NELSON ALMEIDA/AFP/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- On Saturday, thousands of Brazilian fans at the Estadio Nacional Mane Garrincha booed and heckled FIFA president Sepp Blatter and Brazilian president Dilma Roussef during the opening ceremony of the Confederations Cup.

Although that response has become fairly common at events that involve Blatter, the jeering seemed unexpected in the case of Dilma Roussef, who has been a popular figure for years.

Few analysts found it odd, however. Indeed, even Roussef herself expected trouble.

That's because for more than a week now thousands of protestors in Brazil have fought violent battles against riot police. The demonstrations, started in Sao Paulo by a political group called the Movimento Passe Livre (Free Fare Movement), have spread across at least five cities. And the group's initial objective -- to revert a recent hike in public transportation prices -- has given leftist organizations and university students a reason to shine a light on larger social issues like corruption.

This broader movement has been alternately dubbed the Revolta da Salada (The Salad Revolution), the Revolta do Vinagre (The Vinegar Revolution), and V for Vinagre, after a Brazilian journalist who was arrested for carrying vinegar to ward off the effects of tear gas used during protests.

So what exactly was the final straw? There wasn't just one.  Here are five key reasons that led to the revolt:

1. Public Transportation Prices

The recent 10-cent increase in bus and subway fare has been cited in most news accounts as the leading motive behind the week's brutal clashes.

2. The Combined Costs of the World Cup and the Confederations Cup

Demonstrators have started targeting soccer stadiums in Brasilia and Rio de Janeiro as part of an effort to raise awareness about the extraordinary amounts of money the government has on 12 stadiums to host the World Cup and the Confederations Cup. Taxpayers are footing the bill in spite of promises that private enterprise would cover it.

The total cost of the buildings has tripled since the initial 2007 estimates. It currently stands at around $3.68 billion, nearly twice what Germany spent on their World Cup preparations.

Demonstrators point out that no one is quite sure about what will happen with the stadiums once the competitions are over.

3. Police Brutality

As most Latin Americans know, violence, or the threat of violence, hardly prevents further protests. In fact, police brutality is often viewed as a valid reason to protest more. Certainly, the Brazil demonstrations have been rife with the kind of incidents that encourage indignation.

Hundreds of protesters have been arrested, and more than 55 were wounded just last Thursday in Sao Paulo. Brazil's defense minister has acknowledged that the police have acted "arbitrarily and violently," and there are countless YouTube videos that show officers in riot gear using tear gas and rubber bullets against peaceful demonstrators. Protesters have vowed to increase rallies in response to this.

4. Corruption

Brazil is ranked 69 out of 176 in Transparency International's Corruption Perception Index. Though that is relatively good when compared with the rest of Latin America, Brazil still has significant corruption problems, as demonstrated by the recent shooting of a newspaper director in a town outside of Rio.

There have also been massive scandals involving prominent businessmen and influential government employees (Lula's chief of staff, for instance). More worrying is that politicians have considerable discretionary spending benefits when they are elected. Elected officials can spend thousands of dollars on airline tickets, housing expenses and several other perks.

5. The Economy

In effect, it all arguably boils down to Brazil's recent economic slowdown. In the past year, inflation has steadily climbed to 6.5 percent, affecting mostly poor families.

More than the slow growth in income, poor families also lack decent access to education and employment, according to the Brazilian government's Family Development Index.

Brazil's economy grew 1.9 percent in this year's first quarter, 0.5 percent below last year's predictions. The government raised the minimum wage by nearly 9 percent this year, but the price of transportation and other basic services remain disproportionately high.

All of these factors have contributed to Dilma Roussef's first popularity debacle. Her approval ratings have fallen for the first time since she took office, and the booing during her stadium visit stadium shows just how fed up people are.

Economic turmoil coupled with social unrest tends to breed more social disturbances, and Brazilian authorities will continue to be faced with a massive challenge as the World Cup puts a spotlight on more than this country's hosting efforts.

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ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP/Getty Images(KABUL, Afghanistan) -- Tuesday marked a major milestone in the war in Afghanistan, as sovereign forces there have officially “taken the lead” in all security responsibilities from U.S. and NATO forces.

