Children play in an outdoor shower as a soldier takes part in a surprise operation in the Manguinhos slum in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, January 18, 2018. Troops have been sent to Rio due to the increase of the violence, and in an attempt to help restore order, but so far have had little impact. The operation on Thursday took place three weeks ahead of Carnival, when thousands of tourists are expected to arrive in the city. (Photo by Leo Correa/AP Photo)

Malian workers haul out a boat they use to carry sand collected from the river bed during a routine maintenance on October 7, 2018, in the port of Bamako. Increasing construction in the Malian capital has boosted the demand for bricks made out of high-quality Niger River sand. (Photo by Michele Cattani/AFP Photo)

Kale grows at Kajodlingen farm in Gothenburg, Sweden, September 28, 2016. They are doing it on the rooftops, on tower block balconies and even on a disused railway: Swedes have discovered a passion for urban gardening as a way of growing fresh food and getting back in touch with nature. Part of a global movement, an increasing number of Swedish city-dwellers are growing their own in window boxes and allotments or are visiting public gardens built in or on industrial or office spaces. (Photo by Maxim Shemetov/Reuters)

Grand prize winner: environmental photographer of the year 2023; also 1st place in the humanity v nature category; and winner of the 2023 public award. Lopé national park, Gabon, 2021. An angry elephant tries to defend itself after it was hit by a train that crosses paths the animals use within Lopé national park. Park officials decided the elephant was too severely injured to be saved. After it was killed, the park director distributed the meat to local people. As the forest loses its carrying capacity to sustain its megafauna, this kind of human-wildlife conflict is increasing. (Photo by Jasper Doest/Environmental Photography Award)

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)

Sеx worker Geraldine, wearing cat make-up, excitedly holds up a dress she is thinking of buying from a street vendor, so that her partner, sitting nearby to keep her company, can see it, as she waits for clients outside the Revolution subway station, in Mexico City, Saturday, March 13, 2021. According to Geraldine, 30, the pandemic has cut clients and increased risks to the sеx workers but has also brought out more assistance for them too, both from dedicated organizations such as the activist group Brigada Callejera or “The Street Brigade” and from individuals who have donated food or clothing. (Photo by Rebecca Blackwell/AP Photo)

A pregnant woman poses on June 19, 2018 in Vertou, western France. France had an estimated population of 68.4 million by January 1, 2024, representing a further year-on-year increase of 0.3 percent, limited by a marked drop in the birth rate, the INSEE national statistics bureau of France reported on January 16, 2024. In 2023, 678,000 babies were born in France, 6.6 percent fewer than the previous year, the lowest number of births in any year since 1946. Over the same period, there were 631,000 deaths, down 6.5 percent on 2022, a year marked by the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic and episodes of extreme heat. (Photo by Loic Venance/AFP Photo)

“Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London with 1,074,300 residents (2011 census), an increase of 96,000 over the previous decade. The city lies within the West Midlands conurbation, the third most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a population of 2,440,986 (2011 census) of which the Birmingham built-up area was 1,085,810. Its metropolitan area is the United Kingdom's second most populous with 3,683,000 residents”. – Wikipedia. (Photo by Adrian Saker)