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.
A project to create an underwater tribute to the stone Moai statues of Easter Island ended in disaster when 15 replica structures were destroyed after toppling from a boat and into the sea .
A little boy was left fighting for his life in hospital after a horrific allergic reaction to epilepsy medication made his skin fall off in chunks .
The lighthouses of Brittany, from Brest to Le Conquet, stand tall on France’s north-western coast against stunning scenery .
This artist had a lot of bottle to re-create a masterpiece painted with nothing but 24 litres of cola .
An American woman whose skin turned silver after using nose drops is warning people of the dangers of medicines containing the metal .
HUDDLING under a leaf, a pair of adorable Javan scops owls take shelter from the rain .
A Birmingham man inspired by sci-fi film Wall-E, has created a one- wheeled vehicle, controlled by signals from his BRAIN .
A woman has lost over 13st after beating her addiction to POTATOES .
Throwing their arms up in the air, these energetic squirrels play a game of ball with a walnut .
FOR someone who hates milk, pensioner Steve Wheeler has got an udder-lot of it - nearly 20,000 bottles in fact .
A shoe designer from London has spent a whopping £30,000 on Hello Kitty memorabilia .
One sheepdog is taking a well-deserved rest after giving birth to a whole WHEELBARROW-FUL of puppies .