"This is truly a historic moment. Afghanistan's future is in your hands," NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said at a ceremony in Kabul.

What it means is that for the first time since the American-led invasion in October 2001, the Afghans will plan, execute and lead all missions against the Taliban and other enemies of the country, including making combat decisions.

"This is a day for Afghans to be proud.  And I'm proud to stand with you," Fogh Rasmussen said.

Americans and their allies will supply air support when necessary or provide assistance on the ground but only when either is requested by Afghan commanders.  The U.S. and NATO will mainly stay at bases that will eventually be turned over to national forces or else be dismantled if Afghans can’t maintain control of them.

It’s expected that the number of U.S. casualties, which has dropped over time anyway, will decline further although the potential for danger exists from so-called “insider attacks” and whenever Americans clear roadside bombs from highways.

This latest milestone in the 12-year-long war might also mean that the bulk of U.S. and NATO forces could be withdrawn in 2014 at a faster pace than originally forecast if Afghanistan’s soldiers and police show they’re up to the task of preventing the Taliban from making any significant territorial gains or unleashing terrorist strikes against them and civilians.

On a related note, as the transition ceremony was taking place on Tuesday, a large bomb exploded in Kabul, killing at least three people and injuring dozens more, according to the Ministry of Interior.  The blast was in the Pul-e-Surkh area of the western part of the city, miles away from the site of the ceremony.

The blast was the latest in a particularly fierce Taliban summer offensive this year.

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BEHROUZ MEHRI/AFP/Getty Images(TEHRAN, Iran) -- In his first comments to the press since being elected Iran's new president, Hassan Rouhani promised on Monday that his government would institute a doctrine of moderation while promising to improve the economy and relations with the rest of the world.

While Rouhani's election last weekend could signal some shift in policy, the president-elect also hinted that the West shouldn't expect too much when it come to Iran's rogue nuclear program.

Rouhani told a press conference that there would be more transparency about the program but that Tehran has no intention of ending its uranium enrichment process, which the U.S. and its allies maintain is a key step to developing atomic weapons.

Speaking to that accusation, Rouhani stressed that Washington "must not interfere in Iran’s internal affairs, must recognize Iran’s right to enrich uranium and must abandon the policy of pressures," a reference to sanctions now in effect.

Regarding the conflict in Syria, Rouhani's remarks suggested no change of current policy was in the wind as he called on the international community not to intervene in Syria's affairs even as Tehran has shipped weapons to President Bashar al-Assad's military.

Rouhani repeated his country's support for al-Assad's attempts to remain in power, saying that the next Syrian presidential election in 2014 must go off as scheduled.

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JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/GettyImages(SLIGO, IRELAND) -- Emerging from a two-hour meeting at the G8 summit, President Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed that the bloodshed in Syria must stop and that there should be a renewed push for negotiations.

They also stated the obvious: their positions on Syria differ greatly.
 
“Our opinions do not coincide,” Putin said, in a tense photo-op with Obama following their first meeting in a year.
 
“All of us have the intention to stop the violence in Syria, to stop the growth of victims and to solve the situation peacefully, including by bringing the parties to the negotiating table in Geneva,” he said.
 
Russia continues to arm Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime and Putin does not agree that his longtime ally must step down from power for a political settlement to be successful.
 
After declaring that Assad had crossed the “red line” and used chemical weapons against his own people, the White House announced last week that the U.S. would ramp up support for the political and military opposition.
 
“We do have differing perspectives on the problem,” Obama said in a carefully-worded statement, “but we share an interest in reducing the violence, securing chemical weapons and ensuring that they're neither used nor are they subject to proliferation; and that we want to try to resolve the issue through political means, if possible.”
 
“We have instructed our teams to continue to work on the potential of a Geneva follow-up to the first meeting,” he said.

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JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images(SLIGO, Ireland) -- President Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron took some time out of their busy summit schedules to visit with local school children Monday afternoon.

“Hello, everybody,” Obama said as they walked into a classroom of nine-, 10- and 11-year-olds at Enniskillen Integrated Primary School.

