Pete Souza / White House via Reuters
Prime Minister David Cameron of Britain (arms raised), President Barack Obama, Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, Jose Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission, and others watch the overtime shootout of the Chelsea vs. Bayern Munich Champions League final in the Laurel Cabin conference room during the G8 Summit at Camp David, Maryland, May 19.
The unlikely storyline of an English team beating a German team on penalties in a high-profile match provided a fitting end to a dramatic night, as Chelsea became Europe's champion club for the first time.
-- Reported by the Associated Press
Related story: G8 lean toward Obama growth, not Merkel austerity
Lionel Bonaventure / AP
Outgoing French president Nicolas Sarkozy, left, walks with president-elect Francois Hollande at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris on May 8, 2012, during a ceremony marking the end of World War II in Europe.
Reuters reports — Outgoing French President Nicolas Sarkozy urged his divided conservative UMP party on Monday to pull together quickly after his election defeat to fight off a double challenge from the left and far-right in parliamentary polls next month.
Sarkozy, who lost Sunday's presidential
France's flashy, fiery Sarkozy is ousted by unassuming Socialist
Sarkozy, who is due to hand over power to Hollande on May 15, said he would not campaign for the legislative
But he seemed to back away from his promise to withdraw from politics if he lost the presidency, telling his allies that he would "still be around" and that they could "count on him". Read the full story.
Eric Feferberg / AFP - Getty Images
In his first official function since defeating Sarkozy in Sunday's election, Hollande took part in ceremonies to mark the anniversary at the Arc de Triomphe along with the outgoing president.
Kevin Frayer / AP
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, right, reads a note as his wife Yoo Soon-taek puts a pair of slippers down after paying respects at Rajghat, the memorial to the late Mahatma Gandhi in New Delhi, India, on April 27, 2012. Ban is on a three day official visit to India.
Maxim Shemetov / Reuters
Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, center, arrives with Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi, left, and Indian counterpart Somanahalli Mallaiah Krishna for a joint news conference in Moscow on April 13, 2012.
Reuters reports from Moscow — Russia criticized North Korea for its defiant rocket launch on Friday but said it opposes new sanctions against Pyongyang and joined China in calling for restraint from neighboring nations.
"We do not believe in new sanctions - they will not do anything in terms of resolving the situation," Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov
Chinese Foreign Minister Yang
North Korea's rocket failed shortly after launch and landed in the sea off the South Korea coast. NBC's Jim Miklaszewski reports.
Georges Gobet / AFP - Getty Images
Luxembourg Prime Minister and Eurogroup president Jean-Claude Juncker kisses International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde after a press conference on the Greek bailout on Feb. 21, 2012 in Brussels.
NBC News, msnbc.com and news services report: After months of tough negotiating, Europe and the International Monetary Fund sealed a deal early Tuesday to hand Greece €130 billion ($170 billion) in additional bailout loans to save it from a default that threatened the viability of the euro, undermining global economic confidence.
"It's not an easy (program), it's an ambitious one," said Christine Lagarde, the head of the IMF, adding that there were significant risks that Greece's economy could not grow as much as its international creditors were hoping.
The austerity measures wrought from Greece are also widely unpopular among the population and may hold difficulties for a country which is due to hold an election in April. Further protests could test politicians' commitment to cuts to wages, pensions and jobs. Read the full story.
Aamir Qureshi / AFP - Getty Images
From left: Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai, Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari and Iranian counterpart Mahmoud Ahmadinejad join hands after a joint press conference at the Presidential Palace in Islamabad, Pakistan, on Feb. 17, 2012.
The Associated Press reports from ISLAMABAD — The Afghan president appealed for Pakistan's help Thursday in negotiating a peace deal with Taliban militants ahead of a summit that will also include the leader of Iran.
The meetings in Islamabad come at a time when momentum for peace talks with the Taliban seems to be growing, even as all parties to a stuttering process marked by intense mistrust say that success in ending the 10-year war in Afghanistan is far from certain. Read the full story.
Jacquelyn Martin / AP
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton looks up at the new global cultural ambassador and former NBA basketball star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Jan. 18. Abdul-Jabbar will travel the world to engage a generation of young people to help promote diplomacy.
NEW YORK -- The State Department appointed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar a global cultural ambassador on Wednesday.
Ann Stock, assistant secretary of state for education and cultural affairs, says Abdul-Jabbar will travel the world to engage a generation of young people to help promote diplomacy.
Prior to becoming an ambassador, Abdul-Jabbar was better known for being the National Basketball Association's all-time scoring leader, with 38,387 points during his 20-year career.
The Associated Press contributed to the report.
A photo of the Secretary of State with one of the NBA's champs is getting a lot of attention. NBC's Brian Williams reports.
