Starting late last week, with several small protests denouncing a hike in public transport fares, demonstrations flared up yesterday, encompassing larger public anger at poor public services, police violence and government corruption. More than 200,000 took to the streets of Brazil's biggest cities yesterday, voicing frustration with the billions of dollars set aside for upcoming sports events like the World Cup and the 2014 Olympics, despite crushing levels of poverty in some places, and underfunded public education, health, security and transportation. Though the majority of the protests were peaceful, a few violent demonstrations were broken up by police in Rio de Janeiro. [32 photos]

One of the oldest forms of storytelling is that of re-enactment, donning the costumes of the story's subjects, miming their actions, performing a narrative before a live audience. Whether organized by history enthusiasts, government offices, religious groups, or just for fun, military battles and religious events are the most popular subjects for re-enactment. Collected here are recent performances from around the world, covering a few events from the past 2,000 years. [36 photos]

Inspired in part by the great geography game GeoGuessr, I spent some time recently in Google Maps, finding the edges of their Street View image coverage. I've always been drawn to the end of the road, to the edges of where one might be allowed to travel, whether blocked by geographic features, international borders, or simply the lack of any further road. Gathered below is a virtual visit to a few of these road ends around the world -- borders, shorelines, dead ends and overlooks from New Zealand to Svalbard, from Alaska to South Africa. [26 photos]

The historic flooding throughout central Europe continues, as the Elbe River has broken through several dikes in northern Germany, and the crest of the swollen Danube River has reached southern Hungary, and threatens Serbia. Parts of Austria and the Czech Republic are now in recovery mode, as thousands of residents return home to recover what they can. Gathered here are images from the past several days of those affected by these continuing floods. See earlier entry: Flooding Across Central Europe. [24 photos]

Early this morning, Turkish riot police stormed Taksim Square, the center of recent anti-government protests in Istanbul, firing tear gas and rubber bullets at firework-hurling demonstrators, pushing many of the protesters who had occupied the square for more than a week into a nearby park. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said today he had "no more tolerance" for the mass anti-government demonstrations that have engulfed the country and killed three protesters and one police officer. [40 photos]

Reuters photographer Yannis Behrakis, based in Athens, spent several weeks documenting the unemployed and homeless in Greece as the continued economic downturn has impacted the numbers of homeless. Since the debt crisis erupted in 2009, hundreds of thousands of Greeks have lost their jobs -- the unemployment rate in the country reached 26.8 percent, as the economy contracted by another 5.6 percent in the first quarter of 2013, and even stricter austerity measures are being urged. See also Portraits of Greece in Crisis from last year. [23 photos]

Heavy rainfall over Europe during the the past week has swollen many rivers past their flood stage, wreaking havoc unseen in decades across Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Hungary, Slovakia, Poland and the Czech Republic. At least 18 people across the region have been killed, and tens of thousands have been evacuated. In Germany, the crest of the Elbe River is now approaching the North Sea, as the swollen Danube River is surging toward the Hungarian capital of Budapest. Collected here are images from the past several days of those affected by these historic floods, even as meteorologists predict more rain over the coming weekend. [36 photos]

Demonstrators across Turkey took to the streets again this morning, continuing a week of unprecedented protest against what they see as Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's authoritarian rule, police brutality, and the destruction of Istanbul's Taksim Park for the sake of a development project. More than 4,300 people have been wounded so far in a dozen cities, and at least two have died. Members of the Turkish government offered apologies for excessive use of police force, but Erdogan remained dismissive and defiant, insisting he will continue with the planned development of Taksim Park. Collected here are scenes from Turkey over the past few days, as tens of thousands remain in the streets, and the government shows no sign of making concessions. [42 photos]

Travel photographer Amos Chapple recently crossed into Turkmenistan on a three-day transit visa and was able to photograph many of the sights and monuments in Ashgabat, the capital and largest city. Turkmenistan is a single-party country, a former Soviet state, run by a president at the center of a cult of personality. Chapple: "Twice before I'd had tourist visa applications rejected, so it felt like entering a forbidden place. When we drove into Ashgabat I assumed there was some kind of holiday taking place -- the streets and all these beautiful parks stood deserted. In the area I first walked there were more soldiers than civilians. They patrol the city center and are extremely jumpy about photographs. Twice, soldiers shouted at me from a distance then ran up and demanded pictures be deleted." Ashgabat was recently noted by the Guinness Book of World Records as having the most white marble-clad buildings in the world -- 543 new buildings lined with white marble covering a total area of 4.5 million square meters. (Also, see earlier photographs by Chapple featured here in March: A Trip to Iran) [20 photos]

Last Thursday, a wildfire started in California's Angeles National Forest, north of Los Angeles, near a hydroelectric plant called as Powerhouse No. 1. The Powerhouse fire was pushed by erratic dry winds, destroying at least six homes near Lake Hughes, damaging many more, and leading to the evacuation of several thousand residents. Cooler weather has now allowed the firefighters to reach 60% containment of the fire, and some residents were allowed to return home. [28 photos]

