Through the lens: The Citizen's Picture Editors select the best news photographs from South Africa and around the world.
We bring you a visual snapshot of the day’s news events, featuring officials at the scene of an ATM bombing at a petrol station in Soweto, Miss Earth South Africa 2026 winner Hlombe Ndzube posing with the runners-up after her crowning in Johannesburg, dancers taking part in a French Cancan world record attempt in Bordeaux, and a solidarity walk against gender-based violence in Durban. These are some of the compelling images from South Africa and around the world.
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Officials assess and clear the crime scene after a ATM was bombed at Engen Garage in Meadowlands Zone 2 on September 30, 2026 in Soweto, South Africa. It is reported that the police are investigating the blast and searching for the heavily armed suspects who fled the scene with an undisclosed amount of cash. (Photo by Gallo Images/Sharon Seretlo)
Dancers perform during an attempt to break the world record for the highest number of participants in a French Cancan performance, above the Mirroir d’Eau (Water Mirror) reflecting pool in Bordeaux, south-western France on September 30, 2026. (Photo by Christophe ARCHAMBAULT / AFP)
Miss Earth South Africa 2026 winner Hlombe Ndzube (second from right) poses with the runners-up, Karla Janse van Rensburg (left), third runner-up; Alicia Duminy (second from left), second runner-up; and Ronewa Mafunzwa (right), first runner-up, shortly after the crowning at Thaba Eco Hotel at Klipriviersberg Nature Reserve, south of Johannesburg, 30 September 2026. Miss Earth is an international environmental advocacy competition that promotes environmental awareness, conservation and sustainable development, with contestants serving as ambassadors for environmental causes. Picture: Michel Bega/The Citizen
Turkish Special Operations police officers conduct a flypast with the flag on an S-70 helicopter during TEKNOFEST Southeast, world’s largest aviation, space, and technology festival at the Sanliurfa GAP Airport for its 15th edition in Sanliurfa, Turkiye on September 30, 2026. (Photo by Agit Erdi Ulukaya/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Tents fill the Puerta del Sol square as protestors camp out to protest against evictions and the housing crisis in central Madrid on September 30, 2026. The Spanish government on September 29 approved measures including a ban on evictions until 2030 and the automatic renewal of tenant contracts following days of nationwide housing protests. But the measures hang in the balance as the left-wing coalition lacks a majority in a heavily fragmented parliament, which is due to vote on them on October 2. (Photo by Thomas COEX / AFP)
A protestor from anti-illegal immigration group, March and March Movement holds a placard during a “Day of Action” solidarity walk against gender-based violence (GBV) in Durban on September 30, 2026. The march takes place to honour victims of gender-based violence and call for urgent government action amid concern over the recent killings of women in the city of Ekurhuleni and other areas of South Africa. (Photo by RAJESH JANTILAL / AFP)
Tony Iommi, musician and co-founder, Black Sabbath after he was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire by The Princess Royal at an investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle on September 30, 2026 in Windsor, England. (Photo by Yui Mok – Pool/Getty Images)
A woman swings at the observation point at Vorobyovy Hills in front of the buildings of the Moscow International Business Centre (Moskva City) in Moscow on September 30, 2026. (Photo by Alexander NEMENOV / AFP)
Catherine, Princess of Wales talks with Lynda Jones as she visits West Sussex Minibus, a volunteer-led community transport group, which acts as a vital lifeline for people who cannot easily access public transport due to isolation, mobility challenges or financial barriers, on September 30, 2026 in Pulborough, England. The Princess’s visit highlighted the role community transport plays in bringing people together. (Photo by Arthur Edwards – WPA Pool/Getty Images)
Kenya’s President William Ruto (C) and Kenya’s Deputy President Kithure Kindiki (R) inspect excavators and other heavy machinery parked during the groundbreaking ceremony of the Dangote East Africa Petroleum Refinery at Lamu Port in Kililana, Lamu West, on September 30, 2026. Africa’s richest broke ground on a new $16-billion mega-refinery in Kenya on Wednesday, saying it marked a “new chapter in Africa’s industrial journey”. Aliko Dangote created Africa’s biggest oil refinery in his native Nigeria and the east African version at the port of Lamu will have a capacity of 700,000 barrels per day — larger than any in Europe. The project, which aims for completion within 30 to 40 months, has already faced a lawsuit from a local community over land rights. A court ruling published on Monday said the ground-breaking could go ahead, but the case will continue. (Photo by Luis TATO / AFP)
Members of the Iraqi security forces, flash the victory sign during a military parade marking the withdrawal of the US-led coalition from Iraq, in Baghdad on September 30, 2026. A US-led coalition deployed in Iraq more than a decade ago to fight jihadists concluded its mission on September 30, a move celebrated by the country’s leaders, but which some fear will embolden pro-Iran armed factions. (Photo by AHMAD AL-RUBAYE / AFP)
Arlequin by Paul Cézanne, estimate in the region of $120 million, goes on view at Sotheby’s on September 30, 2026 in London, England. Masterpieces from the Blaquier-Arrieta Collection, largely unseen in public for over 50 years, will be on view at Sotheby’s, London from 30 September-1 October before being offered at auction in New York on 18 November 2026. (Photo by Tristan Fewings/Getty Images for Sotheby’s)
Community campaigners demonstrating against a proposed large-scale data centre rally outside the Park Hotel, where a B2B event attended by representatives from Eneus Energy is taking place on September 30, 2026 in Kilmarnock, Scotland. Demonstrators from the Reject Hunterston Data Centre Campaign Group and the Hurlford Rufus Data Centre Group are protesting Eneus Energy’s proposal to build a large-scale data centre campus in Hunterston, North Ayrshire, raising concerns over the development’s potential impact on the local environment and resources. (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)
Japan’s Taizo Yoshida (R) competes with Kyrgyzstan’s Asan Kurbanovich Zhanyshov in the men’s Greco-Roman 87kg final match of the wrestling event during the 2026 Asian Games at the Inae Sports Center in Nagoya on September 30, 2026. (Photo by MOHD RASFAN / AFP)
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