- HotSpot Media

PUTIN'S TINY ARMY

Some parents would gasp at the thought of their children playing with a toy gun, but these Russian children are actually encouraged to take up real arms. Military sports club, ‘Berkut’, (meaning golden eagle), trains up tiny Vlads and Boris’, who dream of joining the elite units of the Russian army and fighting under the command of President Vladimir Putin. Pictured on their website brandishing a hand gun, is a young boy, dressed in military fatigues with his finger over the trigger. Children as young a five are sent on forced marches, given battlefield training, taught hand to hand combat, and how to use military equipment. 12 year olds are also taught to fire Kalashnikov assault rifles and other small arms. During the clubs regular camps some children are given the opportunity to parachute jump during their paratrooper training. The club based in Zhukovsky, Russia, claims to provide military training designed to develop the younger generation of the “motherland” - a term synonymous with the former Soviet Union and the communist rule of the last century.

REAL LIFE ANIME GIRL

Meet the real life anime girl who looks like a living cartoon character despite never going under the knife .

£10,000 REWARD FOR JOHN ANSLOW

Pictures of John Anslow a prisoner who escaped from a prison escort van in North Worcestershire Monday, 23 January .

BEST SEAT IN THE HOUSE: VIEW FROM A PILOT’S CHAIR

Working at a height of 36,000ft, pilots may have the best view in the world .

EVIL MONSTER KILLED MY DAUGHTER OVER SECRET ABORTION

The mother of a young woman stabbed 26 times by her ex-partner for having a secret abortion has told how her daughter was cruelly betrayed by her own social worker .

BEETLES DOOR

COULD this £5,000 auction of Paul McCartney’s Liverpool front door be the most bizarre celebrity sale yet? The door, which looks-like it may have been knocked – and possibly kicked – very hard during its past, was used by members of Britain’s most famous band to visit lead-singer Paul McCartney when he lived at the address from 1955 to 1964 .

LETHAL BIRTHMARK NEARLY SUFFOCATES GIRL

HOTSPOT MEDIA - LETHAL BIRTHMARK NEARLY SUFFOCATES GIRL: Zoe Mitchell when she was two-weeks-old .

WORLD'S MOST LIFELIKE DISNEY PRINCESS IS CALIFORNIAN MAN

Meet the world's most lifelike Disney princess - a 21-year-old man from California .

DAZZLING BEAUTY OF THE MILKY WAY ABOVE UK AND ITALY

A photographer has captured stunning photographs of the Milky Way above picturesque landscapes in the UK and Italy .

LIQUID SCULPTURES

A BEAUTIFUL sight for the eyes and the imagination, these liquid sculptures take shape in many different colours and formations .

PEEKABOO SQUIRRELS EMERGE FROM THEIR NEST

SQUEEZING their furry faces through a hole in a tree, a trio of curious baby squirrels leave their nest for the first time to explore their surroundings .