Boys pan for gold on a riverside at Iga Barriere, 25 km (15 miles) from Bunia, in the resource-rich Ituri region of eastern Congo February 16, 2009. Ituri is one of many areas of the country to have experienced bitter ethnic conflict between rival tribes in recent years. Massacres have left tens of thousands dead. It is this fighting that led U.S. authorities to take the unprecedented step of naming Congo in section 1502 of the Dodd-Frank financial regulation act, which says U.S.-listed companies that source gold, tungsten, tantalum and tin from Congo or its neighbours must assure the U.S. stock exchange regulator that their business is not helping fund conflict. (Photo by Finbarr O'Reilly/Reuters)

The Pied Piper of Hamelin, actually city tourism employee Michael Boyer, leads local children dressed as rats through a quiet street on November 19, 2012 in Hameln, Germany. The Pied Piper (in German: Der Rattenfaenger), is one of the many stories featured in the collection of fairy tales collected by the Grimm brothers, and the 200th anniversary of the first publication of the stories will take place this coming December 20th. Boyer, a U.S. citizen who has lived in Hameln for 15 years, and city children regularly perform a reenactment of the Pied Piper tale throughout the summer months. The Grimm brothers collected their stories from oral traditions in the region between Frankfurt and Bremen in the early 19th century, and the works include such global classics as Sleeping Beauty, Little Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel, Cinderella and Hansel and Gretel. (Photo by Sean Gallup)

Pakistani truck drivers from different cities sit on the roof top of the buildings at Truck station offering Dua before breaking the fast during Holy month of Ramadan in Lahore on April 15, 2021. Ramadan is marked by daily fasting from dawn to sunset Islami's holy month of Ramadan-ul-Mubarak is celebrated by Muslims worldwide marked by fasting, abstaining from foods, sеx and smoking from dawn to dusk for soul cleansing and strengthening the spiritual bond between them and the Almighty. (Photo by Rana Sajid Hussain/Pacific Press/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

A boy sits on the back of a crocodile on May 19, 2018 at a pond in Bazoule in Burkina Faso, a village which happily shares its local pond with “sacred” crocodiles. Crocodiles may be one of the deadliest hunters in the animal kingdom, but in a small village in Burkina Faso it is not unusual to see someone sitting atop one of the fearsome reptiles. According to local legend, the startling relationship with the predators dates back to at least the 15 th century. The village was in the grip of an agonising drought until the crocodiles led women to a hidden pond where the population could slake their thirst. (Photo by Olympia de Maismont/AFP Photo)

The oldest car to wear the Porsche badge goes on view at Sotheby's on May 21, 2019 in London, England. The only surviving 1939 Porsche Type 64 Berlin-Rome, No. 3, this rare piece of motoring history was the personal car of Ferdinand and Ferry Porsche, predating the first production Porsche, the 356. The car is on view at Sotheby's in London from 21st -24th May prior to being offered for sale by RM Sotheby's in Monterey, California, 15-17th August 2019, with an estimate in excess of $20 million. (Photo by Tristan Fewings/Getty Images for Sotheby's)

An Afghani man sells bread on a roadside in Kandahar, Afghanistan, 23 April 2024. A recent World Bank report reveals a 26% decrease in Afghanistan's gross output over the past year, primarily attributed to a 1.3 billion USD income reduction for farmers due to the ban on drug cultivation. Although tax revenue saw a modest increase of 13% in 2023, exports experienced a 15% decline specifically to Pakistan. Afghan officials highlighted efforts to spur domestic production, improve trade, stabilize the national currency, and initiate key economic projects. (Photo by Qudratullah Razwan/EPA/EFE)

A young woman takes pictures of the city with her mobile phone, from the glass-floor observation platform, in the Oriental Pearl Tower, in the financial district of Shanghai, on May 9, 2019. (Photo by Hector Retamal/AFP Photo)

U.S. Air Force wounded warrior, Capt. Sarah Evans, jumps rope in a gym in San Antonio, Texas. Evans was diagnosed with cancer while deployed to Afghanistan and was medically evacuated back to the United States where her leg was amputated. (Photo by Master Sgt. Jeffrey Allen/U.S. Air Force)