.com's Dara Brown reports.
Julie Jacobson / AP
Miss Rhode Island Olivia Culpo, center, is surrounded by fellow contestants after being crowned Miss USA during the 2012 Miss USA pageant, June 3, in Las Vegas, Nev.
Olivia Culpo topped a field of 51 beauty queens on Sunday to take the title at the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino on the Las Vegas Strip. She strutted across the stage in a purple bikini and a purple evening gown with sparkly belt.
-- Reported by The Associated Press
Julie Jacobson / AP
Fifty-one hopefuls were whittled down to one winner after the swimsuit, evening gown and interview competitions.
Kari Greer / US Forest Service via Reuters
Charred trees from a forest fire in the Whitewater-Baldy Complex in New Mexico dominate the landscape in this June 2, 2012 handout photo obtained by Reuters June 3.
Residents and business owners will be allowed to return to the small privately run ghost town of Mogollon on Monday as fire crews battling the largest wildfire in New Mexico's recorded history continued to make progress.
The town was evacuated on May 26 as extreme wind fueled the Whitewater-Baldy Complex fire, now at 377 square miles.
AP
A man wrestles with a leopard as a forest official tries to catch it with a net in Duliajan, India, June 3. The animal was found hiding inside a residential area, and during forest officials' attempts to capture the big cat, they were forced to shoot and kill it.
Read more from the Times of India
AP
AP
Michael Nagle / Getty Images
Space Shuttle Enterprise is carried by barge underneath the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge on June 3, in New York City. Enterprise is on its way to the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum, where it will put on permanent display.
"It brings a tear to your eye," said Richard Kaplan of Massapequa Park, one of the many spectators gathered near Queens' Cross Bay Bridge Sunday afternoon.
VIDEO: Space shuttle Enterprise sails towards Intrepid
The Enterprise gave New Yorkers much to admire in late April when it flew around New York City's most famous sites atop a 747 jet before landing at Kennedy. Its boat ride to the Intrepid Sunday also involved notable sites: cruising across New York Harbor, it passed the Marine Parkway-Gil Hodges Memorial Bridge, Coney Island, and went under the Verrazano Bridge before it docked at Port Elizabeth, N.J. "I would have been here at 2 in the morning if I knew the thing was going to be here," said Kaplan. "It's that important."
-- Reported by Jonathan Vigliotti NBCNewYork.com
Feng Li / Getty Images
A Chinese paramilitary policeman guards on the Tiananmen Rostrum, June 3, in Beijing, China, on the eve of the 23rd anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre. Hundreds of students died in the Tiananmen Square area of Beijing in June 1989 when the Chinese government sent in troops to crush a pro-democracy uprising and preserve one-party rule in China.
Related story: China fails to halt Tiananmen book's HK release
CKN via AFP - Getty Images
Residents of the Iju district of Lagos, Nigeria, gather at the site where a Dana company aircraft crashed into a two-story building on June 3.
CKN / AFP - Getty Images
Residents of the Iju district of Lagos are seen a few moments after the crash.
Nigerian authorities said Sunday that as many as 153 people were aboard a Dana Airlines passenger jet that crashed into a two-story building in Lagos, the country's largest city. "I don't believe there are any survivors," said Harold Denuren, Nigeria's director of aviation
Authorities said that in addition to the passengers and crew aboard the plane, an unknown number of people may also have been killed or hurt on the ground. President Goodluck Jonathan canceled all appointments for Monday and declared three days of official mourning for the victims.
-- Reported by M. Alex Johnson of msnbc.com
AFP - Getty Images
Indian guitar players raise their instruments in unison after making a new Limca record for "largest guitar ensemble" in Guwahati, India, on June 3. Some 5,406 people made up the mass guitar ensemble for an attempt in the Limca Book of Records, a record book of Indian origin first published in 1990.
Boris Horvat / AFP - Getty Images
The body of a dead whale, hooked on the bow of a cargo ship, is seen on June 2, in Marseille, France. The animal was hit by the vessel "Mont Ventoux" on the route between France and Tunisia and was discovered dead upon the arrival of the ship in the Seaport of Marseille.
