An Indian priest worships six-year-old Hindu girl Anushka Chetterjee dressed as the Hindu goddess Durga at a “pandal” for the celebrations of the “Durga Puja” festival in Kolkata on September 28, 2017. The five-day Durga Puja festival, which commemorates the slaying of the demon king Mahishasur by the goddess Durga, marks the triumph of good over evil. (Photo by Dibyangshu Sarkar/AFP Photo)

Fans dressed in Spider-Man outfits gather at a promotional event for the forthcoming “Spider-Man: Homecoming” movie at the Art Science Museum in Singapore on June 7, 2017. The movie will be shown in cinemas around the world from July 5 onwards. (Photo by Toh Ting Wei/AFP Photo)

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)

Alluvial Fan, China. A vast alluvial fan blossoms across the desolate landscape between the Kunlun and Altun mountain ranges that form the southern border of the Taklimakan Desert in China’s XinJiang Province. Image taken by the ASTER instrument on NASA’s Terra satellite on May 2nd, 2002. (Photo by NASA/GSFC/USGS EROS Data Center)

Cosplayer and super fan Sophia sits on the Iron Throne outside the Tower of London on Monday, August 8, 2022 to mark the launch of the Game of Thrones prequel, House of the Dragon, airing on Sky and streaming service NOW from August 22. (Photo by David Parry/PA Wire Press Association)

A Cameroon fan waits for the start of the Qatar 2022 World Cup Group G football match between Switzerland and Cameroon at the Al-Janoub Stadium in Al-Wakrah, south of Doha on November 24, 2022. (Photo by Hannah Mckay/Reuters)

An Iraqi man sells dried fish ahead of Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan, in Basra on April 8, 2024. (Photo by Hussein Faleh/AFP Photo)

A man sets himself on fire during protest rallies in front of the presidential office in Kiev, Ukraine on February 26, 2020. The man, who called himself Oleksandr Burlakov, said subsequently that his motive was to draw the attention of the authorities to his plight, related to the ownership of the land parcel. (Photo by Ihor Behus/Reuters)