Through the lens: The Citizen's Picture Editors select the best news photographs from South Africa and around the world.
A man gets his face smeared with vermilion-colored powder during the ‘Sindoor Jatra’ festival, part of the Bisket Jatra festival, in Thimi, on the outskirts of Kathmandu, Nepal, 15 April 2025. Thousands of Nepalese gathered to celebrate the Bisket Jatra festival, which is celebrated to mark the Nepali New Year 2082, especially in the ethnic Newar communities in Bhaktapur. During the festival, ethnic Newar devotees visit temples, carry a chariot of Hindu gods and goddesses, and smear vermilion-colored powder on each other’s faces during the Sindoor Jatra festival. Picture: EPA-EFE/NARENDRA SHRESTHA
A handout photo made available by Blue Origin shows Amanda Nguyen (L), a bioastronautics research scientist and activist, reacting as she exits Blue Origin’s New Shepard NS-31 rocket following a short mission into orbit after taking off from Launch Site One in Van Horn, Texas, USA, 14 April 2025. This is the eleventh flight with passengers on board and the first all-female flight crew launched by Blue Origin, a company founded by former Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. Picture: EPA-EFE/BLUE ORIGIN HANDOUTAn aerial view of the high density suburb of Masiphumulele, Cape Town, South Africa. Masiphumelele faces acute challenges linked to South Africa’s ongoing electricity and infrastructure issues. In many parts of the community, residents depend on informal or unsafe power connections due to limited access to reliable services. Overloaded supply lines and poorly maintained infrastructure heighten the risk of electrical fires and safety hazards, especially in densely built informal housing areas. The lack of stable electricity disrupts daily life, from education and healthcare to small business operations, compounding the socio-economic pressures faced by residents. These challenges highlight the urgent need for inclusive, long-term energy and infrastructure investment in underserved communities. Picture: Matrix Images / Nic BothmaForeign tourists are attracted to floating bubbles at a shopping mall in Bangkok, Thailand, 15 April 2025. The US reciprocal tariff increase policy on Thailand is expected to result in a contraction on Thailand’s gross domestic product (GDP) which is estimated to shrink for two consecutive quarters, triggered by a decline in exports and causing a decrease in household income and slowdown in private consumption, according to the Fiscal Policy Office’s macroeconomic expert. Picture: EPA-EFE/RUNGROJ YONGRITRescued French circus lion, Illiana, is seen in her enclosure, 11 April 2025, the morning after being released at LIONSROCK Big Cat Sanctuary in Bethlehem. She was rescued with her sister Tomoyo. After years of being caged in a circus wagon near Paris, the two felines were released into their new species-appropriate enclosure in the African savannah. Picture: Four PawsA worker sprays water on the statue of King Sejong at Gwanghwamun Square in central Seoul, South Korea, 15 April 2025, as part of a springtime cleanup detail. Sejong, the fourth king of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910), created the Korean alphabet Hangeul in 1446. Picture: EPA-EFE/YONHAPBishop of Rotterdam Hans van den Hende blesses flowers at Keukenhof botanical garden in Lisse, The Netherlands, 15 April 2025, before they are transported to the Vatican. Pope Francis will be surrounded by the Dutch flowers while pronouncing the traditional blessing Urbi et Orbi from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica during Easter celebrations. Picture: EPA-EFE/ROBIN VAN LONKHUIJSENRescue workers continue searching for a missing worker in the rubble of a collapsed underground tunnel at a subway construction site in Gwangmyeong, South Korea, 15 April 2025. Picture: EPA-EFE/YONHAPOrthodox Jews cover their heads with prayer shawls as they recite the ‘Priestly Blessing’ or Cohanim prayer in Hebrew on the holiday of Passover, in front of the Western Wall, in Jerusalem, 15 April 2025. The prayer, which is performed twice a year, is only spoken by the Cohanim, the high priests of the ancient temples during the week-long Jewish holiday of Passover, commemorating the Jewish exodus from Egypt in Biblical times. Picture: EPA-EFE/ABIR SULTANA trader works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in New York, New York, USA, 14 April 2025. World financial markets are continuing to react to the effect that the Trump administration’s evolving tariff policies are having on global trade. Picture: EPA-EFE/JUSTIN LANEHobby chickens in the front yard of a house in Maasdam, Netherlands, 15 April 2025. People across the Netherlands are advised to stop eating eggs from hobby chickens. According to the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), consuming these eggs may lead to excessive intake of PFAS. The institute recommends buying eggs from a store or market instead. Picture: EPA-EFE/JEFFREY GROENEWEGMilitary officials carry the casket containing the remains of former Malaysia fifth Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi during a funeral procession inside National Mosque in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 15 April 2025. Abdullah, Prime Minister in 2003 after Mahathir Mohamad ended his 22-year tenure, passed away at the National Heart Institute on 14 April 2025. Picture: EPA-EFE/FAZRY ISMAILA house that was swallowed by a sinkhole in Khutsong, Carletonville, west of Johannesburg, 15 April 2025. The community of Khutsong are seeking legal representation to take government to court for the slow repair of sinkholes in the area. Picture: Nigel Sibanda/The CitizenA juggler performs in front of the police during a protest against the municipal regulation that imposes a maximum limit on decibels and the use of percussion instruments, in Naples, Italy, 14 April 2025. Picture: EPA-EFE/CIRO FUSCOA Hindu devotee cleans a human skull during a holy march of Gajan Festival in Shilinda village, eastern India, 14 April 2025. The Hindu festival lasts for a month, ending with the Bengali New Year in April, and celebrates the union of the sun and the earth. Picture: EPA-EFE/PIYAL ADHIKARY
