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- • The start of the Monsoon season - 06.17
- • Graduation season 2013 - 06.13
- • Walls - 06.12

| June 19, 2013 |
“Monks’ message of humility”
Reuters photographer Ricardo Moraes spent time documenting a religious fraternity called O Caminho, (The Way), a group of Franciscan monks and nuns who help the homeless on the streets of Rio de Janeiro. They consider the election of Pope Francis, the first pontiff to take the name of St Francis of Assisi, to be a confirmation of their beliefs in poverty and simplicity. -- Reuters ( 20 photos total)
| June 17, 2013 |
The start of the Monsoon season
Monsoon season in southern Asia has begun, and in India the rains arrived ahead of schedule, easing drought concerns. Monsoon rains can be disruptive and even deadly, but crucial for the farmers whose crops feed millions of people. Though concerns for flooding are prevalent, the arrival of the rains brings colorful celebrations and relief from the heat every year. -Leanne Burden Seidel (32 photos total)
| June 13, 2013 |
Graduation season 2013
Graduation season is well underway, with kindergartners, high schoolers, college seniors and graduate students alike donning caps and gowns to celebrate their achievement. With their diplomas, graduates also get words of wisdom from a commencement speakers and a good excuse to celebrate. -- Lloyd Young ( 31 photos total)
| June 12, 2013 |
Walls
They keep things out or enclose them within. They're symbols of power, and a means of control. They're canvases for art, backdrops for street theater, and placards for political messages. They're just waiting for when nobody's looking to receive graffiti. Walls of all kinds demarcate our lives. -- Lane Turner (41 photos total).
Note: You can now follow @bigpicture on the social network App.net, where you own your own data. If you'd like to try it out, we've also got some free invites for our readers.
Note: You can now follow @bigpicture on the social network App.net, where you own your own data. If you'd like to try it out, we've also got some free invites for our readers.
| June 7, 2013 |
Daily Life: May 2013
For this edition of our look at daily life we share images from France, Ukraine, Serbia, Turkey, Ecuador, Germany, Italy and a few others from around the world. -- Lloyd Young -- Editors note: The Big Picture will publish again next Wednesday June 12. ( 52 photos total)

A girl plays on May 28 with soap bubbles during the Share Drive of Life charity event organized by the Kiev Chapter Ukraine motorcycling club for children with autism in a park in Kiev. The number of children with various forms of autism in Ukraine increased over the past five years by 2.35 times, and 2,791 children were under the supervision of child psychiatrists in 2012. (Sergei Supinsky/AFP/Getty Images)
| June 5, 2013 |
Flooding in Europe (updated)
The Danube River reached its highest level in 500 years. The Elbe, Rhine, and other rivers and tributaries are cresting high as well as swathes of central Europe lie inundated by floodwaters that have killed 12 and displaced tens of thousands. Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and the Czech Republic have been severely affected, as Hungary prepares for the swell of water. Gathered here are images of the flooding and people affected in the last several days. -- Lane Turner (49 photos total)
| June 3, 2013 |
Protests in Turkey (updated)
An undercurrent of explosive anger at the government of Turkey found a fuse on May 31 as a protest over the demolition of a public park in Istanbul quickly spread to other cities and encompassed simmering passions on broader issues in Turkish political life. Police have used tear gas and water canons to break up the protests, which have grown as demonstrators express opposition to what they view as the increasing authoritarianism of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. [NOTE: Nine new photographs from June 11 and 12 have been added as the protests continue.] -- Lane Turner (38 photos total)
| May 31, 2013 |
Gun violence: Salvador, Brazil
The city of Salvador, Brazil, one of the country's main tourist destinations and a 2014 World Cup host city has suffered from an unprecedented wave of deadly violence with an increase of more than 250% in the murder rate (according to the Brazilian Center for Latin American Studies (CEBELA). Reuters photographer, Lunae Parracho traveled to Salvador to document a police patrol through the slums, high-tech police training, a homicide squad, victims of gun violence; and to make portraits of drug gang members. The images that follow are all by Parracho. -- Paula Nelson( 24 photos total)
| May 29, 2013 |
Climbing Mount Everest
Sixty years ago today New Zealand mountaineer Sir Edmund Hillary and Nepalese Sherpa Tenzing Norgay made the first confirmed ascent of the world's tallest peak which reaches 29,029 feet. Since then thousands of people have made the attempt, with many perishing. Just last week 80-year-old Japanese mountaineer Yuichiro Miura became the oldest person to reach the summit for the third time, although he said that he nearly died on the descent and that this would be his last time. The 1953 expedition that took Hillary and Norgay to the top ended with a stay of just 15 minutes, with Norgay leaving chocolates in the snow and Hillary leaving a cross that was given to him by Army Colonel John Hunt, the leader of the British expedition. -- Lloyd Young ( 37 photos total)
| May 24, 2013 |
Puffin census on the Farne Islands
Every five years, National Trust rangers carry out a puffin census on the Farne Islands, off the northeast coast of England. The beautiful birds return to their breeding grounds on the islands, which offer excellent sources of food, few ground predators, and good protection for nesting. This count carries particular significance because the last survey in 2008, recording 36,500 pairs, indicated that numbers had fallen by a third from the 2003 census. There is also fear that the extreme weather in the past year could affect the numbers. In March, thousands of birds washed up dead due to severely cold winds, and last summer, many of the birds were flooded out of their homes. Rangers are now faced with the daunting task of counting every burrow-nesting bird, which involves reaching down to each of the underground nests to see if it is occupied. The results will be ready in July. -Leanne Burden Seidel (15 photos total)









