A period of relative stability has put the Iranian capital No1 on the list of world cities that have achieved biggest improvements in liveability over the past five years, as calculated by the Economist Intelligence Unit. The “most improved” top 10 contains some unexpected names. So, eg, the fourth place: Abidjan, Ivory Coast. Latest ranking: 128; Ranking five years ago: 131; Five-year index movement: 3.8%. Here: A supporter of Ivory Coast president Alassane Ouattara campaigns in a market in the city’s Koumassi quarter. (Photo by Sia Kambou/AFP Photo)

In Weronika Gęsicka’s unsettling images, American archive photography gets distorted into scenes that are both nightmarish yet somehow entirely plausible. Gęsicka is a guest artist at the Circulations festival for young European photographers, Paris, until 5 March. Here: “Untitled #5”. (Photo by Weronika Gęsicka/The Guardian)

Germany's Rebecca Knaak kicks the ball during the Women's Nations League final soccer match between Spain and Germany in Madrid, Spain, Tuesday, December 2, 2025. (Photo by Bernat Armangue/AP Photo)

A view of the spectacular colour of clouds at sunset on January 17, 2005 in Beijing, China. (Photo by China Photos/Getty Images)

Philadelphia Phillies Ben Francisco reacts after being hit in the head with a pitch by Cincinnati Reds Logan Ondrusek during the MLB National League Division Series baseball playoffs in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States in this October 8, 2010 file photo. (Photo by Tim Shaffer/Reuters)

Clouds gather as walkers pause atop a ridge in Mountain View, California January 7, 2016. (Photo by Noah Berger/Reuters)

An ethnic Armenian fighter carries Kalashnikov machine guns to his comrade-in-arms at Martakert province in the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijan, Monday, April 4, 2016. (Photo by Vahan Stepanyan/PAN Photo via AP Photo)

A teenager holds a bag of Mangos, a tropical fruit who grow up in threes in Caracas, Venezuela on June 22, 2016. The shortage of food especially in areas in extreme poverty had made Mangos the daily food. (Photo by Alejandro Cegarra/The Washington Post)