24 hours in pictures

Minsk, Belarus: a special forces serviceman breaks flaming tiles with his head during Maslenitsa celebrations. Maslenitsa is a pagan holiday marking the end of winter celebrated by pancake eating and shows of strength Photograph: Vasily Fedosenko/Reuters

Cape Town, South Africa: revellers take part in the Holi One festival. The event is inspired by the Hindu Holi spring festival of colour which originated in India Photograph: Mark Wessels/Reuters

Mansoura, Egypt: clashes break out between demonstrators and security forces outside a government building. Protesters in Mansoura and Port Said have been calling for civil disobedience campaigns and work stoppages to bring down the Egyptian president, Mohamed Morsi, as violent protests have erupted and activists have accused police of using excessive force in the two cities Photograph: Mostafa Darwish/AP

Berlin, Germany: a radio journalist records a report on the East Side Gallery, part of the former Berlin Wall. Protests have occurred in the German capital over the proposed removal of this section to make way for luxury property development Photograph: Markus Schreiber/AP

Washington DC, US: a homeless man repacks a vase of plastic flowers and his other belongings after watching a gathering on the National Mall Photograph: Jonathan Ernst/Reuters

Beijing, China: soldiers acting as ushers carry locks and chains outside the Great Hall of the People after a pre-opening session of the National People's Congress Photograph: Feng Li/Getty Images

Seoul, South Korea: a man walks past a light installation in a pedestrian tunnel Photograph: Lee Jin-man/AP

Kathmandu, Nepal: a sadhu sits beside a fire after applying ash to his face and body at his ashram at Pashupatinath Temple Photograph: Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters

Gatundu, Kenya: people wait in line to cast their ballots for the presidential election in front of a polling station Photograph: Marko Djurica/Reuters

Eyal, Israel: Palestinian migrant workers huddle around a fire after crossing a checkpoint from the West Bank into Israel. An Israeli bus company has begun operating Palestinian-only bus lines from the checkpoint to Israeli towns including Tel Aviv to prevent Palestinians from boarding buses with Jewish passengers Photograph: Jim Hollander/EPA

Cairo, Egypt: plain-clothes police beat an anti-government protester in Tahrir Square Photograph: Mohamed abd el Ghany/Reuters

Karachi, Pakistan: firefighters spray water to control a fire in a building after a bomb blast in a residential area Photograph: Akhtar Soomro/Reuters

Barcelona, Spain: second-hand mannequins for sale on a stall in a street market Photograph: Emilio Morenatti/AP