“Maria Rosaria (Mara) Carfagna (born December 18, 1975 in Salerno) is an Italian politician and former showgirl and topless model. After obtaining a degree in law, Carfagna worked for several years on Italian television shows and as a model. She later entered politics and was elected to the Chamber of Deputies for Forza Italia party in 2006. On May 8, 2008, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi appointed her Minister for Equal Opportunity, a move that received international attention due to her background and her appearance. Carfagna has been called «The most beautiful minister in the world», and was ranked number one on Maxim's «World´s Hottest Politicians»”.

Photo: Minister Mara Carfagna attends a press conference for the Pink Box Project held at Palazzo Marino on November 24, 2008 in Milan, Italy. The Pink Box is a tracking device, designed to help women drivers in danger. (Photo by Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images). MILAN, ITALY – NOVEMBER 24 2008

Manchester City's Norwegian striker #09 Erling Haaland (L) sees his shot deflected into the net by Luton Town's Japanese defender #27 Daiki Hashioka (R) for an own-goal during the English Premier League football match between Manchester City and Luton Town at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, north west England, on April 13, 2024. (Photo by Darren Staples/AFP Photo)

Wayne McMahon from “The Wolfhound Experience” walking alongside four Irish Wolfhounds: Connell, Mac, Brendan, and Barra, accompanied by an Irish Terrier Lady MacBeth, at St. Stephen's Green in Dublin, Ireland, on May 16, 2024. The Wolfhound Experience offers a one-hour walking tour in Dublin's St. Stephens' Green, where visitors can meet and learn about Irish Wolfhounds, the gentle giants of the canine world. (Photo by Artur Widak/NurPhoto/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

Spain's Paula Badosa gives a thumbs up after falling on the court during her women's singles semi-final match against Belarus' Aryna Sabalenka on day twelve of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on January 23, 2025. (Photo by David Gray/AFP Photo)

Indian Students of Rabindra Bharati University at the BT Road Campuses Celebrates the Holi, Color Festival on March 09, 2017 in Kolkata.Holi, the popular Hindu spring festival of colours is observed in India at the end of the winter season on the last full moon of the lunar month, and will be celebrated on March 13 this year. (Photo by Debajyoti Chakraborty/NurPhoto)

As Russia puts the finishing touches to the carefully manicured fields that will host the World Cup from next week, people around the globe are playing soccer on a surprising variety of makeshift pitches. Off the coast of an island in southern Thailand, they play on a floating platform; in the mountains of northern Italy, they kick about in the snow – images captured by Reuters photographers around the world. Here: Local residents play soccer on the top floor of a parking garage in Jakarta, Indonesia, May 4, 2018. (Photo by Darren Whiteside/Reuters)

As the world marks the International Day of the Girl Child, women's rights activists point to progress on a wide array of issues but say more needs to be done to protect girls from child marriage, sexual assault and other forms of exploitation. Here is a selection of pictures showing the daily lives of girls across the globe, all taken by female Associated Press photojournalists. Here: In this December 14, 2015, file photo, a young clown rides in the back of a car following a procession to the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City. Hundreds belonging to various clown associations made their annual pilgrimage to the Basilica to pay their respects to the Virgin of Guadalupe, Mexico's patron saint. (Photo by Rebecca Blackwell/AP Photo)

English actress Florence Pugh attends the “Don't Worry Darling” red carpet at the 79th Venice International Film Festival on September 05, 2022 in Venice, Italy. (Photo by Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images)