A child watches as an adult poses for a photograph while holding a Thompson AR-15 rifle, which is inscribed with the likeness of former US President Donald Trump at the Tommy Gun Warehouse during the annual Rod of Iron Freedom Festival in Greeley, Pennsylvania, 07 October 2023. The festival is one of the the largest open carry festivals celebrating the 2nd Amendment in North America. (Photo by Will Oliver/EPA)

Spain's Oscar Husillos (R) passes the baton to Spain's Eva Santidrian (L) in the mixed 4x400m relay heats during the World Athletics Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon on July 15, 2022. (Photo by Andrej Isakovic/AFP Photo)

Participants during the Whitby Krampus Run street parade in Whitby, Yorkshire on Saturday, December 3, 2022, which celebrates the Krampus, a horned creature which accompanies Saint Nicholas on his rounds. (Photo by Danny Lawson/PA Images/Profimedia)

A demonstrator participates in a chant outside the Main Building on campus with hundreds of other students. Professors, students, and supporters of UT-Austin demonstrate on campus, Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Austin. (Photo by Ricardo B. Brazziell/Austin American-Statesman via AP Photo)

This aerial view shows youths swimming to cool off in the waters of Iraq's Euphrates river during a heatwave, in the district of al-Hindiyah east of Karbala on June 7, 2024. (Photo by Karar Jabbar/AFP Photo)

Actors Rooney Mara, left, and Joaquin Phoenix arrive at the premiere of “Joker: Folie a Deux” on Monday, September 30, 2024, at TCL Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP Photo)

The civilised world lies on its knees, a sickness wracking its body. The affliction causes a necrotising of tissues so perfectly uniform in distribution that victims take on the appearance of corpses long before death occurs due to organ failure or secondary infections. ...