As a member of an uppercrust Nigerian family, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab received the best schooling, from the elite British International School in West Africa to the vaunted University College London.
The fallow plots of farmland on the edge of the artists' village of Songzhuang are a symbol of Chinese contemporary art's recent boom and bust cycle.
Gwen Stefani visits friends with her family in the Beaconsfield area, UK, December 27, 2009.
Lady Gaga performs at Nokia Theatre L.A. Live on December 23, 2009 in Los Angeles.
Mercedes the polar bear enjoys the snow at the Highland Wildlife Park in Kingussie, Scotland December 29, 2009. [Agencies] 
