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.
HUDDLING under a leaf, a pair of adorable Javan scops owls take shelter from the rain .
BEHIND the doors of this building, with its stacks of mattresses and discarded remains of wheelchairs, lies another victim of austerity cuts .
A kingfisher’s bright blue and orange feathers glisten in the sunlight as the bird dives into a lake .
FROM THE world famous Girl with a Pearl Earring painting to a jaguar in the grass, these incredible drawings are created from coloured ballpoint pens .
A middle spotted woodpecker swoops into her nest and feeds her young in a forest in Trentino, Italy .
A German photographer travelled around Africa where he met and photographed members of tribes in a series of intimate portraits .
This longhorn beetle demon-strates a dark side as it looks just like the devil .
INSIDE Britain's last Naval hospital where scurvy was cured looks like an NHS time capsule .
Pouncing down on top of his twin brother, these two snow leopard cubs practice their kung-fu moves .
HOTSPOT MEDIA - FUNKY BUMP: FROM MIRROR bellies to rainbow bumps these pregnancy casts of stone and bronze could be the funkiest way to preserve your bump for posterity .
SNEAKING slowly into the water, this Bengal tiger plans a vicious attack on three unsuspecting deer .
Sprawled out on top of a log, this sleeping leopard takes a relaxing break from his daily routine .