Rebecca Conway / Reuters
A boy bathes next to a well while his family members collect water at a brick factory on the outskirts of Islamabad, Pakistan, June 2.
Vahid Salemi / AP
Between portraits of late Iranian revolutionary founder Ayatollah Khomeini, right, and supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad delivers a speech on the eve of the 23rd death anniversary of Ayatollah Khomeini, at his mausoleum just outside Tehran, Iran, June 2.
Dmitry Lovetsky / AP
The Russian aerobatic group "Russkiye Vityazi" (Russian Knights) fly their Sukhoi SU-27 jet fighters during a local airshow at the Pushkin military airport outside St.Petersburg, Russia, June 2.
Valentina Petrova / AP
The hands of a rose picker are full of roses during the rose-picking season near the village of Tarnichene, Bulgaria.
Rose oil production in Bulgaria's famous Rose Valley is set to increase by 25 percent according to a mid-season estimate by experts in spite of the climate changes and economy crisis. Bulgaria is traditionally one of the biggest world exporters of high-grade rose oil along with Morocco and neighboring Turkey, with clients mostly from the United States, France, Germany, United Kingdom and Japan. Rose oil is the most commonly used essential oil in the perfume industry.
Valentina Petrova / AP
A rose picker carries a sack full of rose flowers as he walks in a rose field.
Valentina Petrova / AP
An elderly woman picks roses.
Valentina Petrova / AP
An elderly woman carries a sack full of rose flowers on her head as she walks in rose field.
Valentina Petrova / AP
Rose pickers load sacks full of rose flowers onto a horse cart.
John Moore / Getty Images
Graveyard workers carry a casket carrying the body of a Lhasa Apso for burial on June 2, in Hartsdale, N.Y.
The Hartsdale Pet Cemetery, established in 1896, is the oldest pet cemetery in the United States and serves as the final resting place for tens of thousands of animals. Pet owners can spend as much as $20,000 for a large plot to bury multiple pets and as little as $300-400 for small plots to bury ashes if they choose cremation. Pet owners also have the option of eventually having their own ashes buried in the plot, alongside their pets.
John Moore / Getty Images
A pet, his grave festooned by its former owner, lies buried at the Hartsdale Pet Cemetery.
John Moore / Getty Images
Rosenann Capano shows off a photo of her former retriever Brandy while visiting the dog's grave.
John Moore / Getty Images
A pet owner adjusts adornments atop her dog's grave stone.
John Moore / Getty Images
Maddalena Sullivan shades herself with an umbrella while visiting the grave of her cat Spanky.
Amr Nabil / AP
Egyptians celebrate as they hear the verdict over a car radio on ousted president Hosni Mubarak outside the police academy courtroom in Cairo, Egypt, June 2.
Reuters
Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak sits inside a cage in a courtroom in Cairo June 2.
Presiding judge Ahmed Refaat also sentenced his former interior minister, Habib el-Adli, to life in prison on the same charge. But Mubarak's two sons -- Gamal and Alaa -- were acquitted on corruption charges.
Scuffles broke out in the Cairo courtroom between supporters and opponents of the former president after the verdicts were announced.
Mohammed Salem / Reuters
Supporters of deposed president Hosni Mubarak react after a court sentenced him to life in prison, outside the police academy where the court is located in Cairo, June 2.
Mohammed Salem / Reuters
Protesters demonstrate after a court sentenced deposed president Hosni Mubarak to life in prison at Tahrir Square in Cairo, June 2.
Pete Jeary / NBC News
Michael Kelion hands out burgers at the Granard Ave. street party as the feasting is in full swing. Around 200 people sat down to share in a Jubilee lunch.
Pete Jeary / NBC News
Georgina Spry
Georgina Spry, 35, had been up since early Saturday morning, decorating her house on Worfield Street. Cardboard cutouts of the Royal family had been put in the bedroom windows. "The Queen's wearing my wedding dress. It looks good on her," she said. "I love this - especially getting so much done before the baby wakes up."
The Worfield Street jubilee party was sponsored by an English sparkling wine company - with catering provided by a local chef. "As I don't have to worry about cooking", she told me, "I can concentrate on getting the house fit for a queen."
