A Kurdish girl celebrates Newroz Day, a festival marking spring and the new year, in Akra, Iraq March 20, 2016. Nowruz is the name of the Iranian New Year also referred to as Persian New Year which is celebrated worldwide by Iranian peoples, along with some other ethno-linguistic groups. Nowruz is the day of the vernal equinox, and marks the beginning of spring in the Northern Hemisphere. It usually occurs on March 21 or the previous/following day, depending on where it is observed. Although having Persian and religious Zoroastrian origins, Nowruz has been celebrated by people from diverse ethno-linguistic communities for thousands of years. (Photo by Ari Jalal/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)

People use large water guns to spray each other as they celebrate the annual Songkran festival in Bangkok, Thailand on April 14, 2025. Thailand celebrated the Thai traditional New Year, called Songkran in Thai and also known as ëthe water festivalí, on 13 April, with festivities going on on throughout the weekend. During Songkran, people celebrate the New Year by splashing water to each other as a sign of washing away sins and bad luck from the previous year. People across Thailand celebrate the New Year with parties and water related activities throughout the weekend. (Photo by Diego Azubel/Matrix Images)

Women playing in the street as the snow falls on Johannesburg for the first time in seventeen years. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images). 1st September 1962

A dragon crew team performs at a shopping mall to welcome the Lunar new year in Taoyuan, Taiwan on February 1, 2022. (Photo by Ann Wang/Reuters)

A student takes part in Tamil New Year and Vishu celebrations in Chennai on April 13, 2022. (Photo by Arun Sankar/AFP Photo)

Four-year-old Eve Hill enjoys the wet weather in York, northeast England on August 2, 2023. (Photo by James Glossop/The Times)

The Forth Bridge is engulfed by mist on one of the coldest days of the year, on December 12, 2022, in Edinburgh, Scotland. (Photo by Ken Jack/Getty Images)