Taliban insurgents have stepped up suicide attacks and bombings this month in what they are calling a "Spring Offensive", striking targets all over Afghanistan. Insider attacks on NATO and Afghan National Army forces have declined, possibly due to new "guardian angel" tactics, where soldiers are designated to provide security during training and oversight missions. I'd also like to take a moment to direct your attention to Ben Anderson's Afghanistan documentary on VICE.com, What Winning Looks Like. If you're at all interested in what the situation is like in Afghanistan right now, this documentary is well worth the time, showing the good, bad, and ugly sides of the war as we approach the 2014 withdrawal deadline. The photos below are show scenes from this conflict over the past month, part of the ongoing series here on Afghanistan. [38 photos]

A protest in Istanbul, Turkey, that began as a relatively small event earlier in the week, erupted into massive anti-government demonstrations across the country following a harsh crackdown by riot police. People had gathered in Gezi Park to prevent the demolition of the last remaining green public space in the center of Istanbul as part of a major renewal project. Pent-up anger against Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Islamist-rooted Justice and Development Party flared up after the violent breakup of the Gezi Park protest, fueling the fiercest anti-government demonstrations in years. Yesterday, more than a thousand protesters were arrested in 90 different demonstrations across Turkey. Prime Minister Erdogan has issued several defiant and dismissive messages, urging demonstrators to go home -- which they appear to be ignoring, as thousands have gathered once again in Taksim Square today, starting a third day of protest. [36 photos]

Last night, Arvind Mahankali, 13, of New York City, became the champion of the 86th Scripps National Spelling Bee, correctly spelling "knaidel" for the win. 281 young spellers arrived in Maryland to compete, coming from schools across U.S. states and territories, and the Bahamas, Canada, China, Ghana, Jamaica, Japan and South Korea. In the final rounds, spellers encountered such words as "intravasation", "glossophagine", "isopiestic", "lansquenet", and "ptyalagogue". When it came down to two final competitors, Pranav Sivakumar misspelled "cyanophycean", giving Mahankali an opportunity to win, which he did, by correctly spelling two words in a row: "tokonoma", and finally "knaidel". As champion, Mahankali will take home $30,000 in cash and a $2,500 savings bond. Gathered here are 26 images from yesterday's competition. [26 photos]

Recently, aerial photographer Jason Hawkes was on an assignment in Libya, with access to a Russian-built Mi-8 helicopter, He flew along the Mediterranean coastline, photographing Tripoli and several ancient Roman sites from above, including Sabratha and Leptis Magna. The result is a collection of images of Libya rather unlike most recent photos from the region, showing a continuity of more than 2,000 years of human habitation along the coast of North Africa. Jason was once again kind enough to share some of his images with us here. Be sure to also see an earlier story, showing the Night Skies of London and the U.K.. [24 photos]

Recent developments in Syria's civil war show an escalation of involvement from outside countries and groups, with outcomes increasingly difficult to predict. As the fractured rebel groups continue their battles against forces loyal to President Bashar Assad, the European Union recently voted to end an arms embargo, opening the possibility of new weapons shipments to the rebels. The Shia militant group Hezbollah, from neighboring Lebanon, has sent fighters and support into Syria to aid Assad's troops. Russia plans to ship several modern anti-aircraft missile systems to Syria, to deter foreign interference. Israel, meanwhile, is prepared to use force to stop the delivery of such systems, which it views as a threat. Gathered here are recent images from the ongoing conflict, now more than two years old. [37 photos]

Yesterday, on a farm near Gloucester, England, thousands gathered for the annual Cooper's Hill Cheese-Rolling and Wake, continuing a tradition that dates back at least 200 years, despite recent warnings from police. In the event, groups of fearless racers risk life and limb chasing an 8 pound (3.5 kg) round of Double Gloucester Cheese down an extremely steep and uneven hill, with a 1:1 gradient in some sections. The last officially organized race was in 2009, since then, it has continued unofficially every year, despite the potential for serious injury. Earlier, local police warned cheese-maker Diana Smart, who has supplied cheese to the race for 25 years, that she may be construed as a race organizer, and therefore legally liable. The BBC reports that this year organizers replaced the cheese with a lightweight foam version, in order to make the race safer. The winner of the race takes home the cheese. [24 photos]

Days after an EF5 tornado with peak winds estimated at 210 mph (340 kph), struck Moore, Oklahoma, killing 24 people, including 10 children, residents returned to what was left of their homes to salvage what they could. The tornado was the strongest in the United States in nearly two years, damaging or destroying 1,200 homes and affecting 33,000 people. Collected here are images of Moore residents, helped by their families, friends and community members, as they begin the process of picking up the pieces of their lives. [39 photos]

Last month the Finnish Defence Forces put an archive of 160,000 WWII-era photographs online. The images record the war years from 1939 to 1945, spanning three conflicts the Finns recognize as the Winter War (against an invading Soviet Union), the Continuation War (striking against the Soviets alongside the Germans) and the Lapland War (against the Germans for control of Lapland). After spending hours poring through this fascinating archive, I've gathered this collection, just a glimpse of what was made available. A couple of notes on the images -- the swastika was used as the official national marking of the Finnish Air Force and Tank Corps between 1918 and 1945, and all captions were relatively brief, and written in Finnish, so please let me know in the comments if there are any mistakes, or if you can elaborate on what is pictured. See also World War II in Photos on in Focus. [49 photos]