Barack Obama and Julia Gillard (above) seem very pleased with themselves. Perhaps they've just finished setting out the Australian and American flags in a pattern as a symbol of the "special relationship" between the two, er, nations. Or maybe they were already like that. Either way, it looks cool.
This is the photo the Australian media are citing as evidence of Obama and Gillard's relationship being "a little handsy". Actually, it looks as if the hands are sort of hovering – there's no contact. But if anything, this chasteness is even more romantic. Admit it – they are terribly sweet together.
OK, yes, it does look a bit as if he's about to touch her gently on the chin, just before telling her how lovely her skin looks in the moonlight. But that's clearly not what's happening. It's more likely that he's about to clap her on the shoulder to emphasise the punchline of the anecdote he's telling.
What you can't see in this photo is that Medvedev is actually about a foot off the ground. He is jumping up and down in a desperate to bid to break into the eyeline of Obama and Gillard. This time, he got a bit too far out front.
Rapport between leaders is important, but here they seem to have forgotten, if only for a mad moment, that press conferences are generally addressed to the press, who usually sit out front.
It's good manners to give the impression you are listening to a fellow speaker, and you understand and appreciate the thrust of his argument. In fact it is more than good manners, it's good diplomacy. That said, it's hard to look at this photo for very long without succumbing to the urge to draw a think bubble alongside Gillard's head with OMG I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!!! written in it.
There's nothing sinister or untoward about two good friends unconsciously mirroring one another's gestures. Of course, people will read all sorts into tiny bits of body language, especially Medvedev, that leering little gooseberry.