24 hours in pictures: A lighthearted look back at 2007

Sofia, Bulgaria: A mask-dancer performs in January Photograph: Vassil Donev/EPA

Budapest, Hungary: A man is followed by his footsteps as he walks beneath an umbrella during snowfall Photograph: Tamas Kowacs/EPA

Houston, US: Sam Houston State University assistant professor of paleontology, Patrick Lewis, takes a close look at a re-created likeness of Lucy, a 3.2 million-year-old fossilised skeleton Photograph: Kevin Fujii/AP

Brighton, UK: A classroom wall at Varndean Sixth Form College in Brighton adorned with posters during a visit by the then-Liberal Democrat leader Sir Menzies Campbell Photograph: Andrew Parsons/PA

Bethlehem, West Bank: Two works by elusive British graffiti artist Banksy Photograph: Jim Hollander/EPA

Colombo, Sri Lanka: Mahouts and others try to get an elephant out of a shop after the animal ran berserk Photograph: Eranga Jayawardena/AP

Manilla, Philippines: A young girl laughing as she stands on an old red chair on a refuse dump. With his photo German photographer Hartmut Schwarzbach took third place in the Unicef Photo of the Year 2007 competition Photograph: Hartmut Schwarzbach/EPA

Kent, UK: Two ladies sitting on a couch cheer on the riders during the first stage of the Tour de France in July Photograph: Franck Fife/AFP

Vallejo, US: Odin, a 5-year-old white Bengal tiger dives for a piece of meat during a big cat show at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom Photograph: Robin Beck/AFP

Chongqing, China: Wei Shengchu displays acupuncture needles in his forehead during a self-acupuncture performance. The 60-year-old acupuncturist holds the Guinness world record for self-acupuncture at 1,790 needles in his face Photograph: China Photos/Getty

London, UK: A protester is removed from the outside the gates of Downing Street on Tony Blair's last day in office on June 27 Photograph: Chris Jackson/Getty

Duesseldorf, Germany: A woman using her mobile phone stands next to naked dummies during the Igedo fashion fair Photograph: Volker Hartmann/AFP

Huancayo, Peru: Andean women farmers compete for a ball during a match at the national Andean communities championship Photograph: Martin Mejia/AP

Beijing, China: Mannequins dressed as workers on a scaffolding Photograph: Andy Wong/AP

Seoul, South Korea: Opposition and pro-government lawmakers clash around the podium of the National Assembly Photograph: Shin Won-Gun/AFP

Honolulu, Hawaii, US: A young boy laughs as he lines up against a professional wrestler during an exhibition before the start of the second day of the Grand Sumo tournament Photograph: Gabriel Bouys/AFP

Gloucestershire, UK: A young Eurasian crane eats from a litter picker disguised as an adult crane Photograph: Barry Batchelor/PA

London, England: A lady in a hat shaped like an ashtray poses for a photograph on Ladies Day at Royal Ascot Photograph: Chris Jackson/Getty

Manilla Bay, Philippines: A juvenile boxfish, 1cm-long, collected by a diver in the surface waters off the Celebes sea Photograph: Michael Aw/HO/AP

London, UK: Trafalgar Square was grassed over for two days as part of Village London Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/PA