MINTON FLOOR TILES: A council worker cleans the original Minton tile floor in a rare public showing at St George’s Hall in Liverpool, north-west England on Thursday. The 30,000 Minton floor tiles depicting tritons, sea nymphs as well as the Liverpool coat of arms were laid in 1852 as the building was being constructed. The floor was then covered in the 1860s to enable dancing and events to take place in the hall, whilst preserving the tiles. — AFP