Kashmiri children play with snow on a wooden foot bridge in the interiors of Dal Lake in Srinagar on January 16, 2017. A cold wave has further tightened its grip in Jammu and Kashmir, with most places in the state recording sub-zero temperatures. (Photo by Tauseef Mustafa/AFP Photo)

North Korea has closed its borders in fear of the spread of the Ebola virus. But at a time when the secretive state was still welcoming tourists, former aid worker Andrew Macleod made the journey to the repressive nation. Andrew's holiday snaps and camera footage provide a unique insight into the reclusive country, where he came across deserted motorways, metro stations plastered with propaganda and attractive border guards. Here: a female traffic police officer in the snow in February 2013, in Pyongyang, North Korea. (Photo by Andrew Macleod/Barcroft Media)

Six-month old female liliger cub Eva plays in snow with her mother Zita in the Zoo in Novosibirsk, Russia, Thursday, December 5, 2013. The cub's mother is Zita, a liger – half-lioness, half-tiger, and its father is a lion, Sam. (Photo by Ilnar Salakhiev/AP Photo)

The snow-capped Etna spews hot lava, near Catania, Sicily island, Italy, 26 November 2023. One of Europe's most active and tallest volcano has erupted again on 25 November 2023. (Photo by Dario Lo Scavo/EPA/EFE)

Macaques huddle together for warmth at a hot spring in Nagano, Japan in the last decade of December 2023. Known as snow monkeys, the animals soak in the 40°C water every day during cold weather, spending their bathtime grooming, snoozing and playing on visitors’ camera tripods. (Photo by David Lazar/Animal News Agency)

Visitors watch ice-cold artworks, depicting Marilyn Monroe, at an ice and snow sculpture exhibition made by 35 international artists, who worked 4 months at minus eight degrees Celsius in Oberhausen, Germany, on the 1st of Advent, Sunday, December 1, 2024. (Photo by Martin Meissner/AP Photo)

A skater observes pancakes snow on the frozen Lake des Rousses in Les Rousses, central-eastern France, on January 1, 2025. This phenomenon forms when slushy ice in water clumps into round, pancake-like shapes due to waves or currents. (Photo by Fabrice Coffrini/AFP Photo)

In this Thursday, August 17, 2017 photo, a troupe charges and fires their rifles during Tabourida, a traditional horse riding show also known as Fantasia, in Mansouria, near Casablanca, Morocco. Thousands gathered recently in Mansouria, a small town south of the capital Rabat, to attend one of the oldest festivals in Morocco. Nineteen horse troupes came from different parts of the kingdom to celebrate a three-day event that blends courage, skill and tradition. (Photo by Mosa'ab Elshamy/AP Photo)