“Good afternoon Mr. President and Mr. Prime Minister,” the children, dressed in navy blue uniforms, answered, in unison.

After learning the students had been studying the G8, Obama quizzed them briefly on the agenda.

The two leaders then joined a group of roughly 20 students for an art project in an outdoor courtyard.

“Do you trust me with this brush?” Obama joked, as he picked up some blue paint and joined the students in decorating a large canvass.

“I think I just went outside the lines,” he said.

Cameron, who was painting alongside Obama, finished his portion first and the students cheered him on with a “hip, hip, hooray!”

“Now I feel bad,” Obama quipped. “I didn’t realize that David was going to move so fast.”

The president later got his own cheer from the children when he finished his painting.

First lady Michelle Obama and daughters Malia and Sasha, meanwhile, were off exploring their family’s Irish roots. Visiting Trinity College in Dublin on Monday, the first family viewed archives documenting the president’s Irish family tree. President Obama’s great-great-great grandfather was born in the village of Moneygall, where some of his distant relatives still live today.

The president and first lady visited the village in 2011, where the president met his eighth cousin, Henry Healy, who has since become known as “Henry the Eighth.”

“We knew he was my cousin because his ears flapped out just like mine,” Obama joked earlier Monday, as he recalled their visit.

It appears Healy had another opportunity to bond with his famous relatives Monday. “Just met with @FLOTUS & Malia & Sasha,” Healy tweeted from Dublin. “I presented Malia & Sasha with a Cert of Irish Heritage earlier! Great reaction from Sasha ‘I can prove I'm more Irish than my friends now.’”

Healy has been embraced by the first family. He spent St. Patrick’s Day at the White House last year and accompanied the president for a pint at a popular local pub in Washington, D.C.

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iStockphoto/Thinkstock(PYONGYANG, North Korea) -- After months of threats, North Korea is seemingly turning to diplomacy to end disputes with its neighbors and the West.

The latest instance of this supposedly new tact from Pyongyang came Sunday as a government agency suggested bilateral talks with Washington about possibly ending its nuclear ambitions in the future.

North Korea's National Defense Commission, which is run by leader Kim Jong-un, said as long as the U.S. sets no preconditions for talks, it could select the venue and date for a meeting.

Washington views such overtures with a cautious eye since Pyongyang has offered olive branches in the past, only to pull them away just as suddenly.

In talks with North Korea last year, the U.S. promised 240,000 tons of food aid if Pyongyang suspended its weapons programs.  However, the launch of a long-range missile just a few months later ended the agreement.

More recently, North Korea and Japan have instigated talks with China about rebooting discussions regarding its nuclear programs.  However, talks with South Korea fell apart when the two sides couldn't agree on the seniority of delegations.

What ultimately might kill off any meeting between Washington and Pyongyang before it begins is the National Defense Commission's insistence that any dismantling of its nuclear programs must be linked to a similar nuclear weapons reduction in the entire region.

Meanwhile, a National Security Council spokeswoman says that the U.S. hopes to have "credible negotiations" with North Korea.

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Sasha Mordovets/Getty Images(MOSCOW) -- New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft claims there's no ring of truth to how Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin supposedly obtained a ring from the team's victory in Super Bowl 39.

In what is rapidly turning into an international incident, Kraft is disavowing a story from 2005 in which he allegedly gave the $25,000 memento to the Russian leader as a gesture of goodwill.

Kraft is now saying the White House forced him to put out that version and alleges the real story is far more insidious.

According to the Pats owner, after showing the 4.94-carat ring to Putin, the Russian prime minister put it on his finger, quipped, "I can kill someone with this ring," and then pocketed it.  Kraft charges he had no chance to get his ring back after three KGB agents surrounded Putin as he walked away.

Responding to Kraft's accusation, a Putin spokesman said, "What Mr. Kraft is saying now is weird.  I was standing 20 centimeters away from him and Mr. Putin and saw and heard how Mr. Kraft gave this ring as a gift."

The Super Bowl 39 ring currently sits in the Kremlin Library.

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