Through the lens: The Citizen's Picture Editors select the best news photographs from South Africa and around the world.
Sri Lankan Hindu devotees light oil lamps during the Diwali festival at a Hindu temple in Colombo, Sri Lanka, 20 October 2025. Diwali, one of the most popular festivals in Hinduism, is celebrated by Hindus worldwide. Also known as the Festival of Lights, it symbolizes the victory of good over evil and commemorates Lord Rama’s return to his kingdom, Ayodhya, after a 14-year exile. Picture: EPA/CHAMILA KARUNARATHNEA couple walks along an avenue of flowering jacaranda trees at Rebecca Street Cemetery in Pretoria, 19 October 2025. Pretoria is known as the Jacaranda City, for the purple blossomed trees that line its streets, however the plants were imported from South America and are classified as an alien invasive-problem. Picture: Michel Bega/The CitizenMorning fog over the Tatra Mountains in Kluszkowce village, southern Poland, 20 October 2025. Picture: EPA/Grzegorz MomotCostumed dog participates in the annual Tompkins Square Halloween Dog Parade in New York, New York, USA, 19 October 2025. The parade, now in its 35th edition, features dogs and owners showing off creative Halloween costumes. Picture: EPA/OLGA FEDOROVANepal Armed Police Force dogs are honored and worshiped by their handlers during Dog Worship Day, part of the Tihar festival in Kathmandu, Nepal, 20 October 2025. The Tihar festival is the second most important festival for Nepalese Hindus and this year is celebrated over five days, beginning on 20 October 2025. During the festival, people worship cows, regarded as incarnations of the goddess Laxmi (the goddess of wealth), and dogs, to repay the love and loyalty of humankind’s ‘best friend.’ Picture: EPA/NARENDRA SHRESTHAThe extendable ladder (C) used by three thieves to access one of the upper floors of the museum is seen during the investigation at the southeast corner of the Louvre Museum on Quai Francois-Mitterrand, on the banks of the River Seine, after a robbery at the Louvre Museum in Paris, France, 19 October 2025. The Louvre Museum was targeted in a robbery by several criminals who smashed windows to steal jewelry. The museum was later closed. French Culture Minister Rachida Dati called it ‘an attack on France’s cultural heritage.’ Picture: EPA/Mohammed BadraA person stands among flags and tributes at a makeshift memorial in the Independence Square, Kyiv, Ukraine, 20 October 2025, amid the Russian invasion. The unofficial memorial to fallen Ukrainian soldiers, citizens, and volunteers, created by families and members of the public, grows daily. Picture: EPA/SERGEY DOLZHENKOA motorist drives under heavy rain in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, 20 October 2025. The Aceh Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) urged the public to be aware of potential disasters such as floods, landslides, and strong winds due to continuous or long-duration moderate to heavy rains with the potential to cause high waves on the Indian Ocean. Picture: EPA/HOTLI SIMANJUNTAKAiko Sugihara of Japan competes in the Women’s vault exercise of the All-Around Qualifications at the FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships 2025 in Jakarta, Indonesia, 20 October 2025. Picture: EPA/MAST IRHAMGray cranes fly during sunset above the Hortobagy steppe towards their roosting site, Hungary, 19 October 2025 (issued 20 October 2025). During the autumn migration from mid-September to late November, Hortobagy National Park serves as one of Europe’s largest stop-over sites for the Common Crane or Grus grus, where they rest and feed before continuing their journey to the southern wintering grounds. Picture: EPA/ZSOLT CZEGLEDIA patient suffering from dengue fever receives medical treatment at an isolation ward of the Lady Reading government hospital in Peshawar, Pakistan, 20 October 2025. Health authorities are investigating two potential dengue-related deaths in Mardan district, amid a rise of infections to more than 3,600 cases in the Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Picture: EPA/BILAWAL ARBAB
