Through the lens: The Citizen's Picture Editors select the best news photographs from South Africa and around the world.
Buddhist and Muslim devotees release a lantern in front of Borobudur Temple, the world’s largest Buddhist monument and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, in Magelang, Central Java, on May 12, 2025, as they commemorate Waisak, or Vesak Day. Vesak is the most sacred day for Buddhists, commemorating the birth, enlightenment and death of Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha, all traditionally believed to have occurred on the full moon day of the Vesakha month in the ancient Indian lunar calendar. (Photo by Yasuyoshi CHIBA / AFP)
Emergency workers clean up an accident scene on the N1 South highway between Gordon and Albertina Sisulu Roads, 12 May 2025, in Roodepoort. The fuel tanker rolled and leaked fuel across the highway causing all lanes to be closed and major traffic delays. Picture: Michel Bega/The CitizenNew elected Pope Leo XIV shakes hands with people, at the end of an audience with members of the media at the Paul VI Audience Hall, in the Vatican in Rome, Italy on May 12, 2025. On 08 of May, a conclave of 133 cardinals elected Robert Francis Prevost, Leon XIV as the new 267 Pope. Picture: Matrix Images / Andre PainDA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Human Settlements Mervyn Cirota visits Usindiso Building in Johannesburg, 12 May 2025, during an oversight visit after the tragedy that claimed 76 lives in August 2023. Picture: Nigel Sibanda/The CitizenNurses hold candles as they celebrate the ‘International Nurses Day’ at Lady Reading government hospital in Peshawar, Pakistan, 12 May 2025. International Nurses Day is observed annually on 12 May to commemorate the birthday of Florence Nightingale, considered as the founder of modern nursing, and to honor nurses across the world for their contribution to the medical sector. Picture: EPA-EFE/BILAWAL ARBABActivists of People For The Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) gather in front of the Louis Vuitton store to protest against the use of crocodile skin in the fashion industry, on the Champs Elysees in Paris, France, 12 May 2025. Picture: EPA-EFE/YOAN VALATSupporters of Tidjane Thiam, who resigned as president of the Democratic Party of Ivory Coast (PDCI), gesture in front of posters of the party’s former presidents, the late Felix Houphouet-Boigny (L on poster) and Henri Konan Bedie (R on poster), at the party headquarters in Abidjan on May 12, 2025. Ivory Coast’s main opposition leader, who has been barred from standing in an October presidential vote, said on May 12, 2025 that he was resigning as party leader but would still lead the fight to win the election. Six months before voters choose a new head of state, political tensions are running high in the west African country where several opposition figures have been declared ineligible to stand. (Photo by Sia KAMBOU / AFP)Visitors watch hot air balloons being launched during celebrations to mark Vesak Day at Ngawen Temple complex in Muntilan, Central Java, on May 12, 2024. (Photo by DEVI RAHMAN / AFP)A girl looks out the window of a car as she returns to her hometown after India-Pakistan ceasefire in Uri, about 100kms from Srinagar on May 11, 2025. A ceasefire appeared to hold on May 11, between India and Pakistan, hours after the nuclear-armed rivals accused each other of violating a truce that brought them back from the brink of all-out war. (Photo by Tauseef MUSTAFA / AFP)People visit statue of Gautama Buddha to offer prayer during the Buddha Jayanti, or Buddha Purnima, also known as Vesak Day, at the Global Vipassana Pagoda, in Mumbai, India, 12 May 2025. Buddha Purnima, which falls on the full moon night in the month of Vaisakha (either in April or May), commemorates the birth anniversary of Lord Buddha, founder of Buddhism, one of the oldest religions in the world. Picture: EPA-EFE/DIVYAKANT SOLANKIFinnish fans during the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship group A match between Finland and France at Avicii Arena in Stockholm, Sweden, 11 May 2025. Picture: EPA-EFE/CHRISTINE OLSSONCatholic faithful carry the image of the Virgin Mary during the Panchimalco Flower and Palm Festival procession in Panchimalco, El Salvador on May 11, 2025. (Photo by Marvin RECINOS / AFP)A 60m x 12m thangka, a canvas painting of Buddha, is held up to enable devotees to walk under it to receive blessings and good luck from the Buddha for the coming year during the Vesak Day celebrations at the Enlightened Heart Tibetan Buddhist Temple in Ipoh, state of Perak, Malaysia, 12 May 2025. Buddhists celebrate Vesak Day to mark the date of birth, enlightenment and passing of Gautama Buddha (Gautama Siddhartha). Picture: EPA-EFE/FAZRY ISMAILA protestor dressed as Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer poses in front of a 16-foot replica of a MK-84 2,000-pound bomb labelled with the word “Complicity” and with a tag reading “more that 52.000 people killed”, referring to the number of people killed in Gaza since the start of Israel offencive, during the photocall organised by the NGO Oxfam in front of the Elizabeth Tower, commonly known by the name of the clock’s bell “Big Ben”, at the Palace of Westminster, home to the Houses of Parliament, central London, on May 12, 2025. ‘Keir’ will be putting a giant gift bow and gift tag stating ‘More than 52,000 people killed’ on a 16-foot replica of a MK-84 2,000-pound bomb with the words ‘Complicit’ on the side. The British government is set to appear, on May 13, 2025 at the High Court to defend its licensing of ongoing arms exports to Israel. Rights groups and NGOs on Thursday accused the UK government of breaching international law by sending fighter jet parts to Israel, ahead of a high-profile court case next week. Supported by Amnesty, Human Rights Watch, Oxfam and others, the Palestinian rights association Al-Haq will take the British government to London’s High Court hoping to stop its export of UK-made components for Lockheed Martin F-35 fighter jets. (Photo by HENRY NICHOLLS / AFP)Construction workers at Bree Street in Johannesburg, 12 May 2025. The street was damaged after a gas explosion that happened in 2023 and excavations of the 1.8-kilometer stretch of road have not been completed. Picture: Nigel Sibanda / The CitizenAn Afghan farmer harvests opium from a poppy field on the outskirts of Faizabad district in Badakhshan province on May 12, 2025. (Photo by Omer ABRAR / AFP)
