Through the lens: The Citizen's Picture Editors select the best news photographs from South Africa and around the world.
Polar bear cub Mika dips his head into water at their enclosure at Karlsruhe Zoo, in Karlsruhe, Germany, 18 March 2025. Polar bear Mika was born on 02 November 2024. Picture: EPA-EFE/RONALD WITTEK
Rand Show promoters Nur-Jahan Gani, left, and Jade Timmerman pose for a photograph at the media launch, 19 March 2025, at the Johannesburg Expo Centre at Nasrec. The Rand Show will run from 17 to 21 April, and will include an ocean-themed area, including a beach, an SANDF display, the Mamamagic Baby Expo, fairground rides, live music and a kids zone, among other attractions. Picture: Michel Bega/The CitizenThis photo provided by NASA shows NASA astronaut Suni Williams being helped out of a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft on board the SpaceX recovery ship MEGAN after she, NASA astronauts Nick Hague, Butch Wilmore, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov landed in the water off the coast of Tallahassee, Florida, on March 18, 2025. (Photo by Keegan BARBER / NASA / AFP)The Statue of Peace, a bronze statue symbolising the victims of Japanese military sexual slavery (“comfort women”) during World War II and installed in 2011 by a South Korean civic group, is seen surrounded by police fencing near the Japanese Embassy in Seoul on March 19, 2025. (Photo by YASUYOSHI CHIBA / AFP)Minister of Health Aaron Motsoaledi before his keynote address at Sandton Hotel in Johannesburg, 19 March 2025, on the need to prioritise TB during the ‘End TB media workshop’. Picture: Nigel Sibanda/The CitizenA worker inspects the damage at the AES Group private oil refinery the day after a Russian shock drone attack, in Merefa, Kharkiv region, Ukraine, 18 March 2025. Kharkiv investment and industrial group AES Group confirmed the destruction of the oil refinery in Merefa after about 20 drones were launched at the enterprise. That was the fourth attack on the enterprise since February 2022, company officials said. Picture: EPA-EFE/SERGEY KOZLOVProtesters hold placards during a rally outside the Chinese consular office in Manila, Philippines, 19 March 2025. The demonstrators called on the Chinese government to withdraw its vessels and personnel from the Philippines’ Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in the disputed South China Sea, and pay environmental reparations for the destruction caused by its reclamation activities in the area. Picture: EPA-EFE/FRANCIS R. MALASIGTennis enthusiasts are entering the Hard Rock Stadium where the 2025 Miami Open begins in Miami, Florida, USA, 18 March 2025. The Miami Open, founded in 1985, is one of the nine ATP Masters 1000 events and a Premier Mandatory tournament for the WTA. The 2025 Miami Open is held from 16 to 30 March 2025. Picture: EPA-EFE/CRISTOBAL HERRERA-ULASHKEVICHArtist Lauren Daigle performs at Grand Arena, GrandWest on March 18, 2025 in Cape Town, South Africa. Lauren Daigle is a Grammy-winning artist American contemporary Christian music singer and songwriter. (Photo by Gallo Images/Dereck Green)People light candles during a rally for the victims who lost their lives in the Kocani night club fire, in Skopje, North Macedonia, 18 March 2025. The fire at a discotheque in Kocani in the early hours of 16 March 2025 claimed the lives of at least 59 people and left over 100 injured, according to initial reports from the Directorate for Protection and Rescue and the Center for Crisis Management. Picture: EPA-EFE/GEORGI LICOVSKIA bust of former President John F. Kennedy outside the Nashua City Hall, commemorates Kennedy inaugurating his 1960 presidential campaign in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, 18 March 2025. United States President Trump announced that he has instructed Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard to release federal government documents related to the assassinations of Kennedy, approximately 80,000 pages. Picture: EPA-EFE/CJ GUNTHERA pedestrian walks under snowfall in Tokyo, Japan, 19 March 2025. The Japan Meteorological Agency has urged caution regarding potential traffic disruptions due to accumulated snow and icy roads through the evening. Picture: EPA-EFE/FRANCK ROBICHONAn Iranian man takes part in a traditional fire feast called ‘Charshanbeh Suri’ in Tehran, Iran, 18 March 2025. The festival is held annually on the last Wednesday eve before the Persian New Year (Nowruz), which starts on 20 March this year, also marking the beginning of spring. Nowruz, which has been celebrated for at least three thousand years, is the most revered celebration in the Greater Persian world, which includes the countries of Iran, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Turkey, and portions of western China and northern Iraq. Picture: EPA-EFE/ABEDIN TAHERKENAREHIsraeli actor Gal Gadot (C) poses with her family (rear, L-R) Alma Varsano, husband Jaron Varsano, Maya Varsano and Ori Varsano (front-L) and Daniella Varsano (front-R) by her newly unveiled Hollywood Walk of Fame star during a ceremony in her honor in Los Angeles, California, USA, 18 March 2025. Picture: EPA-EFE/CAROLINE BREHMANBernard Roques, a master refiner of Societe company, controls a Roquefort cheese as they mature in a the Societe cellar in Roquefort, southern France, 17 March 2025 (issued 18 March 2025). French wine and cheese makers are preparing their products to be hit by trade tariffs up to 200% as announced by US President Trump earlier in March, but are still hoping that European counter measures and negotiations may be effective. Picture: EPA-EFE/GUILLAUME HORCAJUELOAjax supporters during a celebration of the 125th anniversary of Amsterdam soccer club Ajax in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 18 March 2025. Songs were sung and flags waved. Fireworks were also set off. Picture: EPA-EFE/JEROEN JUMELETA member of Bolivarian Militia attends a rally against the imprisonment of Venezuelans in a Salvadorean jail in Caracas on March 18, 2025. Hundreds of people marched in Caracas to demand the release and repatriation of 238 Venezuelans sent by US President Donald Trump to a prison in El Salvador, accused of links to the El Tren de Aragua criminal gang. (Photo by Juan BARRETO / AFP)Beach-goers play volleyball in the late afternoon sun on Camps Bay beach, in Cape Town, South Africa, 18 March 2025. The upmarket beach draws crowds to its white sand, natural rock swimming pool, and views of the Twelve Apostles mountains as well as its seafood restaurants. Cape Town is regularly ranked in the top three tourist cities in the world. Picture: EPA-EFE/KIM LUDBROOKMembers of labor unions and students take part in a demonstration against high interest rates in front of the Central Bank in Sao Paulo, Brazil, 18 March 2025. The sign (C) reads ‘Less for bankers + more for education.’ Picture: EPA-EFE/ISAAC FONTANA
