In a photo taken on June 5, 2017 a traffic security officer stands on duty at an intersection in Pyongyang. Officially known as traffic security officers but universally referred to as traffic ladies, they are chosen for their looks in a society that remains traditionalist in many respects. They must leave the role if they marry, and have a finite shelf-life, with compulsory retirement looming at just 26. (Photo by Ed Jones/AFP Photo)

In a photo taken on July 29, 2018 instructor Kim Ju Yang (20) holds a North Korean- made assault rifle as she poses for a portrait at the Meari shooting range in Pyongyang. The Meari shooting range offers customers the opportunity to shoot a number of North Korean and foreign- made firearms, most of which have been modifed to fire .22 calibre ammunition costing one US dollar per round. (Photo by Ed Jones/AFP Photo)

Iranian Shiite Muslim women gather around a bonfire after rubbing mud on their body during the “Kharrah Mali” (Mud Rubbing) ritual to mark the Ashura religious ceremony in the city of Khorramabad, some 470 kms southwest of Tehran, early in the morning on October 1, 2017. “Khrreh Mali” or “Mud Rubbing” is a ritual that is held in the city of Khorramabad every year to commemorate the seventh century slaying of Prophet Mohammed' s grandson Imam Hussein, in which Iranian men roll over in mud and dry themselves by gathering around the bonfires before flagellating themselves. (Photo by Atta Kenare/AFP Photo)

American actress and singer Bella Thorne attends the GQ Mexico Men of The Year Awards 2017 on October 26, 2017 in Mexico City, Mexico. (Photo by Victor Chavez/Getty Images)

US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump watch the Florida Atlantic University Marching Band and cheerleaders perform prior to a Super Bowl party at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, February 4, 2018. (Photo by Saul Loeb/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 receptionist dinosaur robot performs at the new robot hotel, aptly called Henn na Hotel or Weird Hotel, in Sasebo, southwestern Japan, Wednesday, July 15, 2015. From the receptionist that does the check-in and check-out to the porter that’s a stand-on-wheels taking luggage up to the room, the hotel, that is run as part of Huis Ten Bosch amusement park, is “manned” almost totally by robots to save labor costs. (Photo by Shizuo Kambayashi/AP Photo)

A statue of the Risen Christ is carried during an Easter Sunday procession in Cospicua, outside Valletta, Malta April 5, 2015. (Photo by Darrin Zammit Lupi/Reuters)