A healthcare worker dressed as Santa Claus distributes gifts to children at the Ayeyarwady Covid Centre in Mandalay, Myanmar, on December 25, 2020, Christmas Day, amid the Covid-19 pandemic, caused by the novel coronavirus. (Photo by Ye Aung Thu/AFP Photo)

Vatican Swiss Guards stand attention at the St. Damaso courtyard on the occasion of the swearing-in ceremony at the Vatican, Sunday, October 4, 2020. The ceremony is held to commemorate the day in 1527 when 147 Swiss Guards died protecting Pope Clement VII during the Sack of Rome. (Photo by Gregorio Borgia/AP Photo)

Inbar Regev, an eight-year-old Israeli girl, holds her pet python while swimming in her backyard pool in Ge'a, southern Israel on October 7, 2020. (Photo by Amir Cohen/Reuters)

Greece's Maria Sakkari reacts during her women's singles quarter-final tennis match against Poland's Iga Swiatekon Day 11 of The Roland Garros 2021 French Open tennis tournament in Paris on June 9, 2021. (Photo by Gonzalo Fuentes/Reuters)

A weather vane on a farm building close to the HS2 line on November 24, 2020 in Great Missenden, England. HS2 protesters continue to occupy key infrastructure sites along the proposed HS2 route claiming that the project is “the most carbon-intensive and environmentally destructive project in UK history”. (Photo by Jim Dyson/Getty Images)

Raquel Poti performs on stilts during the Amigos da Onca street Carnival party, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Saturday, February 10, 2024. (Photo by Bruna Prado/AP Photo)

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)

Penitentiary system guards carry an inmate with symptoms related to the novel coronavirus at the COVID-19 unit of San Juan de Dios hospital in Guatemala City on July 13, 2020. (Photo by Johan Ordonez/AFP Photo)