Thousands of protestors in the cities of Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro in Brazil have reportedly hit the streets in aggressive protests against the cost of hosting the football World Cup, which due to kick off on 12 June this year.
The demonstrators claim that they are angry that billions of dollars are being spent on next month's football tournament, rather than social projects and housing, which are still major concerns for Brazil as it is still a developing country with many inequalities and high levels of poverty.
According to the BBC, the demonstrators, including many teachers and civil servants, burned tyres, hurled stones and blocked roads in many other cities like the capital Brasilia, and police responded with tear gas.
The report mentioned that although the number of people on the streets was much lower than during similar protests last year, some of those taking part, however, promised the demonstrations would get bigger and more frequent as the World Cup gets closer.
The demonstrations began in Sao Paulo, with one of the biggest protests in the city's Itaquera district near the Arena Corinthians stadium, which will host the tournament's opening match.
Although the government has tried to downplay the scale of the unrest, arguing it was not related to the World Cup, the report however, said that army was deployed in north-eastern state of Pernambuco to provide additional support after some robberies and looting.