Negin Ekhpulwak, leader of the Zohra orchestra, an ensemble of 35 women, practises on a piano at Afghanistan's National Institute of Music, in Kabul, Afghanistan April 9, 2016. Playing instruments was banned under Taliban rule in Afghanistan, and even today, many conservative Muslims frown on most forms of music. Living in an orphanage in the capital, Kabul, 19-year-old Negin Ikhpolwak leads an ensemble of 35 women that plays both Western and Afghan musical instruments. In a country notorious internationally for harsh restrictions on women in most areas of life, Negin's story highlights a double challenge. (Photo by Ahmad Masood/Reuters)

(L-R) A man nicknamed "Barcelona", Alexey Bolotov and Alexey Jakushin drink vodka as they travel by a pioneer motorised railcar on their way to Kalach, Sverdlovsk region, Russia October 18, 2015. The "pioneer," a light auxiliary rail vehicle, is a popular form of transport among people who live along the Alapayevsk railway. In a remote corner of the Urals region at the end of a narrow-gauge railway is Kalach, population about a dozen. Three decades ago 600 people called the village home, but the local forestry industry suffered as the former Soviet Union imploded and people moved away in search of work. In Kalach today there are no telephones, no mobile reception and only a few hours of electricity a day. (Photo by Maxim Zmeyev/Reuters)

The brutalist war memorials found throughout the former Yugoslavia were weird enough when they were built in the 1960s and 70s. Today, separated by the end of an architectural movement and the disintegration of the country, they seem almost alien. Belgian photographer Jan Kempenaers treats them purely as artistic objects in his book, “Spomenik”, named for the Serb-Croat word for monument. Known for photographing geographical oddities, Kempenaers was captivated by the spomenik after seeing them in an art encyclopedia. After hearing that many had been destroyed or abandoned, he set out to record what was left. (Photo by Jan Kempenaers)

The unromantic gypsies. Children boxing in a gypsy camp in Kent, England on July 1, 1951. Like all boys these gypsy lads like to try their hand at boxing. Encouraged by their friends they fight it out on Corke's Meadow. Few Romanies now live a life of wandering romance. Most are like the three hundred squatters of Corke's Meadow, Kent, which is part of a “gypsy problem” that involves about 100,000 today. Of those about 25,000 can be rightly called gypsies, the rest are Mumpers and Posh-rats and Hobos. Corke's Meadow has both kinds. “Picture Post” cameraman Bert Hardy photographs the Corke's Meadow gypsies in their encampment. (Photo by Hulton-Deutsch Collection/Corbis via Getty Images)

Ciara is the latest victim to be pranked by Vitalii Sediuk outside the Valentino Fashion Show today during Paris Fashion Week on September 30, 2014. The singer looked chic in a red lace outfit with a black coat hanging over her shoulders and was all smiles while posing for pictures. However, the fun was ruined when Vitalii threw off his cape to reveal a Chanel top and speedos with a message on his right thigh, reading “Ban in USA but I Rock Chanel”. No big altercation went down but Ciara’s security removed him from the crowd. (Photo by Backgrid USA)

Since her stint in the 2019 Love Island villa, where she made the nation laugh, Irish television personality Maura Higgins has been working as a brand ambassador for Ann Summers. And the 31-year-old has really set pulses racing in her latest edit with the saucy lingerie brand. Available online and in stores from today, December 1, 2021, Maura has looks absolutely stunning in the new Ann Summers Christmas campaign which includes bodysuits and basques, two-piece sets, bras, and thongs in festive hues for the Christmas season. (Photo by Ann Summers/The Mega Agency)

In this photo made Thursday, April 11, 2013, Soviet Jewish World War Two veteran Boris Ginsburg poses for a portrait at his house in the southern Israeli city of Ashdod. Ginsburg, born in Belorussia, was kept by a German garrison in the Lenin ghetto since 1941 until its destruction by partisan units in September 1942. In 1942 he joined the partisans for two years and in 1944 he joined the Red Army as a combat soldier and fought till the and of the war. Ginsubrg demobilized in 1947 and immigrated to Israel in 2001. About 500,000 Soviet Jews served in the Red Army during World War Two, and the majority of those still alive today live in Israel. (Photo by Oded Balilty/AP Photo)

Having $100 in your pocket would be so much cooler if it was designed by Martin Joubert. He went all out and created a number of different designs for the 100 USD banknotes, ranging from silly to witty. We especially liked the one with “That’s right. This is real money” written on it, showing just how many cups of coffee, basketballs, and guns you can buy with 100 dollars. All in all, even the currency that we have today is nothing but paper, even though it looks official and strict. There is nothing backing it up except for our noble military that ensures that Gulf States sell their oil using only the “green” kind of currency. (Photo by Martin Joubert)