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 is the moment a nimble red fox and a lumbering Alaskan brown bear were locked in a tense stand-off .
SAT ON top of a Brazilian turtle’s head, this little ladybird looks content as he studies his environment from a new height .
COURAGEOUS CLIMBERS scale frozen waterfalls in Canada, as the ice threatens to collapse beneath them .
FROM A mini table and chairs to a detailed violin, it’s hard to believe these incredible sculptures are all carved into the nib of PENCILS .
THE THOUGHT OF BECOMING shipwrecked on a remote destination would fill most holidaymakers with dread .
Soldiers standing guard outside the Woolwich barracks in London - Two terror suspects are under armed guard in separate hospitals in London after a serving soldier was hacked to death in the street .
SQUABBLING over the last piece of grain, these hungry squirrels are determined to stock up on as much food as possible .
ARM extended and head flung back, this little chipmunk performs a loose-limbed yoga move .
A chipmunk, with his cheeks full to bursting, has no intention of leaving with an empty stomach .
A little brown bear cub shows his doting mum that she is always on parent duty as he uses her as a scratching post .
POPE MOBBED BY THOUSANDS OF WORSHIPPERS IN RIO - Thousands of worshippers gather to celebrate the Papal visit on Copacabana beach, Rio de Janeiro ,Brazil .