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.
Grandmother Janet Kirby was told she couldn't board her plane home after being accused of assault .
A diabetic who was addicted to energy drinks has lost 8st after doctors warned her habit was blinding her .
A Brit photographer has captured one of the world's most camera-shy species of fish - during a game of underwater peek-a-boo .
A former obese woman has told how she lost 19st, but was so terrified of gaining weight that she ended up developing an eating disorder .
A woman has told how she saved the life of her own rapist after he overdosed on pills shortly after attacking her .
BURSTING from the water, a beautiful but deadly Sumatran tiger jumps for food in an Indonesian zoo .
A group of whale sharks gather to feed underneath a fisherman’s boat off the coast of Papua, Indonesia .
AN EXERCISING turtle and an ice-skating chick are hardly everyday exploits in the animal community .
Raising his arms above his head and lying flat on his back, a polar bear stretches as he sprawls out across the ice .
Daniel Blore, 21, of Innage Crescent, Bridgnorth, stabbed his mother three times in the attack on January 11 this year, Stafford Crown Court heard .
Commuters were put in a HOLE lot of trouble after trains were cancelled by a hole created by BADGERS .