Miniature portraits of former Chinese Chairman Mao Zedong on grains of rice, created by Taiwanese artist Chen Forng-shean, are displayed on a pencil in Taipei. The grains of rice are about 0.5 cm (0.2 inches) long and 0.3cm (0.12 inches) high each.—Photo by Reuters

First Nations protesters take part in the "Idle No More" demonstration in Toronto.—Photo by Reuters

Pakistani students, civil society and Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz party activists light candles in the favor of democracy in Lahore. Pakistan's main opposition leader Nawaz Sharif demanded that the government immediately announce a timetable for elections.—Photo by AFP

Kashmiri Muslim men offer prayers outside the shrine of Sufi Saint Khawaja Naqashband on his death anniversary in Srinagar. Thousands of Kashmiri Muslims, who believe in Sufism, thronged the shrine of the saint on his 349th death anniversary and offered special prayers on Wednesday.—Photo by Reuters

Syrian brothers who used to be musicians make homemade explosives for the Free Syrian Army in the Ma'ar Shamarine village near Idlib.—Photo by Reuters

Bolivian combined forces from the police and army chop down illegal coca plants near Chimore, some 600 km southeast of La Paz. Bolivia's government officially inaugurated the eradication of illegal coca plants on Tuesday, according to local media.—Photo by Reuters

A man rides his horse through the flames during the "Luminarias" annual religious celebration on the night before Saint Anthony's, Patron of animals, in the village of San Bartolome de los Pinares, about 100 km north west of Madrid. According to tradition that dates back 500 years, people ride their horses trough the narrow cobblestone streets of this small village to purify the animals with the smoke of the bonfires.—Photo by Reuters

Egyptians walk past graffiti on a wall at Tahrir Square in Cairo.—Photo by Reuters

Diana Rakipi (R), a Burrnesha or sworn virgin, shares a toast with friends at a pub in Durres. Burrnesha are Albanian women who took a vow of chastity in return for the right to live as men in traditional, strongly patriarchal communities where women were typically treated as property. Rakipi, 59, one of the few remaining Burrnesha, said she became a sworn virgin at seventeen because she always felt like a boy.—Photo by Reuters

Cyclist Lance Armstrong is interviewed by Oprah Winfrey in Austin, Texas, in this handout photo courtesy of Harpo Studios.—Photo by Reuters

Students perform in a street dance competition during the 15th Sikhyana festival in Santa Rosa city, Laguna province, south of Manila. Locals celebrate the Sikhayan festival, a contraction of Filipino words "Sikhay" meaning diligence and "Kabuhayan" for livelihood, to recognize the spirit of enterprise, ingenuity and craftmanship of their people.—Photo by Reuters

Students perform in a street dance competition during the 15th Sikhyana festival in Santa Rosa city, Laguna province, south of Manila. Locals celebrate the Sikhayan festival, a contraction of Filipino words "Sikhay" meaning diligence and "Kabuhayan" for livelihood, to recognize the spirit of enterprise, ingenuity and craftmanship of their people.—Photo by Reuters