Queen off to the races as celebration begins.
Andrew Cowie / AFP - Getty Images
Residents of Battersea in south London decorate their homes with bunting, flags and cardboard cutouts of British royals as they hold a street party on June 2.
Suzanne Plunkett / Reuters
People pose with a cutout of Britain's Queen Elizabeth during a street party to celebrate her Diamond Jubilee at Primrose Hill in London June 2.
Pete Jeary / NBC News
Her Majesty as she's rarely seen, in jelly.
Andrew Cowie / AFP - Getty Images
Two women pet dogs wearing crowns as residents of a street in Battersea hold a Jubilee street party in London, June 2.
NASA
NASA satellite image shows wildfires burning in the Gila National Forest, New Mexico, May 31, 2012. The Whitewater-Baldy Complex fire is the biggest in the state's history, officials said. Image taken May 31, 2012.
With more than 300 miles of burn zone, the unrelenting wildfire is the largest-ever in New Mexico and the smoke is spreading over population centers. NBC's Miguel Almaguer reports.
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SpaceX
SpaceX's scorched Dragon capsule sits on its American Marine recovery ship after being fished out of the Pacific Ocean on Thursday.
SpaceX's scorched Dragon cargo capsule is on a ship making its way back to Los Angeles after Thursday's historic descent from orbit.
The California-based company reported that the 14.4-foot-high (4.4-meter-high) spacecraft and its more than 1,300 pounds (620 kilograms) of cargo were in good shape, despite its plunge from the International Space Station. On the way down, the Dragon weathered re-entry temperatures in excess of 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit (1,650 degrees Celsius). At a height of 40,000 feet, the Dragon started deploying its parachutes and drifted into the Pacific, about 560 miles west of Baja California. A recovery team got to the craft, towed it to the ship and used a crane to hoist it aboard, as planned.
SpaceX spokeswoman Kirstin Brost Grantham told me that a few items will be delivered to NASA officials with a 48-hour turnaround, as a demonstration of the procedure for returning time-sensitive cargo from orbit. But the Dragon itself and most of its payload will be taking a slower ride to the port of Los Angeles. Arrival is expected around June 6, depending on weather.
From California, the craft and cargo will be trucked to SpaceX's rocket test facility in MacGregor, Texas, for postflight processing. Then the cargo will be turned over to NASA.
The handover of the Dragon's contents will be the last item to check off on NASA's list of requirements. That should clear the way for a $1.6 billion series of 12 Dragon cargo flights, with the first launch probably scheduled sometime in September.
NASA and SpaceX released a slew of awesome pictures and video documenting the Dragon's return, via SpaceX's Zenfolio gallery as well as NASA's Flickr and YouTube accounts. Here's a selection:
NASA
SpaceX's Dragon cargo craft begins its descent on Thursday after its release by the International Space Station's Canadarm2 robotic arm, visible at top center.
During the re-entry of SpaceX's Dragon capsule, NASA and the United States Navy flew a P-3 Orion Cast Glance aircraft to capture airborne views of the spacecraft's descent. The aircraft, based at the Navy's VX-30 squadron at the Naval Air Station Point Mugu, Calif., was able to record Dragon's re-entry, parachute chute deployment and the capsule in the water.
NASA / U.S. Navy
A wind-filled parachute pulls the SpaceX Dragon capsule through the water after Thursday's Pacific splashdown.
SpaceX / U.S. Navy
A dive team secures the Dragon spacecraft for towing to its recovery barge.
NASA / U.S. Navy
The Dragon capsule nears American Marine's recovery ship, which is equipped with a crane to take the spacecraft on board.
Eventually, SpaceX is aiming for extensive reusability of its spaceship components, including a first stage that can fly itself back to the launch pad and a "Dragon 2.0" spacecraft that can do propulsive soft landings.
"That's how spaceships land in sci-fi movies," SpaceX's billionaire founder, Elon Musk, told me during a post-splashdown news conference. "And that's what also enables landing in other parts of the solar system. ... It's the way spacecraft ought to land."
