Thousands of people have protested in several Brazilian cities the past ten days, and organizers are planning for another march in Sao Paulo on Monday night.

Rising prices for public transportation was the original cause of the the protests, organized by Passe Livre São Paulo. Since then, Brazilians have joined protests for various other reasons, including rising crime, income inequality, and corruption.

The protests are quickly becoming a sign of a weakening public confidence for Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff ahead of the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

On Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr, the hashtags #SaladUprising and #VForVinegar referenced the arrests of those who carried vinegar with them as an aide against police tear gas.

When police tried to disperse the crowd on Thursday in Sao Paulo, violence erupted, injuring dozens and leading to nearly 200 arrests.

Read more: reut.rs

Preview: Iran election offers choice, but little change

DUBAI | Tue Jun 11, 2013 6:16pm EDT (Reuters) - Friday's presidential election in Iran is unlikely to bring significant change to the Islamic republic, whose supreme leader has ensured hardline candidates dominate the field. But the sole moderate could yet upset the race.

World powers embroiled in talks with Iran over its disputed nuclear program are looking for signs of a recalibration of its negotiating position after eight years of inflexibility under firey populist President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Iran's uncompromising nuclear negotiator Saed Jalili is prominent among four hardliners competing for the post, while one of his predecessors, the more conciliatory Hassan Rohani, has been endorsed by reformists after moderate former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani was barred.

While intensifying nuclear-related sanctions on Iran have been a hot election topic, the other major global issue, its backing of President Bashar al-Assad and Lebanon's Hezbollah in Syria's civil war, has not been raised by the six candidates.

Ahmadinejad, who gave repeated speeches seeming to call for the destruction of Israel, will not be missed in the West, but expectations for a radical change in direction are low.

"It would be good not to have someone like Ahmadinejad but it won't make much difference. We're not waiting with bated breath for the new president because the supreme leader is running policy," said a Western diplomat.

The president's comparative lack of power within the Iranian system does not make the election insignificant however.

"The Iranian president ... will have a seat at the table when Iran's major foreign policy and nuclear policies are decided," Mohsen Milani, an Iran expert at the University of South Florida told reporters. "Elections are not free," he said, "but they are extremely significant."

Continue reading: www.reuters.com

Earlier: Turkish central bank boosts lira as clashes obscure economic gains

Reuters (June 11) -- Turkey's central bank acted to support the lira on Tuesday and Turkish debt insurance costs rose, as markets - looking past data on faster economic growth - took fright at fresh police and protester clashes in Istanbul. Citing "excessive volatility ... due to international and domestic developments during the last month", the central bank said it planned short-term extra policy-tightening steps through open market operations.

It skipped its usual fixed-rate repo auction and held five $50 million forex-selling auctions, saying it would continue such sales whenever necessary. It said it would also intervene directly in the foreign exchange market if needed. Two weeks of demonstrations against plans to redevelop an Istanbul park have spiraled into violent anti-government protests across the country, fueling losses in Turkish assets.

Continue reading.

Reuters: Istanbul governor says police action continues until Taksim cleared

ISTANBUL, June 11 (Reuters) - Istanbul's governor said on Tuesday riot police would continue operations against protesters in Taksim Square day and night until it was cleared, and appealed to people to stay away for their own safety.

"We will continue our measures in an unremitting manner, whether day or night, until marginal elements are cleared and the square is open to the people," Governor Huseyin Avni Mutlu said in a brief television announcement.

The square has been the center of protests against Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan. Police began using teargas and water cannon on Tuesday morning in an attempt to clear it but clashes continued into the evening.

(Editing by Michael Roddy)

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U.N. chief: North Korea missile move a step in right direction

UNITED NATIONS, May 7 (Reuters) - U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon welcomed reports that North Korea has taken two Musudan missiles off launch-ready status as "a step in the right direction," his spokesman said on Tuesday.

U.S. officials told Reuters on Monday that the missiles, which have a range of 3,000 to 3,500 km (1,900 to 2,200 miles), had been moved from North Korea's east coast after weeks of concern that Pyongyang had been poised for a test-launch.

"If the reports about the removal of ballistic missiles from their launch pads are correct, we would welcome that as a step in the right direction," Ban's spokesman, Martin Nesirky, told reporters.

"The Secretary-General has been consistent in urging the Democratic People's Republic of Korea to refrain from threats and other provocative actions and to reengage in dialogue with the parties concerned," Nesirky said.

(Reporting by Michelle Nichols; Editing by Sandra Maler)

Ecuador has pulled its ambassador from his post in Peru following a grocery store brawl caught on security cameras and broadcast on Peruvian TV.

Read the full story here.

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