WITH their robotic movements and pristine uniforms, these are the sexy traffic girls of North Korea that are becoming iconic figures in the secretive state. Instead of using traffic lights to control the stop and go flow of the cross-roads, attractive women dressed in perfectly crisps and identical outfits dangerously stand along in the middle of the road on a small platform. Displaying riveting focus, they are only allowed to turn counter-clockwise, directing traffic with forceful and halting movements. They have been the subject of photographic study for many years but French photographer Eric Lafforgue, 49, captured these moments during six trips to the Marxist country.
THIS incredible shimmer of silver fish mirrors the image of that of an underwater tornado .
Surveying its surroundings, a tiny harvest mouse climbs the stem of a dandelion .
Most people bend over backwards to keep children entertained, but this baboon show us how it’s done .
HOTSPOT MEDIA - BACK TO THE FUTURE WITH AR' KID: A POSTAL SORTER has perfected the art of time travel by delivering images that are from the past .
Balanced on one leg, a frog assumes the crane kick martial arts stance made famous in the movie The Karate Kid .
THIS RING of fire in the sky is the annular solar eclipse that wowed our cousins down-under .
BEHIND the doors of this building, with its stacks of mattresses and discarded remains of wheelchairs, lies another victim of austerity cuts .
A cheeky chipmunk offers some of his spare food, before deciding against the idea and shoving the extra peanut into his already crammed mouth .
ARM extended and head flung back, this little chipmunk performs a loose-limbed yoga move .
These are the faces of orphans suffering from the horrifying effects of chemical warfare .
MOUTH OPEN wide, this little stoat appears to be in mid-song as he belts out a tune for his onlookers .