But NASA won't be using this particular Dragon again. The space agency is buying a fresh spaceship for each of the 12 cargo supply missions. Musk speculated that SpaceX might send the scarred spacecraft on "a little tour of the country and show it to people around the country, [to] get students excited about space." In the future, Dragons could be refurbished for return trips to space.
Meanwhile, SpaceX is working to make the Dragon suitable for carrying astronauts as well as cargo. The development of the SuperDraco thruster system is a key part of that plan, because it fits into the propulsive-landing strategy as well as the launch escape system that NASA will require for safe human spaceflight. Musk said the system could go into operation in three years if the development effort goes well, "maybe four or five if we encounter some challenges along the way."
Other spaceship companies are making strides as well, with advice and financial support from NASA. Here's a quick progress report:
Orbital Sciences Corp., like SpaceX, has been receiving hundreds of millions of dollars to support the development of an unmanned cargo resupply system. Orbital is developing a new rocket called the Antares as well as its Cygnus cargo capsule to do the job. Last month, Orbital, Aerojet and NASA oversaw a full-duration hot-fire test of the AJ26 engine that will be used on the Antares. The first test launch from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport in Virginia is planned sometime in the next few months, and if all goes according to plan, cargo flights to the space station could begin by early next year under the terms of a $1.9 billion contract.
Blue Origin, the company founded by Amazon.com billionaire Jeff Bezos, is working on a spacecraft that could carry astronauts to the space station, with United Launch Alliance's Atlas 5 rocket to be used as the launch vehicle. On Thursday, Blue Origin reported that it successfully completed a systems requirement review of its orbital Space Vehicle. Blue Origin's president and program manager, Rob Meyerson, said in a statement that the review "paves the way to finalize our Space Vehicle design." Representatives from NASA and the Federal Aviation Administration took part in the review.
The Boeing Co. is developing its CST-100 capsule for NASA's potential use as a taxi for space station astronauts, to be launched by the Atlas 5. The company carried out drop tests in April and May to check the workability of its parachute-plus-airbag landing system. The most recent test involved dropping a CST-100 test vehicle from a helicopter, 14,000 feet above Nevada's Delamar Dry Lake Bed. Boeing's John Mulholland said the test validated the landing system design. Further ground tests of CST-100 components lie ahead, and test flights could begin in 2015-2016, Boeing says.
Video traces a parachute drop test of Boeing's CST-100 space taxi in the Nevada desert.
Sierra Nevada Corp. is developing a mini-shuttle known as the Dream Chaser, to be launched atop an Atlas 5 as a taxi for space station astronauts. This week, Sierra Nevada put the Dream Chaser through its first full-scale, captive-carry flight test. For this test, the space plane was suspended by cables beneath a heavy-lift helicopter. The first free-gliding drop tests are planned for later this year, and Sierra Nevada says the Dream Chaser could be operational by 2016.
SpaceX, Blue Origin, Boeing and Sierra Nevada, along with other aerospace players such as ATK, Lockheed Martin and Astrium, are expected to compete for further funding from NASA later this year. Which means it's not likely to be a slow summer in the aerospace business. Has the successful Dragon mission made SpaceX the far-and-away frontrunner, or is the commercial space race up in the air? When will U.S. astronauts be flying once again on U.S.-made spaceships? Watch a panel of space commentators, including yours truly, discuss these and other questions — and feel free to weigh in with your comments below.
Watch space commentators discuss the week's developments, including the return of the Dragon from orbit.
Update for 6:55 p.m. June 2: In a Twitter update, SpaceX confirms that it has delivered some cargo items to NASA in an effort to demonstrate 48-hour rush processing after splashdown. You could call this the first commercial express delivery from outer space.
More about the commercial space race:
Alan Boyle is msnbc.com's science editor. Connect with the Cosmic Log community by "liking" the log's Facebook page, following @b0yle on Twitter or adding Cosmic Log's Google+ page to your circle. You can also check out "The Case for Pluto," my book about the controversial dwarf planet and the search for other worlds.
Kathy Kmonicek / AP
New York Mets starting pitcher Johan Santana celebrates his no-hitter against the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday night.
