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)
Photographer Khalid Alhammadi really has got his head in the clouds as he scales some of the Middle East’s tallest buildings to photograph iconic landmarks high above the rising mist. Khalid’s breathtaking shots over Abu Dhabi look almost otherworldly, with skyscraper tips and mosque towers poking through the eerie fog. Here: Night view of Abu Dhabi. (Photo by Khalid Alhammadi/Caters News Agency)
A person dressed as an astronaut is seen at a metro station in Istanbul, Turkey on December 6, 2021. A man with an astronaut outfit walked around the city's metro stations as part of the promotion of NASA Space Exhibition, which reflects 50 years of space studies and experiences of the NASA, to be opened at Metropol Istanbul Mall. (Photo by Mehmet Murat Onel/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Children walk amid a mirror installation titled “Sea of Mirrors”, featuring digital images of fish in the ocean during a preview tour the day before the show's public opening at the AquaRio aquarium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Wednesday, June 14, 2023. (Photo by Silvia Izquierdo/AP Photo)
Models wait backstage prior to the Viktor&Rolf Spring-Summer 2022 Haute Couture fashion collection, in Paris, Wednesday, January 26, 2022. (Photo by Thibault Camus/AP Photo)