A 40-tonne humpback launching out of the water in an incredible breach in New South Wales, Australia on October 2022 in front of a sunset. The humpback whale can grow up to 56 feet long and typically covers 9,900 miles a year as it travels through the oceans of the world. Humpback whales are a species of Baleen whale, meaning they don't have teeth. Instead, they have baleen which helps them to filter feed. Their main source of food is krill or tiny bait fish. (Photo by Jodie Lowe/Media Drum Images)

Visitors enjoy a camel ride at Sea View beach in Karachi on June 16, 2023, after Cyclone Biparjoy made landfall. More than 180,000 people in the Indian state of Gujarat and Pakistan's neighbouring Sindh province fled the path of Biparjoy – which means “disaster” in Bengali – before it made landfall on June 15 evening. (Photo by Asif Hassan/AFP Photo)

Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south, and Thailand to the west. Its population was estimated to be around 6.5 million in 2012. A third (33%) of the country's population lives below the international poverty line which means living on less than U.S. $1.25 per day.

“These incredible pictures capture the stunning moment waves roll on to a tropical beach. Photographers Nick Selway, 28, and pal CJ Kale, 35, position themselves in the magnificent Hawaiian water – and then wait for the waves to crash into their heads. Their only equipment are standard cameras – but a waterproof case means they do not need to sacrifice their cameras for their art”. (Photo by Nick Selway/CJ Kale)

Liu Chunxia, a supporter of Xu Zhiyong, one of China's most prominent rights advocates, is detained by policemen while she gathers with other supporters nearby a court where Xu's trial is being held in Beijing January 22, 2014. When dozens of activists unfurled banners across the country last March and April calling for officials to disclose their assets, they did so at the urging of one of China's most prominent rights advocates, Xu Zhiyong. Xu, 40, stands trial on Wednesday on a charge of “gathering a crowd to disturb public order” punishable by up to five years in prison. His case will almost certainly spark fresh criticism from Western governments over Beijing's crackdown on dissent. (Photo by Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters)

In this September 19, 2019 file photo, an aircraft passes the rising sun during take off at the international airport in Frankfurt, Germany. Germany’s top court has ruled that the government has to set clear goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions after 2030, arguing that current legislation doesn’t go far enough in curbing climate change. (Photo by Michael Probst/AP Photo/File)

A Guarani Indian woman jokes with her son in the village of Pyau at Jaragua district, in Sao Paulo April 27, 2015. The National Indian Foundation (FUNAI) has recognised 521 hectares of this area as indigenous territory, making it the smallest indigenous reserve in Brazil. Members of the Guarani community have now established a new village outside the demarcation and are being threatened with an eviction through a court order. (Photo by Nacho Doce/Reuters)

Thousands gather to rally for marriage equality ahead of a national postal survey on September 10, 2017 in Sydney, Australia. The High Court handed down its decision on Thursday to allow the government's proposed postal ballot survey to go ahead. Ballots with the question “Should the law be changed to allow same-sеx couples to marry?” will be sent to households across Australia on September 12. (Photo by Jonny Weeks/The Guardian)