A beggar who lay at the side of a road pretending he had no legs was moved on by police who made him stand up and walk away. The man lay slumped on his front in Chengdu, in Sichuan Province, China, with his legs tucked under him, and his jeans stretched out to make it appear he had no legs. He is approached by a police officer, who bends down and talks to him for some moments. The officer then reaches out and helps the man to his feet before guiding him across the road. Chengdu is one of a number of cities where officials have tried to clamp down on begging. (Photo by Rex Features)

Floralis Genérica is a sculpture made of steel and aluminum located in Plaza de las Naciones Unidas, Avenida Figueroa Alcorta, Buenos Aires, a gift to the city by the Argentine architect Eduardo Catalano. Catalano once said that the flower "is a synthesis of all the flowers and is both a hope that is reborn every day to open." It was created in 2002. The sculpture moves closing its petals in the evening and opening them in the morning, although this mechanism is currently disabled. The sculpture is located in the center of a park of four acres of wooded boundaries, surrounded by paths that get closer and provide different perspectives of the monument, and placed above a reflecting pool, which apart from fulfilling its aesthetic function, protects it. It represents a large flower made of stainless steel with aluminum skeleton and reinforced concrete, which looks at the sky, extending to it its six petals. Weighs eighteen tons and is 23 meters high.

Sichuan Opera performer Wu Yonghong, 26 years, of the Jinyuan Opera Company performs for villagers at the Dongyue Temple on May 2, 2016 in Cangshan, Sichuan province, China. Sichuan opera is a vibrant, centuries-old tradition that showcases the joys and challenges of daily life in rural China with tales of love, tradition, and family honor. Photo by Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)

Revellers take part in the “Canto a la Tierra” parade on January 3, 2018, during the Carnival of Blacks and Whites in Pasto, Colombia, the largest festivity in the south- western region of the country. More than 10,000 people among artists, craftsmen and revellers take part in the Blacks and Whites Carnival, which has its origins in the mix of the multiple Andean, Amazonian and Pacific cultural expressions. It is celebrated every year from January 2 to 6 in the city of Pasto and is part of UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity since 2009. (Photo by Luis Robayo/AFP Photo)

Just a week before Rio de Janeiro hosts South America's first Olympics, city residents expressed mixed feelings about the cost and security of the Games, while holding out hope they will bring joy to a nation facing economic and political crises. The conflicted thoughts mirror a recent survey by the Datafolha polling group showing that half of Brazilians were opposed to holding the Games, while 63 percent think the costs of hosting the event will outweigh benefits. (Photo by Pilar Olivares/Reuters)

Ahead of May Day, AFP' s video and photo teams spoke to men and women around the globe whose jobs are becoming increasingly rare, particularly as technology transforms societies. Here: Mohammad Ashgar, 65, an Indian rickshaw puller, poses for a photograph next to his rickshaw in Kolkata on April 21, 2018. (Photo by Dibyangshu Sarkar/AFP Photo)

A man wearing a face mask to help protect from the coronavirus carries a bag of groceries as he walks by a mural depicting an iconic financial market bull statue near the central business district, Monday, April 18, 2022, in Beijing. (Photo by Andy Wong/AP Photo)

American model Cindy Crawford, 55, recreated her famous Pepsi advert from 1992 for the University of Wisconsin’s Cancer Care Unit. Limited edition prints of the model, shot by the photographer David Yarrow, have a $40,000 price tag and have raised $1 million. (Photo by David Yarrow Photography)