Through the lens: The Citizen's Picture Editors select the best news photographs from South Africa and around the world.
Argentina’s forward #10 Lionel Messi celebrates with teammates after winning the 2026 World Cup round of 16 football match between Argentina and Egypt at Atlanta Stadium in Atlanta on July 7, 2026. (Photo by Thomas COEX / AFP)
ActionSA COJ councillor and former SGB member Tshepo Mposula speaks to The Citizen near Zola Clinic were community members gathered before their march to Naledi Police Station to handover a memorandum, 8 July 2026. Protesters want the police to help them close down businesses owned by undocumented foreign nationals. Targeted businesses include Spaza shops, Hair Saloons and street hawkers. Picture: Nigel Sibanda / The Citizen
Crowds of mourners gather around an unseen vehicle transporting the coffin of Iran’s slain supreme leader Ali Khamenei during a funeral procession in Najaf on July 8, 2026. Funeral processions carrying the coffin of Iran’s slain supreme leader Ali Khamenei will pass on July 8 through Iraq’s holy cities of Najaf and Karbala, home to Shia Islam’s most sacred shrines. (Photo by Murtaja LATEEF / AFP)
Riders head back out as they start the second leg for the day during day 1 of the 2026 Fauresmith 200 at Fauresmith Showgrounds on July 07, 2026 in Fauresmith, South Africa. The 2026 Fauresmith 200 is South Africa’s premier 201 km endurance horse marathon and is held from 7–9 July 2026, this 51st edition of the event attracts approximately 200 riders across 8 countries. (Photo by Gallo Images/Alet Pretorius)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (L) escorts U.S. President Donald Trump as Trump arrives at Etimesgut Air Base for the annual NATO Summit on July 7, 2026 in Ankara, Turkey. Leaders from NATO’s 32 countries, plus NATO allies like Ukraine, gathered in the Turkish capital to discuss a range of issues involving spending targets, defense industrial production, and support for Ukraine, among other topics (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
A hiker takes photos of glowing bursts of lava erupting from the Stromboli volcano on Stromboli island, off the north coast of Sicily, on July 7, 2026. Stromboli, one of Europe’s most active volcanoes and part of Sicily’s seven-island Aeolian Archipelago in southern Italy, has erupted almost continuously for over 2,000 years. (Photo by Marco BERTORELLO / AFP)
Clerics wait to hold prayers over the coffin of Iran’s slain supreme leader Ali Khamenei at Imam Ali Shrine in Najaf on July 8, 2026, before it was carried on to the Iraqi holy city of Karbala. Crowds thronged the streets of Najaf on July 8 as the coffin of Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei moved through the holy city in a procession devoted to Iraq, home to Shia Islam’s most sacred shrines. (Photo by HUSSEIN FALEH / AFP)
A worker installs lights on the iconic Howrah Bridge for decorative illumination in Kolkata on July 7, 2026. (Photo by Dibyangshu SARKAR / AFP)
A model presents a creation for Germanier for the Women Haute Couture Fall/Winter 2026-2027 collection as part of the Paris Fashion Week, in Paris, on July 7, 2026. (Photo by GEOFFROY VAN DER HASSELT / AFP)
Rescue workers evacuate flood-affected students in Guigang, in China’s southern Guangxi region, on July 8, 2026. (Photo by CN-STR / AFP)
A banderillero runs after thrusting banderillas into a fighting bull at the San Fermin festival in Pamplona, northern Spain, on July 7, 2026. (Photo by CESAR MANSO / AFP)
Thomas du Toit during the South African national men’s rugby team training session at Johannesburg Stadium on July 08, 2026 in Johannesburg, South Africa. (Photo by Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images)
People wade through submerged railway tracks beside a stranded train following heavy monsoon rains in Chattogram on July 7, 2026. (Photo by AFP)
Afghan girls read the holy Quran inside a traditional classroom at the Al Subhan madrassa or Islamic school in Salihan village of Kandahar’s Panjwai district on July 8, 2026. (Photo by Sanaullah SEIAM / AFP)
