Our Picture Editors select the best news photographs from South Africa and worldwide to give you a visual snapshot of the day's events.
Smoke rises from a factory over Skopje, covered by smog and pollution on December 21, 2023. – Skopje recorded an Air Quality Index (AQI) of 173, which is labeled as ‘Unhealthy’, making the capital city among the 10 most polluted in the world. The levels of toxic PM10 and PM 2.5 particles in the air measured by IQAir in Skopje were about 15 times higher than the safety threshold established by the World Health Organization. (Photo by Robert ATANASOVSKI / AFP)
French President Emmanuel Macron reviews troops as he arrives at the French military ‘base aerienne projetee au Levant’ (BAP, “French deployed air base”) in Safawi, east of Amman on December 21, 2023, during a two-day visit to Jordan to celebrate Christmas with French forces deployed abroad and “highlight France’s enduring commitment to the fight against terrorism”. (Photo by Ludovic MARIN / AFP)An electronic information board displays cancelled services at St Pancras station in London on December 21, 2023, as services are disrupted due to a strike at the Eurotunnel. – A few days before Christmas and as vacation departures begin, a surprise strike by Eurotunnel employees has led to the closure of the Channel Tunnel and created panic in several European stations. (Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS / AFP)A voter casts his ballot in a voting booth at a polling station at the Institut Ndahura in Goma on December 21, 2023. – Millions of Congolese head to the polls on Voting continued in the Democratic Republic of Congo on December 21, 2023 in a general election marked by severe logistical troubles that meant some polling stations never opened. (Photo by ALEXIS HUGUET / AFP)Passengers wait with their luggage at St Pancras station in London on December 21, 2023, as services are disrupted due to a strike at the Eurotunnel. – A few days before Christmas and as vacation departures begin, a surprise strike by Eurotunnel employees has led to the closure of the Channel Tunnel and created panic in several European stations. (Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS / AFP)Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes Regional Council President Laurent Wauquiez (R) gestures as he presents the uniforms that will be tested in the region’s high schools, in Lyon, central France, on December 21, 2023. (Photo by OLIVIER CHASSIGNOLE / AFP)Visitors watch the “Viva Frida Kahlo – Immersive Experience” exhibition in Berlin on December 21, 2023. – The exhibition feature 3D projections of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo’s work, as well as photographs of her life and times. (Photo by John MACDOUGALL / AFP) A picture taken from southern Israel near the border with the Gaza Strip on December 21, 2023, shows smoke billowing amid the destruction in northern Gaza resulting from weeks of Israeli bombardment of the Palestinian territory amid ongoing battles with the Hamas militant group. (Photo by JACK GUEZ / AFP)People hand over books to each other as they form a kilometer-long human chain to transfer books from the old library to the new one, in Rijeka, on December 21, 2023. (Photo by AFP)A voter casts her ballot at a polling station at Bwakya school in Lubumbashi on December 21, 2023. – Voting continued in the Democratic Republic of Congo on December 21, 2023 in a general election marked by severe logistical troubles that meant some polling stations never opened. (Photo by Patrick Meinhardt / AFP)A picture taken in southern Israel near the border with the Gaza Strip on December 21, 2023, shows Israeli soldiers operating an army tank amid continuing battles between Israel and the militant group Hamas. (Photo by JACK GUEZ / AFP)French swimmer Florent Manaudou gives children a swimming lesson at the newly renovated swimming pool in Pontoise, northwestern suburbs of Paris, on December 21, 2023. (Photo by Dimitar DILKOFF / AFP)This photograph taken on December 21, 2023, shows a sunset over the “Baie des anges” (Angel’s Bay) in the French riviera city of Nice. (Photo by Valery HACHE / AFP)India’s Mukesh Kumar delivers a ball during the third one-day international (ODI) cricket match between South Africa and India at Boland Park in Paarl on December 21, 2023. (Photo by Rodger BOSCH / AFP)Children play on the roof of a building in Rafah, on the southern Gaza Strip on December 21, 2023, amid ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas. (Photo by Mohammed ABED / AFP)The flashing lights from emergency vehicles are seen along the bank of river Moldau by the Charles University in central Prague, on December 21, 2023. – Czech police said a shooting in a university building in central Prague has left “dead and wounded people”, without providing further details.
“Based on the initial information we have, we can confirm dead and wounded people on the scene,” police said on X, formerly Twitter. Czech media said the shooting had occurred at the Faculty of Arts whose teachers and students were instructed to lock themselves up as the police action was under way. (Photo by Michal CIZEK / AFP)South Africa’s Reeza Hendricks plays a shot during the third one-day international (ODI) cricket match between South Africa and India at Boland Park in Paarl on December 21, 2023. (Photo by Rodger BOSCH / AFP)A police officer secures the area near the Charles University in central Prague, on December 21, 2023. – A gunman killed 10 people and wounded dozens of others at a Prague university on December 21, 2023, before the police “eliminated” him, authorities said. (Photo by Michal CIZEK / AFP)
