soviet roadside bus-stops The Soviet Roadside Bus-stop Departure from the common and boring , Next stop the wild and crazy For the most part Soviet architecture and design is remembered for its heavy block buildings and functionally Spartan designs. Its overpowering desire for conformity left little room for individual creative freedom. A notable exceptions to this is in the transportation sector. The roadside bus stop serves a simple purpose – to show where the bus will stop and to provide some comfort and shelter for waiting passengers. Sadly, with the breakup of the Soviet Union many of the bus stops are quickly deteriorating from their original glory. Christopher Herwig Photography www.herwigphoto.com Kong, or 'control', is character of the year in China 15 December 2011Last updated at 17:11 The Chinese character "kong" generally means "control". The Chinese character "kong" has been chosen as character of the year for 2011. More than two million internet users took part in the selection, say the organisers of the state-backed poll. Kong generally means "control" and replaces 2010's "zhang" which means "price hikes". The organisers say the choice symbolises the government's economic policy, which is aimed at keeping inflation under control. The widespread use of "kong" by Chinese people when discussing control of the internet, media and society was not mentioned in the official reports. The phrase of the year is "shang bu qi" which means "too delicate to bear a blow". China's growing importance in a globalised world economy was reflected in the choice of "debt" and "euro debt crisis" as the international word and phrase of the year. In last year's poll "zhang" was followed by the characters for "resentment", "grey", "demolish" and "death".
A View Inside Iran - In Focus Iran has appeared in numerous headlines around the world in recent months, usually attached to stories about military exercises and other saber-rattlings, economic sanctions, a suspected nuclear program, and varied political struggles. Iran is a country of more than 75 million people with a diverse history stretching back many thousands of years. While over 90 percent of Iranians belong to the Shia branch of Islam -- the official state religion -- Iran is also home to nearly 300,000 Christians, and the largest community of Jews in the Middle East outside Israel. At a time when military and political images seem to dominate the news about Iran, I thought it would be interesting to take a recent look inside the country, to see its people through the lenses of agency photographers. Keep in mind that foreign media are still subject to Iranian restrictions on reporting. [42 photos] Use j/k keys or ←/→ to navigate Choose: An evening view shows Tehran on Monday, October 31, 2011.