Through the lens: The Citizen's Picture Editors select the best news photographs from South Africa and around the world.
Cardinals attend as newly elected Pope Leo XIV attends his Papal Inauguration Mass at St. Peter’s Square, in Vatican City, 18 May 2025. Picture: EPA-EFE/DAREK DELMANOWICZ
Motorcyclists take part in the mass ride the annual Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride (DGR) in Johannesburg, 18 May 2025. The annual mass motorcycle ride has seen 500 000 vintage and classic motorcyclists ride in 121 countries and raise 50 million USD for men’s cancer research and men’s mental health. Picture: Michel Bega/The CitizenFrench confraternity of confraternity from Perpignan’s members attend a procession at the occasion of the jubilee of confraternities, in Rome, Italy on 17 May, 2025. The Ordinary Jubilee or Holy Year takes place every 25 years. It aims to strengthen their faith, repent of their sins and promote works of solidarity and pilgrimages. More than 30 million visitors are expected to come to Rome for the 2025 Jubilee. Picture: Matrix Images / Andre PainRayno Nel of South Africa lifts a 154kg (340 lbs) circus barbell for two reps, during the Overhead Medley event on the first day of qualifying at the “World’s Strongest Man” competition on May 15, 2025 in Sacramento, California. Some people think weightlifters are “a lot of angry people who just like to throw weight around,” 420-pound (190-kilogram) Australian Eddie Williams told AFP, but “I can be, you know, a happy person, and still be able to lift heavy weights.” (Photo by Robyn Beck / AFP)Participants wearing loincloth pose showing traditional Japanese tattoos during the Sanja Matsuri festival in Tokyo, Japan, 18 May 2025. The Sanja Matsuri, a three-day annual festival, is one of Tokyo’s most popular festivals and draws approximately two million visitors. Picture: EPA-EFE/FRANCK ROBICHONA man carrying an umbrella walks along a street amid rainfall in Colombo on May 18, 2025. (Photo by Ishara S. KODIKARA / AFP)A Bad Boys security officer walks past a mural of the Russian President Vladimir Putin in Braamfonein, Johannesburg, 18 May 2025. Picture: Nigel Sibanda/ The CitizenA masquerade performance takes place during the grand finale of the World Egungun Festival 2025 in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria, on May 15, 2025. The 2025 World Egungun Festival, held in Ibadan, Oyo State from May 14-15, celebrated the deep rooted Yoruba tradition of honoring ancestors through vibrant masquerade performances. Originating as a spiritual rite to connect the living with the dead, the Egungun festival features elaborately costumed dancers who embody ancestral spirits, offering blessings, protection, and guidance to their communities. This year’s event drew participants from all 33 local government areas and international guests from Brazil, Cuba, Ghana, and Benin Republic, reflecting the global spread of Yoruba culture. Alongside traditional music and food, the festival served as a powerful expression of cultural identity and continuity. Picture: Matrix Images / David DurowaiyeThousands of people, some waving the Palestinian flag, gather against the Dutch government’s Israel policy, as they protest on Malieveld, in The Hague on May 18, 2025. The Gaza health ministry said that at least 3,131 people have been killed since Israel resumed strikes on March 18, 2025, taking the war’s overall toll of killed Palestinians to 53,272. Israel’s strikes on the Gaza Strip comes after the Palestinian militant group Hamas’s October 2023 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. (Photo by Phil Nijhuis / ANP / AFP)Dancers perform on Gandhi Square during an event to mark International Dance Day in downtown Johannesburg, South Africa, 16 May 2025. According to the organizers, more than 1000 dancers were expected to participate in the event titled ‘Mjaivo Jaiva’, a collaboration between the Johannesburg Inner City Partnership, Maharishi Invincibility Institute and Moving into Dance Trust. The International Dance Day is celebrated annually around the world on 29 April. Picture: EPA-EFE/KIM LUDBROOKA boy bats as he plays cricket in front of a mural of Hindu deity Lord Shiva, on the banks of the river Ganges at Manmahal Ghat in Varanasi on May 17, 2025. (Photo by Niharika KULKARNI / AFP)US actress Jennifer Lawrence arrives for the screening of the film “Die, My Love” at the 78th edition of the Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, southern France, on May 17, 2025. (Photo by Miguel MEDINA / AFP)FC Barcelona supporters celebrate after being crowned La Liga champions defeating RCD Espanyol 2-0 in an intense Catalan derby Barcelona, Spain on May 16, 2025. At the final whistle, the city erupted in joy. Around 5,000 supporters gathered at the iconic Canaletes Fountain, the traditional epicenter of Barca celebrations, where the party continued late into the night. Festivities carried on the next day with the traditional champions’ parade through the main streets of the Catalan capital. Picture: Matrix Images / Adria TurCompetitors take part in the Bog Commander endurance event near Ashbourne, in the Peak District moorlands, in northern England, on May 17, 2025. Featuring over 30 man made obstacles, the Bog Commander is a 6km muddy obstacle race through the Peak District’s Manifold Valley that started in 2014. (Photo by Oli SCARFF / AFP)Competitors in the women’s wellness open category perform on stage at the Sunfest Africa Bodybuilding Championships held in Pretoria, South Africa, 17 May 2025. The annual event sees bodybuilders converge on the Heartfelt Stadium to compete in various categories in their discipline. Picture: EPA-EFE/Kim LudbrookChen Yu Fei of China in action against Pornpawee Chochuwong of Thailand in their women’s badminton singles finals match for the Toyota Thailand Open 2025 in Bangkok, Thailand, May 18 2025. Picture: Matrix Images / Diego Azubel
