A mother's love... told in 5 pictures!

Clinging on for dear life to the side of a vertical cliff, the tiny lion cub cries out pitifully for help. His mother arrives at the edge of the precipice with three other lionesses and a male. The females start to clamber down together but turn back daunted by the sheer drop. Eventually one single factor determines which of them will risk her life to save the youngster -- motherly love.

The drama begins: The mother arrives at the edge of the cliff as her son cries out for rescue after being trapped when he slipped.

On the brink: Four lionesses look over the edge before aborting their rescue mission because of the sheer drop.

Vertical marathon: But slowly, agonizingly, the mother edges her way down towards her terrified son, using her powerful claws to grip the crumbling cliff side. One slip from her and both animals could end up dead at the bottom of the ravine.

Victory from the jaws of defeat! Just as the exhausted cub seems about to fall, his mother circles beneath him and he is snatched up in her jaws. She then begins the equally perilous journey back to the top.

  You'll get a piece of my mind another time; it's all mum's love right now: Minutes later, they arrive and she gives the frightened creature a consoling lick on the head. The dramatic rescue, captured by wildlife photographer Jean-Francois Largot, was played out in Kenya 's Masai Mara game reserve (CC sent me this).

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Meanwhile, in the world of international politics, these pictures below also tell their story. Syria may be in the throes of a terrible civil war with Assad now being accused of having unleashed chemical weapons on his own people, but leaders at the G-20 Summit still seemed to have found time to make light of it! Sad...