Through the lens: The Citizen's Picture Editors select the best news photographs from South Africa and around the world.
Amabutho march in Soweto during the march on illegal immigrants living in the country, 29 June 2026. The activity serves as a build-up to highly tense nationwide demonstrations scheduled for Tuesday, 30 June 2026. Picture: Nigel Sibanda / The CitizenAn aerial view of the hundreds of undocumented migrants still present at the Durban Drive In in central Durban, on June 29, 2026 before boarding busses that will be taking them back home. South Africans President Cyril Ramaphosa vowed on June 25 to crush any attempts to destabilise the nation during planned anti-immigrant marches next week, amid a wave of xenophobia. Citizen-led groups have set Tuesday 30 as a deadline for undocumented foreigners to leave and called for nationwide marches against illegal immigration, marking a crescendo in months of protests that have at times turned violent. (Photo by MARCO LONGARI / AFP)Members of the French 7th Civil Security Training and Intervention Regiment make a recognition in a dammaged building in Catia La Mar, La Guaira state, Venezuela, on June 29, 2026. Hopes were fading on June 29, 2026 of finding survivors more than four days after powerful twin earthquakes struck Venezuela, as residents grow increasingly frustrated with the government’s response to the disaster that has killed at least 1,450 people and left tens of thousands unaccounted for. (Photo by Miguel MEDINA / POOL / AFP)A child jumps into the sea in front of the Maiden’s Tower in Istanbul on June 28, 2026. Europe’s deadly heatwave pushed east with hundreds of millions still sweltering across the continent despite fleeting relief from overnight storms, notably in France and Belgium. (Photo by Yasin AKGUL / AFP)France’s Leo Marchand competes in a 200 metre men’s breaststroke heat during the French national swimming championships in Saint-Etienne, central France on June 29, 2026. Léon Marchand felt discomfort in a groin muscle during the 200m breaststroke heats and was forced to withdraw from the evening final of the event at the French Swimming Championships in Saint-Étienne. (Photo by OLIVIER CHASSIGNOLE / AFP)A protester kicks a teargas canister thrown by Senegalese police officers during a demonstration against a constitutional reform bill near the National Assembly in Dakar, on June 29, 2026. Senegal’s National Assembly was examining, in a tense atmosphere marked by heated exchanges between lawmakers and clashes between demonstrators and police outside the building, a bill revising the Constitution concerning the powers of the President, Parliament, and the Prime Minister. The initiative, put forward by the parliamentary majority and its leader Ousmane Sonko, comes amid a deep disagreement with the country’s president. (Photo by PATRICK MEINHARDT / AFP)A reveller is doused in red wine during the”Batalla del Vino” (Battle of Wine) in Haro, in the wine producing region of La Rioja, on June 29, 2026. Every year thousands of locals and tourists climb a mountain in the northern Spanish wine producing region of La Rioja to celebrate St. Peter’s day by covering each other in red wine using water pistols, back mounted spraying devices, buckets which are randomly poured on heads and into any other available container. (Photo by CESAR MANSO / AFP)Relatives mourn the death of Amir Ahmad Jawad Jaber, a Palestinian teenager who was killed during an Israeli raid, at a hospital in Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on June 29, 2026. Israeli forces fatally shot a 15-year-old Palestinian teenager during a raid in the occupied West Bank on June 29, the Palestinian health ministry said, as violence surges in the Israeli-occupied territory. (Photo by Zain JAAFAR / AFP)Activists from “Gays Against Guns” hold photographs of victims as they march for LGBTQ rights during the annual New York City Pride March in New York on June 28, 2026. (Photo by kena betancur / AFP)A member of the South African Police Service (SAPS) detains a suspected undocumented foreign national during a stop-and-search operation in central Durban on June 29, 2026. Individuals found without the required documentation in Durban are taken to the Department of Home Affairs for verification by immigration officials. The operation comes ahead of planned nationwide anti-immigration protests, after South African President Cyril Ramaphosa vowed on June 25 to prevent any attempts to destabilise the country amid rising xenophobic tensions. Citizen-led groups have set June 30 as a deadline for undocumented foreign nationals to leave South Africa and have called for nationwide marches against illegal immigration following months of protests, some of which have turned violent. (Photo by RAJESH JANTILAL / AFP)Undocumented migrants line up near a bus at the Durban Drive In in Durban, on June 29, 2026 preparing to leave before the camp will shut down and the operation will be transferred to the border with Zimbabwe. South Africans President Cyril Ramaphosa vowed on June 25 to crush any attempts to destabilise the nation during planned anti-immigrant marches next week, amid a wave of xenophobia. Citizen-led groups have set Tuesday 30 as a deadline for undocumented foreigners to leave and called for nationwide marches against illegal immigration, marking a crescendo in months of protests that have at times turned violent. (Photo by MARCO LONGARI / AFP)Malawian refugees camped outside the Malawi Consulate General wait for buses, 29 June 2026, in Woodmead, Johannesburg, as they attempt to make their way back to Malawi ahead of a nationwide anti-immigrant movement demonstration. Citizen-led groups have set Tuesday 30 as a deadline for undocumented foreigners to leave and have called for nationwide marches against illegal immigration. Picture: Michel Bega/The CitizenA reveller poses for a picture during a Pride parade in San Jose on June 28, 2026. (Photo by Ezequiel BECERRA / AFP)A woman rides a merry-go-round amusement ride in central London on June 28, 2026, as people come out to take advantage of cooler temperatures following days of extreme heat. The UK broke the record for a June temperature for the third day in a row on June 26, the Met Office weather agency said, as a sweltering heatwave strained schools and hospitals and drove down business. (Photo by CARLOS JASSO / AFP)This aerial photograph shows beachgoers on an artifical pier in Durres, western Albania, on June 29, 2026. Europe’s deadly heatwave pushed east with hundreds of millions still sweltering across the continent despite fleeting relief from overnight storms, notably in France and Belgium. (Photo by Adnan Beci / AFP)Afghan residents clear rubble from their home at the site of a Pakistani airstrike in Barolo village in the Marawara district of Afghanistan’s Kunar province on June 29, 2026. Pakistan launched its deadliest attack on Afghanistan in months, with Islamabad saying on June 29 it killed dozens of militants as the Afghan government reported civilian casualties. (Photo by Aimal ZAHIR / AFP)
