Through the lens: The Citizen's Picture Editors select the best news photographs from South Africa and around the world.
Greenpeace activists and communities living in some of South Africa’s most polluted regions staged a peaceful protest outside the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) in Pretoria to denounce South Africa’s deadly air pollution crisis and demand urgent governmental action, 27 August 2025. Wearing gas masks and carrying tombstones marked with real health statistics, activists re-enacted the harsh reality faced by communities near coal plants and industrial sites. The action was sparked by recent dismissive remarks from Minister Gwede Mantashe, who said: “We can’t kill mining for fresh air.” Picture: Shayne Robinson, GreenpeaceJoburg’s famous “Leaping Impala” sculpture is seen with a working fountain, 27 August 2025, in Main Street, outside the Anglo American building. The statue was commissioned in 1960 by Harry Oppenheimer of De Beers in memory of his father Ernest and donated to the City of Johannesburg. It was originally situated in Oppenheimer Park, but after being vandalised in 1999 with various heads and feet chopped off, it was moved to its current location. Picture: Michel Bega/The CitizenA Sadhu or Hindu holy man is pictured at Pashupatinath temple complex in Kathmandu on August 27, 2025. Nepal’s Supreme Court has ruled that naked Hindu holy men need not wear clothes to attend a revered temple, declaring that their age-old tradition of nudity is not obscenity. The ash-smeared and dreadlocked ascetics known as Naga sadhus — devotees of the Hindu deity Shiva who renounce their family and worldly possessions, including clothing — said on August 27 that they welcomed the top court decision. (Photo by PRAKASH MATHEMA / AFP)Bystanders watch as smoke rises from a fire that consumes a waste processing facility in Deurne, North Brabant, The Netherlands, 27 August 2025. According to a fire department spokesperson, two warehouses are on fire, and efforts are being made to prevent the fire from spreading to other buildings. Picture: EPA/ROB ENGELAARUS soldiers from the 11th Engineer Battalion with the 2nd Infantry Combined Division conduct a combined wet gap crossing exercise with the 7th Engineer Brigade, 7th Corps of the South Korean Army, as part of the Ulchi Freedom Shield 25 in Yeoju-gun, 100 km south of Seoul, Gyeonggi province, South Korea, 27 August 2025. The Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS) is a joint drill between South Korean and US military forces running from 18 to 28 August. Picture: EPA/JEON HEON-KYUNSouth Africa’s Lloyd Harris plays a return to USA’s Taylor Fritz during their men’s singles second round tennis match on day four of the US Open tennis tournament at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York City, on August 27, 2025. (Photo by TIMOTHY A. CLARY / AFP)Gauteng Leader of the Official Opposition Solly Msimanga MPL speaks, 27 August 2025, outside the office of Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi during a picket organised by the Democratic Alliance to raise urgent concerns about the escalating crime crisis across the province and the continued under-resourcing of South African Police Service (SAPS) stations. Picture: Michel Bega/The CitizenColombian singer Shakira (C) performs during a concert as part of her ‘Women Don’t Cry’ world tour in Mexico City, Mexico, 26 August 2025. Picture: EPA/Senka GutiezAn aerial view shows Rohingya refugees’ Balukhali camp in Ukhia on August 26, 2025. “Bangladesh now hosts 1.3 million forcibly displaced Rohingya from Myanmar,” Yunus told the aid conference in Cox’s Bazar, calling it the “largest refugee camp in the world”. (Photo by Piyas Biswas / AFP)(L-R) President of the Parliament of Moldova Igor Grosu, President of Moldova Maia Sandu, and Prime Minister of Moldova Dorin Recean (partially hidden) attend a wreath-laying ceremony at the Maica Indurerata monument to mark the country’s Independence Day, in Chisinau, Moldova, 27 August 2025. Moldova celebrates 34 years since the adoption of the Declaration of Independence from the Soviet Union. Picture: EPA/DUMITRU DORUDemonstrators wave a Palestinian flag as they rally in solidarity of Palestinians in front of the festival venue prior the opening ceremony of the 82nd annual Venice International Film Festival, in Venice, Italy, 27 August 2025. The film festival runs from 27 August to 06 September 2025. Picture: EPA/RICCARDO ANTIMIANIRescue workers patrol as water level rises in river Chenab, in Chiniot, Punjab province, Pakistan, 27 August 2025. Pakistan’s army was mobilized in Punjab to combat severe flooding. The crisis, which has led to the evacuation of over 174,000 people and has killed 799 nationwide, was caused by monsoon rains and, according to Pakistani authorities, aggravated by India’s release of water from two dams. Picture: EPA/HAJI IBRAHEEMRefugees who have returned from neighboring Pakistan wait at a refugee camp before heading to their hometowns, in Kandahar, Afghanistan, 27 August 2025. Kandahar officials reported that around 2,000 families, about 11,000 people, along with 3,500 Afghan refugees imprisoned in Pakistan, have returned to Afghanistan this August, marking a rise in refugee returns. While Pakistan has allowed nearly 1.5 million Afghan refugees holding Proof of Registration (POR) cards to stay until the end of August, some refugees claim that evictions of Afghans with valid documents have already begun. Picture: EPA/QUDRATULLAH RAZWANA man walks past a graffiti artwork by South African artist Falko in downtown Johannesburg, South Africa, 25 August 2025. The artwork, which depicts a herd of elephants, has attracted much attention since it was completed, from local residents and tourists alike. Picture: EPA/KIM LUDBROOKThis picture taken from a position on the Israeli border with the Gaza Strip, shows the sun setting behind destroyed buildings in the embattled territory, on August 27, 2025, amid the ongoing war between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas. A spokesman for the Israeli military said Wednesday the evacuation of Gaza City was “inevitable” as the army prepares to conquer the Palestinian territory’s largest city. (Photo by Jack GUEZ / AFP)Women at the Cape Town Castle during the Women Rise-Enough Is Enough March on August 27, 2025 in Cape Town, South Africa. The group demanded an end to Gender Based Violence And Femicide (GBVF), gangsterism and drugs. (Photo by Gallo Images/Brenton Geach)Workers set up the top of the 31m Eiffel Tower Replica in Sainte-Croix-aux-Mines, eastern France, on August 26, 2025. The former head of a metal parts manufacturing company, Jean Claude Fassler has been working for 8 years on his project to build a replica of the Eiffel Tower, on a scale of 1/10. (Photo by SEBASTIEN BOZON / AFP)A child looks at a mural of the Great Wall of China as she visits an exhibition commemorating the 80th anniversary of the victory over Japan and the end of World War II at the Museum of the War of Chinese People’s Resistance Against Japanese Aggression in Beijing on August 27, 2025. China will hold a military parade in Beijing on September 3 to mark the 80th anniversary of victory over Japan and the end of World War II. (Photo by WANG Zhao / AFP)Members of the Presidential Orchestra of Burkina Faso perform during the International Military Music Festival ‘Spasskaya Tower’ at Manezhnaya Square in Moscow, Russia, 27 August 2025. The festival runs from 21 to 31 August 2025. Picture: EPA/YURI KOCHETKOV
