Carnival

In ancient Bulgaria, wearing masks was believed to provide protection from evil, ensure a successful harvest, and guarantee health and fertility for humans and farm animals

Police Monday announced the arrest on Friday of two suspected armed robbers who held up a jewelry store earlier in Acharnes in northern Athens wearing carnival masks.

The two men - Kazakhstani nationals aged 24 and 33 - allegedly threatened staff at gunpoint before making off on a motorcycle with an undisclosed amount of jewelry.

Tens of thousands of people have joined the celebrations for the "Annual Orange Blossom Carnival" in the southern Turkish province of Adana.

Two revellers are seen amid flare smoke as they celebrate "Ash Monday" by participating in a colorful "flour war," a traditional festivity marking the end of the carnival season and the start of the 40-day Lent period until the Orthodox Easter, in the port town of Galaxidi, on Monday. [Alkis Konstantinidis/Reuters]

For a few hours every year, residents and visitors of this pretty Greek seaside town have a license to lose their civility.

They have what's known as a "flour war" - participants pelt each other with bags of dyed flour along the coastal road lining Galaxidi's old harbor.

With the help of volunteers, dozens of child refugees and single mothers dressed up to celebrate the Carnival season at the Moria refugee camp on Lesvos on Friday. The revelry was organized to lift the spirits of the refugees, many of whom have been living in cramped conditions at the center which has been criticized by human rights groups.

“No means no” is a new battle cry for Brazilian women mobilizing against assault at carnival, a raucous party whose free-wheeling atmosphere leaves women particularly vulnerable to unwanted sexual contact.     

US ambassador to Romania Hans Klemm, British ambassador Paul Brummell, Belgian head of mission Thomas Baekelandt and Hungarian ambassador Zákonyi Botond joined the revellers at the traditional Lenten start carnival in Sansimion - Harghita County, making merry, dancing, tasting traditional foods - the hallmark kurtoskalac included - all accompanied by a shot of palinka.

Dancers dressed in traditional Greek costumes stand on a stage at Syntagma Square in central Athens, on Friday. The folk group also encouraged members of the public to join in traditional dances in the square in front of Parliament, as part of a series of events being organized by the City of Athens to celebrate the Carnival period, which ends on Sunday, February 18.

Koukaki, one of the Greek capital's hippest districts, will be holding its annual Carnival street party on pedestrianized Georgaki Olympiou Street on Saturday, February 10, starting at 4 p.m. Funded and organized by the City of Athens, the party is aimed at bringing local residents closer together and inviting visitors to see the modern face of the capital.