AP reports: Johan Santana pitched the first no-hitter in New York Mets' history, helped by an umpire's missed call and an outstanding catch in left field in an 8-0 victory over St. Louis Cardinals on Friday night.
After a string of close calls in their 51-season history, Santana finally finished the job in the Mets' 8,020th game since the team was born in 1962.
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Richard Carson / Reuters
Kayakers and paddle boarders watch as the Space Shuttle replica "Explorer" moves under a highway bridge into Clear Lake toward the dock at the Johnson Space Center in Houston on Friday.
Smiley N. Pool / Houston Chronicle via AP
A full-size replica of the space shuttle passes the Kemah Boardwalk on Friday.
Space shuttle replica Explorer had to leave Kennedy Space Center in Florida to make way for the recently decommissioned space shuttle orbiter Atlantis. According to the full story, the 130,000-pound replica will be displayed at the Johnson Space Center:
Once the space shuttle mockup is in place outside Space Center Houston, the visitor center will open its parking lot for a free, family-friendly display of space-related exhibits and activities. Guests will also have the opportunity to view the space shuttle mockup at its new home.
The replica will eventually become the star attraction of an educational exhibition themed around the retired space shuttle program. Designed for outdoor display, the mockup is fully detailed inside and out. Once an access ramp is erected later this year, Space Center Houston visitors will be able to walk through the orbiter to look inside the crew compartment and payload bay.
Smiley N. Pool / AP
Crowds line the Kemah Boardwalk to watch as a full-size replica of the space shuttle passes on Friday.
Michael Betts / Goldsboro News Argus via AP
Col. Jeannie Leavitt, right, salutes 9th Air Force Commander Maj. Gen. Lawrence Wells after assuming command of the 4th Fighter Wing on Friday, June 1, 2012. Leavitt, the Air Force's first female fighter pilot, has now become the first female to take command of an Air Force combat fighter wing.
According to this report at NBC17, Leavitt is currently a Chief of Staff of the Air Force Fellow assigned to the Central Intelligence Agency.
Justin Lane / EPA
A trader works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, June 1, at the Closing Bell in New York City. The Dow Jones Industrial average lost 277 points after the release of a disappointing jobs report.
Justin Lane / EPA
Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Friday.
I generally don’t put much stock in the expressions of traders on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, but today’s bad economic news does seem to be reflected in the faces of these people.
Msnbc.com’s Roland jones reports:
A gloomy U.S. jobs report and signs of a global economic slowdown hammered Wall Street Friday, wiping out the stock market’s gains for 2012 and leaving investors wondering where to turn.
The Dow Jones industrial average sank 275 points, or 2.2 percent, chalking up its biggest one-day drop since November. The market index closed down 0.8 percent for the year and off 2.7 percent for the week.
Richard Drew / AP
Anthony Riccio, center, work with fellow traders on the floor on Friday. The Dow Jones industrial average dropped more than 200 points, erasing what was left of its gain for the year.
Related stories:
Robert King / Polaris
Members of the media center mourn the loss of their cameraman Abdalh Ameed Matar, who was killed in an attack earlier that day on May 31. The Syrian army launched a full scale attack on the city of Homs, Syria. Hundreds of rockets and many wounded and dead were treated inside a mobile field hospital clinic located in a city under siege. Two to three rockets hit the field hospital wounding a few medical volunteers. Despite the threat of being killed by mortar or rocket fire these volunteer doctors and nurses face arrested, torture, and certain death if they are captured by the Syrian regime. These doctors and nurses work under harsh conditions with little medical supplies that are smuggled into the city from Lebanon. Despite these odds the doctors and nurses are able to see over 100 patients per day and conduct life saving operations daily.
Robert King / Polaris
Residents of Al Qusayr in Homs,Syria gather for the funeral precession of 13 people killed in yesterday's assault on the town by Syrian forces. Among the dead was local camera man Abdelhamid Idris Matar who died while filming a Syrian tank advancing on the City of Qusayr. The dead were laid the rest in the Martyrs Cemetery on June 1.
For the latest news out of Syria visit our World News blog.
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