24 hours in pictures

Kabul, Afghanistan: An Afghan man works at a sweet factory. The Soviet invasion and ensuing civil war destroyed much of the country's limited infrastructure and disrupted normal patterns of economic activity. Photograph: SYED JAN SABAWOON/EPA

London, UK: Travelex worked with a team of scientists from the National Space Centre and the University of Leicester to design a currency that could withstand the stresses and demands of space travel. The group has dubbed the money Quasi Universal Intergalactic Denomination, or Quids for short. Photograph: HO/PA

Gaza City, Gaza Strip: Palestinian children attend classes at a United Nations school in the Shati refugee camp. Large numbers of students in UN-run schools in Gaza are failing aptitude tests in math and Arabic, the agency said, attributing the poor showing to violence, poverty and overcrowding. Photograph: Khalil Hamra/AP

Moscow, Russia: Soldiers hold up a colourful display near a newly opened monument celebrating the 50th anniversary of the launch of Sputnik, the world's first artificial satellite, at the Russian cosmonaut training centre, Star City. Photograph: Mikhail Metzel/AP

Kinshasa, Congo: Local volunteers pass a fire hose to help firefighters cool debris at the site of a plane crash. A cargo plane smashed into a residential neighbourhood in Congo's capital just after take-off on Thursday, killing at least 19 people and engulfing homes in flames. Photograph: John Bompengo/AP

Manila, Philippines: A teacher, Jane Farinas, shields teacher-turned-activist Fidel Fababier from police during a demonstration to mark World Teachers' Day. Filipino public school teachers, who have long complained that they are overworked and underpaid, tried to march to the presidential palace to demand the immediate release of their insurance benefits. Photograph: ROLEX DELA PENA/EPA

San Luis, USA: Towering light poles and a wall of metal recently constructed by national guardsmen form a barrier in a dusty stretch of desert that runs along the US-Mexico border. Photograph: David McNew/Getty

Mae Sot, Thailand: Vegetable sellers from Burma crowd on to a local taxi as they make their way across the Thai-Burmese border. Photograph: David Longstreath/AP

San Francisco, USA: Sean Tucker heads Team Oracle's Collaborators stunt flying team as they pass over the San Francisco Bay during a rehearsal. Photograph: Sean Tucker/AP

Ramallah, West Bank: Israeli border police officers stand guard in front of Palestinians waiting to cross an Israeli army checkpoint in Kalandia. Thousands of Muslim worshippers massed at checkpoints leading into Jerusalem on Friday, hoping to get to prayers in the city. Photograph: Kevin Frayer/AP

Washington, USA: From left to right, the US chief of protocol, Nancy Goodman Brinker, vice-president Dick Cheney, deputy national security adviser Elliott Abrams, secretary of state Condoleezza Rice and national security adviser Stephen Hadley stand together during a meeting between the US president, George Bush, and the parliamentary majority leader in Lebanon, Saad Hariri, in the Oval Office of the White House. Photograph: Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP

Frankfurt, Germany: A picture editor at the German national newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung fixes first drafts of the paper for the next day. The newspaper is launching a new layout which includes a colour photo on the front page and removes the traditional Gothic print above comment pieces. Photograph: THOMAS LOHNES/AFP

Islamabad, Pakistan: A worker applies paint to a section of a wall of the Faisal mosque. Pakistan is on high security alert ahead of presidential elections, amid fears of a militant backlash against the country's military ruler, General Pervez Musharraf. Photograph: FAROOQ NAEEM/AFP

St Petersburg, Russia: Italy's Valentina Vezzali (l) and Margherita Granbassi in action during the women's foil final at the fencing world championships. Photograph: ANATOLY MALTSEV/EPA

Chengde, China: Visitors view reproductions of hundreds of Buddhist statues brought to the Maya statue mountain from as far afield as India and Afghanistan. The statues have been installed on the mountain top over the past five years and are part of efforts by local authorities to promote the area as a pilgrimage destination for Buddhists around the world. Photograph: ADRIAN BRADSHAW/EPA

Prague, Czech Republic: A fashion performance arranged by the Japanese fashion designer Yoshiki Hishinuma and the Czech glass designer Borek Sipek takes place at the design festival Designblok 07. Photograph: FILIP SINGER/EPA

Luquillo, Puerto Rico: A view of the beach known as La Selva, part of the North-east Ecological Corridor reserve. Against the backdrop of a pristine coastline, Governor Anibal Acevedo Vila signed an order to preserve a white-sand beach fringed with tropical forest where proposals for hotel resorts sparked widespread protests. Photograph: Andres Leighton/AP