Deputies of the opposition fight with deputies of the majority for a second time in two days, during the second session of the newly elected Ukrainian parliament in Kiev on December 13, 2012. (Photo by Sergei Supinsky/AFP Photo)

Sulphur miners haul sulphur up an arduous path out of Indonesia’s Ijen volcano. The average carry out of the volcano is 70 kilograms per load per miner. The all-time record carry was 120 kilograms in one load. Extraordinary numbers given most of the miners only weigh around 55 kilograms. Ijen volcano, Indonesia, 2012. (Photo by Hugh Brown/South West News Service)

Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south, and Thailand to the west. Its population was estimated to be around 6.5 million in 2012. A third (33%) of the country's population lives below the international poverty line which means living on less than U.S. $1.25 per day.

A stunning variety selected by Carl Barnes, a part-Cherokee farmer and breeder, from several traditional corn varieties. Given to NS/S by one of his students, Greg Schoen. Produces a diversity of gorgeous translucent, jewel-colored ears, each one unique. A popcorn, the kernels may be ground into cornmeal or popped. This corn became an Internet sensation in 2012.

Controlled fires lit by residents glow in the hills over the village of Pottenstein during the annual Epiphany celebration on January 6, 2012 in Pottenstein, Germany. The ceremony, which also includes a procession with torches through the village center, is part of a tradition going back to 1905. Pottenstein was once a pilgrimage destination. (Photo by Johannes Simon/Getty Images)

Volunteers stand and read the morning newspaper while “waiting for the bus” at Henley Beach on January 8, 2012 in Adelaide, Australia. Surrealist artist, Andrew Baines recruited 100 volunteers for this human installation, meant to illustrate corporate workers enjoying nature rather than waiting in a long queue for a trip to work. (Photo by Morne de Klerk/Getty Images)

A worker stands under covered elephant statues at the Ambedkar Park on January 11, 2012 in Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India. India's Election Commission has ordered the covering up of statues, the symbol of the Bahujan Samaj Party, ahead of next month's elections in the state of Uttar Pradesh. (Photo by Daniel Berehulak /Getty Images)

In this photo illustration a package of Nicotine Gum, which is advertised as helping people stop smoking cigarettes, is seen on January 10, 2012 in Miami, Florida. A study published in the journal Tobacco Control on Monday, reported that the nicotine alternatives, like Nicotine Gum, have no lasting effect on people trying to quit their smoking habit. (Photo illustration by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)