Tony Blair has been named by the US National Constitution Centre as the winner of its prestigious Liberty Medal for 2010.

More details have emerged about a woman at the centre of a transatlantic probe into an alleged Russian spy ring.

A space shuttle simulator ride has plunged to the ground, killing six people and injuring 10 others at a popular south China theme park.

I arrived in South Africa with the Japan team filled with excitement and an acute feeling of anxiety. Never mind that I would be on the scene to cover the world’s biggest sporting event, and never mind that I would be competing against the top sports photographers from around the globe to get the best pictures. For a Reuters photographer like myself dedicated to a single team, when your team drops out of the competition, you’re finished. Like the defeated team, you go back to the hotel, pack your bags and spend the long flight home wondering what went wrong. Based on Japan’s lackluster showing in the East Asia Soccer Championship my expectation for Japan was three defeats in a row and no victories. Mine would be a short stay in South Africa.

But during Japan’s first match against Cameroon the Samurai Blue seemed to transform themselves in front of my eyes with Keisuke Honda’s goal being the catalyst. Japan was defeated by the Netherlands in their second match but the Samurais demonstrated the unity of the team in their performance and they were victorious against Denmark in their third match. In doing so they completely wiped out the image that I held of the Japan team before going into the competition. I was covering the world’s biggest sporting event, and I was going up against the top sports photographers, but in this World Cup Japan’s victory meant that the formidable teams of France and Italy and the even more formidable photographers accompanying them were going home. Not me.

On June 29, 2010, Japan faced Paraguay in World Cup match 55. Even after extra time the game remained scoreless and a penalty shoot-out would determine the outcome. I moved into position according to the instructions of Chief Photographer UK and Ireland Dylan Martinez, the leader of the Reuters photographers for this match.

A penalty shoot-out is all about luck. The psychologically intense method of deciding a match seems especially hard on the players, but it’s just as tough on the photographers with a split second making the difference between front pages around the world or a postage stamp-sized picture on page S15. Both the players and the photographers tuned out the screaming of the crowd and focused with tense stillness on the battle between the penalty kicker and the goalkeeper. My position was on the opposite side of the pitch allowing me to see the face of the goalkeeper. Japan’s goalkeeper Eiji Kawashima, who had saved many shots up to then, clearly showed the strain. Following the two successful shots by both teams it was Yuichi Komano, Japan’s third kicker’s turn.

At the instant he powerfully kicked the ball toward the goal I pressed my camera’s shutter button reflexively. For a fraction of a second my view through the viewfinder was blocked as the camera captured the picture and prevented me from seeing whether he had scored or not. The next moment I saw Komano holding his head in his hands. Japan’s World Cup team’s and my time in South Africa had ended.

Soaring temperatures may hinder efforts to control the huge forest fire that is spreading in North Eastern China.

Academy Award-winning director and producer Peter Jackson has opened a new "King Kong 360 3-D" attraction Universal Studios.

The general set to take over command for US and Nato forces in Afghanistan has warned of a further escalation of violence in the country.

A flotilla of warships from around the globe was reviewed by the Queen as she celebrated the 100th anniversary of the Canadian navy.

Anarchist youths have disrupted a largely peaceful protest in Athens by trade unions over government economic reforms.

Anarchist youths have disrupted a largely peaceful protest in Athens by trade unions over government economic reforms.

Tropical Storm Alex is set to hamper BP's latest efforts to contain the largest oil spill in US history.

Russia's Foreign Ministry has responded to US spying allegations as baseless and regrettable.