Robin Utrecht / AFP - Getty Images
Dutch Queen Beatrix meets Oman's Sultan Qaboos at the city gate in Muscat, Oman on Jan. 10, 2012.
I'd like to think she's saying "Well, you should see my palace."
Pablo Martinez Monsivais / Pool via Reuters
U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, thrid from left, U.S. Ambassador to Libya Gene Cretz, second from left, and Gen. Carter Ham, Commander of U.S. Africa Command, left, bow their heads during the wreath laying ceremony at the grave site of 13 U.S. Navy sailors at the Protestant Cemetery in Tripoli, Libya, Dec. 17.
Pablo Martinez Monsivais / AP
U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta and Libyan Prime Minister Abd al-Rheem Al-Keeb greet one another during their joint news conference in Tripoli, Libya, Saturday, Dec., 17.
TRIPOLI - U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta arrived in Tripoli Saturday, taking advantage of the ouster of Moammar Gadhafi in an eight-month civil war to become the first Pentagon chief to set foot on Libyan soil.
But Panetta has indicated that the U.S. will give more time to gain control of the militias that overthrew Gadhafi before determining how to help the fledgling government.
"The last thing you want to do is to try to impose something on a country that has just gone through what the Libyans have gone through," said Panetta on Friday before landing in Tripoli.
"They've earned the right to try to determine their future. They've earned the right to try to work their way through the issues that they're going to have to confront," he said.
Read the full story here and see more images of Leon Panetta's travels on PhotoBlog.
Pablo Martinez Monsivais / Pool via Reuters
U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta arrives for a wreath-laying ceremony at the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk in Ankara, Turkey, on Dec. 16, 2011.
It's been a busy week for the Secretary of Defense. Three days ago he was in Djibouti, in the Horn of Africa. He then moved on to Kabul where he presented Purple Hearts to members of the armed forces, and yesterday he took part in the ceremony in Baghdad marking the end of the U.S. military's mission in Iraq. Today he is in the Turkish capital, and he is also due to visit Libya on what The Associated Press described as his "holiday tour".
Photographer Pablo Martinez Monsivais has been with him every step of the way as part of the media pool covering the trip. Click on the links above to see more of Monsivais' excellent work.
Philippe Wojazer / Reuters
France's President Nicolas Sarkozy is surrounded by bodyguards as he walks to a news conference at the European Union summit in Brussels, Belgium, on the morning of Dec. 9, 2011.
Sebastien Pirlet / EPA
Journalists wait for news from the meeting of European heads of state in Brussels early in the morning on Friday.
John Thys / AFP - Getty Images
German Chancellor Angela Merkel arrives for the resumption of talks on Friday morning.
It was a long night for everybody at the European Union summit in Brussels. As we report today, the 27 EU presidents and prime ministers began their talks at 7:30 Thursday evening and continued past 4:30 a.m.
The leaders then emerged to face the cameras, each aiming to spin the outcome in a way that would best please his or her domestic audience. After that, perhaps, a chance to sleep. But not for long -- the talks were due to resume at 9.30 a.m on Friday.
The politicians were not the only ones to pull an all-nighter. As The Economist's Charlemagne columnist writes, "We journalists are probably too bleary-eyed after a sleepless night to understand the full significance of what has just happened."
The writer is too modest: the Charlemagne article is a good place to start if you would like to know more about the long-term implications of the summit.
Related content: Enjoy looking at pictures of politicians making nice? Indulge yourself with more photos of diplomacy at work on PhotoBlog.
Yves Herman / Reuters
British Prime Minister David Cameron looks at German Chancellor Angela Merkel after summit talks resumed on Friday.
Thai government via EPA
A government handout photo made available on Dec. 8, 2011 shows Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, left, showing her respect as she speaks with Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, right, during the official royal party to celebrate King Bhumibol Adulyadej's 84th birthday at Government House in Bangkok, Thailand, on Dec. 7.
When a thumbnail version of this photo passed in front of my eyes my first thought was "Oh, somebody has fallen over." On closer inspection and on reading the caption, I realized that I was looking at something very different: a gesture of extreme deference.
It's a picture that contains a little more political symbolism than the average birthday party snap.
Royal pardons are often issued to mark the Thai king's birthday, and there was speculation last month that fugitive former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, convicted of corruption in 2008, would be among those offered a pardon this year.
The current PM pictured above, Yingluck Shinawatra, is Thaksin's sister. Though she is reported to have sidestepped questions about the proposed amnesty, saying only that the government would act within the law, the proposed pardon was shelved following a political uproar.
Nevertheless, it's prudent to keep in with the royals. There's always next year, after all.
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