A woman promotes a go-go dance bar in Pattaya, Thailand March 25, 2017. With mascots dressed as smiling fish and a police rock band, Thai authorities launched a “Happy Zone” at the weekend to improve the image of a city notorious for sеx tourism. Stung by foreign headlines portraying the seaside resort of Pattaya as “Sin City” and “The World’s Sеx Capital”, Thailand’s junta has begun a new effort to re-brand it. Businesses in the Happy Zone are asked to make the area feel safer, there are increased security patrols, police launched a mobile phone app for visitors to summon them if an emergency occurs. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)

The National Geographic Photo Ark is a travelling exhibition of photographer Joel Sartore’s quest to create a photo archive of biodiversity around the world. So far, Sartore has captured studio portraits of more than 6,000 species – a number that he hopes to double. On 1 July, the ark will open at Melbourne zoo – the first time it has been exhibited in the southern hemisphere. More than 50 portraits will be on display, including many of Australian endangered animals being protected by programs at the zoo itself. These captions have been edited from text supplied by Melbourne zoo. Here: Barking owl. (Photo by Joel Sartore/National Geographic Photo Ark/The Guardian)

A mermaid poses under water during a shoot with photographer Brett Stanley during MerMagic Con at the Freedom Aquatic Center in Manassas, Virginia on August 7, 2021. MerMagic Con is advertised as the largest Mermaid convention in the world. Some parts of the convention are based on modeling and looks like the Miss Mermaid USA Pageant. The Society of Fat Mermaids looks to bring together plus size people and promote the idea that anyone can become a mermaid. Becoming a mermaid is not cheap, most merfolk spend thousands of dollars on their tail and outfit. Most tails are custom made out of silicone and others are foam and fabric. (Photo by Joseph Prezioso/AFP Photo)

Demonstrators clash with riot police during a protest against the contract for the Canadian mining company FQM in Panama City on October 25, 2023. Demonstrators and police clashed Tuesday in Panama as protests over a copper mine spilled into their fifth day, with President Laurentino Cortizo vowing he would prosecute acts of “vandalism”. The protesters are concerned about potential environmental damage from operations at the mine owned by First Quantum, a Canadian firm and one of the biggest copper extractors in the world. After protests erupted on Friday and continued over the weekend, demonstrators had yet to let up by Tuesday in Panama City and in other provinces. (Photo by Roberto Cisneros/AFP Photo)

This undated handout image courtesy of the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance shows “Pat”, a Pacific pocket mouse fondly named after actor Sir Patrick Stewart. A mouse named after “Star Trek” actor Patrick Stewart is officially the world's oldest in captivity, a US zoo has announced Pat the Pacific Pocket Mouse – the smallest species of mouse in North America – bagged the title when he hit nine years and 209 days old on February 8, 2023. (Photo by Ken Bohn/San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance via AFP Photo)

Emilia Pechinkova, a 24-years-old Bulgarian Pomak (Bulgarian speaking Muslims) bride poses for a photograph following the “gelina” or face painting ceremony carried out by female guests and relatives in preparation for her three-day wedding ceremony in the village of Draginovo, 100 kms southeast of Sofia on April 22, 2016. Bulgaria's Muslim population is one of the highest in the European Union. During the Communist regime religious rituals were not tolerated, and Muslims were forced to abandon wearing their traditional wedding outfits. Recently, more young Pomak women want to include traditional wedding customs that were forbidden during the regime, regardless of their secular lifestyles and the high cost of such a wedding. (Photo by Nikolay Doychinov/AFP Photo)

Cheerleaders wearing face masks due to the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) are seen at the first professional baseball league game of the season at Taoyuan International baseball stadium in Taoyuan city, Taiwan, April 11, 2020. (Photo by Ann Wang/Reuters)

Participants perform parade in the street during Grebeg Sudiro festival on January 19, 2020 in Solo City, Central Java, Indonesia. Grebeg Sudiro festival is held as a prelude to the Chinese New Year, which falls on January 25th this year, welcoming the Year of the Rat. People bring offerings known as gunungan, including Chinese sweetcakes piled up into the shape of mountains, which are paraded in the streets followed by Chinese and Javanese performers. (Photo by Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images)