Yussef Saluta (R), 20, an Israeli Arab soldier from the Desert Reconnaissance battalion takes part in a drill near Kissufim in southern Israel November 29, 2016. A battalion of soldiers crawls across the desert sand with assault rifles cocked. It's a routine exercise, but these are no ordinary troops – they are Arabs who have chosen to fight for the Jewish state. (Photo by Amir Cohen/Reuters) (Photo by Amir Cohen/Reuters)

Michiko Ohashi (C), wearing a costume decorated with snacks, performs with other members of pop group Pottya at a fan meeting celebrating her birthday in Tokyo, Japan, October 16, 2016. Competition is cutthroat among Japan's thousands of pop idol wannabes, but a unique concept is winning fame for a band of “chubby” girls deploying their cheeky cuteness to combat prejudices against obesity. (Photo by Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters)

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)

Relatives clean the body of Paul Sampe Lumba who has been dead for seven yeas during the Ma'nene ritual at Panggala Village on August 26, 2016 in Toraja, Indonesia. The Ma'nene ritual in performed during a ceremony every three years, where the dead are exhumed for a change of clothes, among the people of Toraja as an expression of the love of the surviving family. (Photo by Sijori Images/Barcroft Images)

An Iranian woman without wearing her mandatory Islamic headscarf flashes a victory sign as two head-to-toe veiled women walk at the old main bazaar of Tehran, Iran, Thursday, June 13, 2024. (Photo by Vahid Salemi/AP Photo)

A blue observation point contrasts with the orange winter foliage of the metasequoia trees – dawn redwoods – at Huanghai Forest Park on the east coast of China in the second decade of December 2024. (Photo by Splash News and Pictures)

Automated guided vehicle robot “Ray” lifts up an Audi car during a pilot project at the parking area of the Audi plant in Ingolstadt, Germany, May 13, 2015. The robot has been designed to help make work more efficient and more comfortable for employees, some whom walk up to eight kilometres a day, while coordinating the finished cars for the subsequent train transportation. “Robot Ray” technology, currently being used at Dusseldorf International Airport in Germany, claims to be able to park 60 per cent more vehicles in one area compared with a human driver. (Photo by Michaela Rehle/Reuters)

A member of the Philippine National Police stands guard as he detains people as part of the “Rid the Streets Of Drinkers and Youth” operation on a main road in Las Pinas city, metro Manila, Philippines June 1, 2016. (Photo by Romeo Ranoco/Reuters)