Through the lens: The Citizen's Picture Editors select the best news photographs from South Africa and around the world.
Kelly Smith, the mother of missing child Joshlin Smith, gestures while seated in a community hall where the verdict is expected in the court case against her and other co-accused on charges of human trafficking and kidnapping, in Saldanha Bay on May 2, 2025. A South African court found a woman guilty on May 2, 2025 of trafficking her six-year-old daughter who has been missing for more than a year, in a case that has outraged the nation.
The two-month trial heard statements from various witnesses that Racquel “Kelly” Smith had revealed to them that she had sold her daughter Joshlin in February 2024, including claims she was paid 20,000 rand ($1,085). Judge Nathan Erasmus said the evidence of 35 state witnesses led him to find that Smith, 35, and her two co-accused, a boyfriend and a mutual friend, were guilty on the charges of human trafficking and kidnapping. (Photo by RODGER BOSCH / AFP)
Amanda (Kelly Smith’s mother) react with emotion during the delivery of judgment in the Joshlin Smith kidnapping trial at White City Multipurpose Centre on May 02, 2025 in Saldanha Bay, South Africa. The three accused of kidnapping and trafficking a Grade 1 Diazville Primary School learner learn of their fate as Judge Erasmus hands down judgement. (Photo by Gallo Images/Brenton Geach)Visitors walk down the Bramante Staircase at The Vatican Museums, during a press tour at the Vatican on May 2, 2025. (Photo by Dimitar DILKOFF / AFP)TRU Member during Operation Qhaqholla on May 02, 2025 in Soweto, South Africa. The operation targeted Jabulani Hostel, Jabulani Mall, Inhlazane Railway Station, Morafe Railway Station and crime hotspots. (Photo by Gallo Images/Sharon Seretlo)The peloton passess between two rapeseed fields in the third stage of the Tour de Romandie cycling tour over 183.1km from Cossonay to Cossonay, Switzerland, 02 May 2025. Picture: EPA-EFE/JEAN-CHRISTOPHE BOTTSupporters of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) march to Kleinfontein, a culturally segregated, Afrikaner-only settlement near Pretoria, 2 May 2025, to demonstrate its disapproval of what it described as a racist “whites only enclave” in a democratic state. Picture: Michel Bega/The CitizenAnthony Harding and Jack Laugher of Great Britain compete in the Men 3m Synchronised event at the World Aquatics Diving World Cup 2025 Super Final in Beijing, China, 02 May 2025. Picture: EPA-EFE/ANDRES MARTINEZ CASARESepaselect epa12069439 The alleged world’s largest Polish flag hangs on top of the lighthouse in Swinoujscie on the Flag Day of the Republic of Poland, in Swinoujscie, north-eastern Poland, 02 May 2025. The flag, approximately 400 square meters, was hoisted on the Swinoujscie lighthouse for the eleventh time. Picture: EPA-EFE/Marcin BieleckiSouth Africa’s Kevin Lerena (C) celebrates after wining the WBC bridgerweight boxing match against Ukraine’s Serhiy Radchenko (unseen) at SunBet Arena in Pretoria on May 1, 2025. (Photo by Phill Magakoe / AFP)A mariachi band marches in a May Day rally in New York, New York, USA, 01 May 2025. International Workers’ Day, also known as Labor Day or May Day, is observed worldwide on 01 May to celebrate the economic and social achievements of workers as well as fight for laborers’ rights. Picture: EPA-EFE/SARAH YENESELActivists at the Shutdown Joburg March on May 02, 2025 in Johannesburg, South Africa. The group protested against illegal immigration and have called on the government to issue a 30-day ultimatum for all illegal immigrants to voluntarily leave the country. (Photo by Gallo Images/Luba Lesolle)Israeli Ultra-Orthodox Jews burn the Israeli national flag during an anti-Independence Day protest at the Meah Shearim neighborhood in Jerusalem, 01 May 2025. Israel has cancelled its official 77th Independence Day celebrations this year due to the security situation in the country. Picture: EPA-EFE/ATEF SAFADIA partly ripped electoral poster depicts suveranist party AUR leader George Simion, leading candidate for 2025 presidential elections, in Bucharest, Romania, 02 May 2025. On the Simion poster, a sticker reads: ‘Death to Fascism!’. According to the last polls, far-right AUR party leader George Simion leads the first round presidential race with 30 percent of the vote intentions. Romanians will vote in the first round of the presidential elections on 04 May 2025. Picture: EPA-EFE/ROBERT GHEMENT
