The Kingdom of Pagan (also commonly known as the Pagan Dynasty and the Pagan Empire) was the first kingdom to unify the regions that would later constitute modern-day Burma (Myanmar). Pagan's 250-year rule over the Irrawaddy valley and its periphery laid the foundation for the ascent of Burmese language and culture, the spread of Burman ethnicity in Upper Burma, and the growth of Theravada Buddhism in Burma and in mainland Southeast Asia.

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.

Danny Santos started photography as a hobby a few years ago, shooting strangers in the streets of Singapore every weekends. He still does that from time to time. Now he juggles between his day job as a graphic designer, and his part-time work as a freelance photographer. (Photo by Danny Santos)

Fireworks explode in the hands of a protester launching it at the Lebanese Central Bank building as frustrated depositors rally against Central Bank's Gov. Riad Salameh, who is facing corruption charges, and the deepening financial crisis in Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, March 24, 2023. (Photo by Hassan Ammar/AP Photo)

A member of the “Avocadoo” club performs a pole dance on a street sign pole in Lodz, central Poland on June 27, 2013. Talk about a traffic stopper: three pole dancers in central Poland have been honing their skills out in the streets, throwing their legs around signposts to the surprise and delight of many a passerby. (Photo by Janek Skarzynski/AFP Photo)

An Elvis impersonator is reflected in the window of the Elvis Express at Central Station in Sydney, Australia, on Thursday, January 5, 2023. Hundreds of Parkes Elvis Festival attendees will board the Elvis Express train from Sydney's Central Station on Thursday for a windy 450-kilometre journey to the central west. (Photo by Steven Saphore/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Michael Olivant, a Times reader, saw a chance to contribute when a Dalmatian pelican landed on his wife’s head at Lake Kerkini in northern Greece in the first decade of February 2025. (Photo by Michael Olivant/The Times)