Female military officers of Gendarmerie Special Public Security Command (JOAK) attend an exercise in Ankara, Turkey on March 6, 2020. Female gendarmeries give “There is nothing that a woman cannot achieve if she wants”. message with their difficult tasks ahead of the International Women's Day. (Photo by Mustafa Murat Kaynak/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

An army dog stands up as retiring soldiers salute their guard post before retirement in Suqian, Jiangsu province, China on November 29, 2017. (Photo by Reuters/China Stringer Network)

This photograph, taken in Cognocoli-Monticchi on the French Mediterranean island of Corsica on November 14, 2023 shows lenticular clouds above Corsican mountains. (Photo by Pascal Pochard-Casabianca/AFP Photo)

Only the most intrepid urban explorers cross the tattered ruins of the old Iron Curtain to endure the excessive bureaucracy, military paranoia and freezing winds of the East to hunt for the ghosts of an empire. Rebecca Litchfield is one who couldn’t resist the haunting allure of the ruins of the Soviet Union.

A juvenile leopard cat, seized by authorities during an anti-smuggling operation, is seen past suspected smugglers during a press conference announcing the seizure of trafficked exotic animals in Surabaya on March 27, 2019. Indonesian authorities said March 27 they had seized five komodo dragons and dozens of other animals being sold on Facebook, as the country battles to clamp down on the illegal wildlife trade. (Photo by Juni Kriswanto/AFP Photo)

Pedestrians using umbrellas struggle against rain and strong wind in Tokyo, Japan, 16 August 2024, as typhoon Ampil is approaching. The typhoon is approaching to Kanto Tokyo area and Japan's Meteorological Agency has issued heavy rain warning. The powerful typhoon forces to suspend JR Tokaido Shinkansen bullet train service operated by JR Central Japan Company all day between Tokyo and Nagoya, central Japan, and cancel over 600 flights. (Photo by Kimimasa Mayama/EPA/EFE)

A pair of alpacas at a British farm in Dorchester, Dorset on October 9, 2024 pose together at the perfect time to conjure up a creature straight out of Dr Dolittle's imagination. (Phoot by MaxWillcock/Bournemouth News)

Entitled Feasting at Sunset, this photo of a Brandt’s cormorant among pilchards was the winner of the Birds in the Environment category in the 2025 Bird Photographer of the Year competition. (Photo by Franco Banfi/The Guardian)