Our Picture Editors select the best news photographs from South Africa and around the world to bring you a visual snapshot of the day's events.
The sun rises behind the skyline of Johannesburg, South Africa, 05 December 2023, as another day is about to start during an ongoing heat wave in the country. South Africa has recorded the highest temperatures on record at Augrabies Falls National Park where temperatures reached 46.7 degrees Celsius, and 46.6 degrees Celsius at Vioolsdrift. The South Africa Weather Service predicts the heat wave to continue and warns the public about the danger of heat exhaustion, hyperthermia, heat stroke and dehydration. Picture: EPA-EFE/Kim Ludbrook
Mother Christmas Lindiwe Sigoxo plays with one of the babies born to an inmate, who received an early Christmas gift at the Johannesburg Correctional Services, 5 December 2023. The department provides food, clothing, health care, and appropriate facilities for the period the child is in a correctional facility. There are currently 58 babies in correctional facilities across the country. Picture: Nigel Sibanda / The CitizenMedic Lena (L) and 4-year-old Dian practice brushing teeth during the ‘Teddy Bear Hospital’ event organized by the Vienna Medical Association in Vienna, Austria on December 5, 2023. – Approximatly 60 medics participated in the campaign intended to allay children’s fears of visiting the doctor or being hospitalized. (Photo by Joe Klamar / AFP)Sri Lankans look at the Lewke’s cannon as they see artifacts returned by the Netherlands during a public display at the National Museum in Colombo, Sri Lanka, 05 December 2023. Six cultural artifacts that belonged to the Kandy royal family and were looted by Dutch colonialists from the former Kandiyan kingdom in 1765 were returned to Sri Lanka by the government of the Netherlands last week. The objects include the Lewke’s cannon, two Gold kastanes (ceremonial swords), a Singalese knife, a Silver kastane, and two guns. Picture: EPA-EFE/CHAMILA KARUNARATHNEStaff of the Western Cape Government and citizens outside the Provincial Legislature in Wale Street on December 05, 2023 in Cape Town, South Africa. This is part of the 16 Days of Activism For No Violence Against Women and Children campaign. (Photo by Gallo Images/Brenton Geach)Protestors gather during a demonstration on the sidelines of the Global Convention of Solidarity with Palestine at the Union Buildings, Pretoria, South Africa, 05 December 2023. Various groups supporting the Palestinian people, including Nelson Mandela’s grandson, Mandla Mandela, joined the protest. The Global Convention of Solidarity with Palestine marks the 10th anniversary of the passing of former South African president Nelson Mandela and was held from 03 to 05 December. Picture: EPA-EFE/KIM LUDBROOKDemonstrators picket, 5 December 2023, in Newtown, outside the Commission of Inquiry into the Usindiso Building fire that claimed the lives of 77 people in October in Marshalltown. Picture: Michel Bega/The CitizenMadam Justice Sisi Virginia Khampepe is seen, 5 December 2023, in Newtown, at the Commission of Inquiry into the Usindiso Building fire that claimed the lives of 77 people in October in Marshalltown. Picture: Michel Bega/The CitizenA diver wearing a Santa Claus costume cleans the inside of a sky tank for penguins at Sunshine Aquarium in Tokyo, Japan, 05 December 2023. The diver practiced cleaning the inside of a tank without the presence of several penguins, which are primarily held in quarantine after the Tokyo Metropolitan Government confirmed the season’s bird flu outbreak. The tank cleaning for penguins is held from 23 December 2023 for a three-day special Christmas attraction. Picture: EPA-EFE/KIMIMASA MAYAMAPeople carry essentials as they wade through a flooded road following heavy downpour during ‘Cyclone Michaung’, in Chennai, India, 05 December 2023. As the cyclone approaches the coast of North Tamil Nadu, several areas are already inundated and affected by severe floods with the region experiencing even more rainfalls. The Indian Meteorological Department has issued a red alert for heavy rains in Chennai as the cyclonic storm, ‘Cyclone Michaung’ is anticipated to make landfall near Bapatla on the Andhra Pradesh coast later on 05 December. Picture: EPA-EFE/IDREES MOHAMMEDKneo Mokgopa (29), the curator of the ‘Mandela is Dead’ Exhibition, poses in the exhibition hall at the Nelson Mandela Foundation in Johannesburg, South Africa, 04 December 2023. The exhibition is in collaboration with The Forge, The South African Human Rights Commission and Stellenbosch University and uses the image of Nelson Mandela etched onto transparent perspex panels, reflecting the reality that he is not there. Former President and Noble Peace Price winner Nelson Mandela died on 05 December 2013 at the age of 95 after a prolonged respiratory infection. Picture: EPA-EFE/KIM LUDBROOKThe Lufthansa logo on the tail of a parked plane at the airport in Munich, Germany, 05 December 2023. Due to overnight freezing rain conditions making ‘safe flight operations impossible’ in the morning at Munich Airport, there will be no take-offs and landings on 05 December until 12 noon local time, the airport announced on its website. The statement added that during the rest of the day the majority of the flights were likely to be canceled over ‘safety reasons’. Flight operations at Munich Airport had been temporarily suspended over the weekend due to heavy snowfall. Picture: EPA-EFE/ANNA SZILAGYIBuddhist monks visit the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, 05 December 2023. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet told authorities to keep tourists safe. The new government regards the tourist sector as one of its priorities, describing it as ”green gold”. He explained that if the sector thrived, so would all others. Picture: EPA-EFE/KITH SEREYSHK Scallywag during the 2023 SOLAS Big Boat Challenge in the Sydney Harbor in Sydney, Australia, 05 December 2023. The SOLAS Big Boat Challenge is the last race ahead of the Sydney to Hobart yacht race. Picture: EPA-EFE/DEAN LEWINS
