An artist has created a homage to cultural and historical figures – by immortalising them as Star Wars characters. Mike Leavitt wanted to “document the pulse of our times” through his sculpture by splicing non-fiction characters with famous faces. He chose the sci-fi trilogy as a basis for what he calls his “pop culture satirical mash-ups”, with many of the pieces hand-carved from wood. The hilarious results include Albert Einstein as R2D2, Michael Jackson as an Ewok and Angelina Jolie in Princess Leia's famous slave girl outfit. Photo: Gandhi as Yoda. (Photo by Mike Leavitt/Rex USA)

A 15-year-old girl denied a horse from her parents has turned to a cow to fulfil her riding dreams. Teenager Regina Mayer, from southern Germany, is able to ride her cow, Luna. She has even trained her bovine pet to soar over a beer-crate hurdle like a regular show jumper. Why, you may well ask, when most cow-owners are surely content to let the creatures chew and lactate and sit down to indicate the imminent arrival of rain? Well, Regina's parents wouldn't let her have a horse.

Revellers enjoying the pubs and clubs in Leeds despite concerns over Omicron on December 10, 2021. Festive revellers have hit the pubs and clubs across the UK tonight as Plan B rules come into force and fears grow over the spread of Omicron. (Photo by Nb press ltd)

This picture taken on October 20, 2016 shows students practising wushu at the Tagou martial arts school in Dengfeng. China is investing hugely in football training and has vowed to have 50 million school- age players by 2020, as the ruling Communist party eyes “football superpower” status by 2050. (Photo by Nicolas Asfouri/AFP Photo)

Military helicopters fly in formation above a billboard with a picture of China's late Chairman Mao Zedong during a training session for the upcoming parade marking the 70th anniversary of the end of World War Two, on the outskirts of Beijing, July 2, 2015. Troops from Russia and Mongolia will march together with Chinese forces in a parade in Beijing in September to commemorate the end of World War Two, the government and state media said on Thursday, confirming the first two foreign participants. (Photo by Jason Lee/Reuters)

Rabbits are seen in a cage, which is placed by authority as a test of the living conditions near the site of last week's blasts at Binhai new district in Tianjin, China, August 19, 2015. According to local media, the animals were alive after being placed near the blasts site for two hours. Four new fires have broken out at the site where two huge blasts last week killed 116 people, Chinese state media reported Friday soon after officials said safety hazards were found at almost 70 percent of firms handling dangerous chemicals in Beijing. (Photo by Reuters/Stringer)

Reuters photographer Bobby Yip took a series of portraits of people taking part in the “Occupy Central” protests in Hong Kong, and asked them why they had joined the demonstrations. China rules Hong Kong under a “one country, two systems” formula that accords the territory limited democracy. Tens of thousands of mostly student protesters are demanding Beijing give them full democracy, with the freedom to nominate election candidates. The unrest is the worst in Hong Kong since China resumed its rule over the former British colony in 1997. (Photo by Carlos Barria/Reuters)