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.
AN OLD ENGLISH cottage packed full of history and valuables has been left to rot .
A northern potoo shows it is a master of disguise as it perches on a tree stump and blends into the bark .
A trout manages to escape the jaws of a hungry cormorant - only to find itself back inside the bird's long beak .
Pouncing down on top of his twin brother, these two snow leopard cubs practice their kung-fu moves .
BURSTING from the water, a beautiful but deadly Sumatran tiger jumps for food in an Indonesian zoo .
Playing, splashing and generally messing around, these polar bears show they certainly have a soft spot for the water, and not just each other .
At least three people have been killed and more than 100 injured, some seriously, in two explosions at the finish line of the Boston Marathon .
A PENSIONER was left with a fractured jaw after being beaten and robbed outside his home in Birmingham last weekend .
A little caterpillar fearlessly scampers down a branch and confronts a praying mantis .
HUNDREDS of colour coordinated yarns lie abandoned in this once thriving textile mill .
A pair of snarling foxes go paw-to-paw and brawl after unexpectedly crossing paths .