Through the lens: The Citizen's Picture Editors select the best news photographs from South Africa and around the world.
A fire fighting helicopter drops water as the Palisades fire grows near the Mandeville Canyon neighborhood and Encino, California, on January 11, 2025. The Palisades Fire, the largest of the Los Angeles fires, spread toward previously untouched neighborhoods January 11, forcing new evacuations and dimming hopes that the disaster was coming under control. Across the city, at least 11 people have died as multiple fires have ripped through residential areas since January 7, razing thousands of homes in destruction that US President Joe Biden likened to a “war scene.” (Photo by Patrick T. Fallon / AFP)
Supporters of the officialism sing in the street in Caracas, Venezuela, 11 January 2025. The streets of Venezuela were marked by low traffic, reduced commercial activity, and police and military patrols on the first day of President Nicolas Maduro’s disputed third term in office amid accusations of electoral fraud. Picture: EPA-EFE/Miguel GutierrezParticipants bathe in ice-cold water during a ceremony at Teppozu Inari Shrine in Tokyo, Japan, 12 January 2025. 80 men and women took part in the ice water endurance ceremony to purify their souls and pray for good health in the new year. Picture: EPA-EFE/FRANCK ROBICHONSiblings Holie Matuva (left), going into grade 8 at Northcliff High, Liam (centre), going into grade 6 at Risidale Primary School, and three-year-old Hannah enjoy some ice-creams, 10 January 2025, while getting school supplies at Burgers Brothers in Northcliff, ahead of the start of the new school year. Picture: Michel Bega/The CitizenMia Prinsloo, going into grade 2 at Laerskool Louw Geldenhuys, tries on her new school uniform and shoes, 10 January 2025, at Burgers Brothers in Northcliff, ahead of the start of the school year. Picture: Michel Bega/The CitizenSouth African President and President of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) Cyril Ramaphosa (C) cuts a large cake alongside other senior party members during the ANC’s 113th anniversary celebrations at a large open field in the Khayelitsha area of Cape Town on January 11, 2025. (Photo by Rodger Bosch / AFP)Supporters of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) hold party flags as they dance ahead of the ANC’s 113th anniversary celebrations at a large open field in the Khayelitsha area of Cape Town on January 11, 2025. (Photo by Rodger Bosch / AFP)People walk along the snow-covered Catherine Park after heavy snowfall in Tsarskoye Selo, outside St. Petersburg, Russia, 11 January 2025. Snow and subzero temperatures will dominate the weather in upcoming days, state meteo reports. Picture: EPA-EFE/ANATOLY MALTSEVActivists against mining participate in a tribute to three colleagues murdered in 2009 in Sensuntepeque, El Salvador, 11 January 2025. A group of residents from a rural area of El Salvador and members of a community organization held a symbolic blessing of the Lempa River, the longest river in Central America, and demanded the state’s protection in the face of imminent mining exploitation in the country, following the approval of a law for this purpose. Picture: EPA-EFE/Rodrigo SuraMembers of Taponidhi Shri Anand Akhara Panchayati pray ahead of the royal bath near the Sangam, the confluence of three of the holiest rivers in Hindu mythology – Ganga, Yamuna, and the mythical Saraswati – in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, India, 12 January 2025. Every 12 years, Hindu pilgrims gather for ritual baths at the river’s banks during the Maha Kumbh Mela festival. Picture: EPA-EFE/RAJAT GUPTAA boy looks on as he stands by the fence of a cemetery where families displaced by conflict are taking shelter in Deir el-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on January 12, 2025 amid the ongoing war in the Palestinian territory between Israel and Hamas. (Photo by Eyad BABA / AFP)Firefighters hike into the Palisades wildfire in Los Angeles, California, USA, 11 January 2025. Thousands of firefighting and emergency personnel are involved in response efforts, as multiple wildfires are continuing to burn across thousands of acres in Southern California, destroying thousands of homes and forcing people to evacuate areas throughout the Los Angeles area. Picture: EPA-EFE/ALLISON DINNERYoung participants, wearing traditional clothes, check their arrows during the Gladen Ageng, an archery contest in Surabaya on January 12, 2025. (Photo by Juni KRISWANTO / AFP)Fishermen unload their catch from a traditional boat at Kedonganan beach, Badung regency on the resort island of Bali on January 12, 2025. (Photo by SONNY TUMBELAKA / AFP)Mahouts ride elephants as they leave after a religious procession ahead of the Maha Kumbh Mela festival in Prayagraj on January 11, 2025. (Photo by Niharika KULKARNI / AFP)A member of the ‘Tornadoes’, a motorcycle stunt team belonging to Army Service Corps, rides a motorcycle through a display of flourescent light bulbs during the “Know Your Army Exhibition”, at the Field Marshal Manekshaw parade ground in Bengaluru on January 11, 2025. (Photo by Idrees MOHAMMED / AFP)River Radamus of the USA in action during the first run of the men’s Giant Slalom race at the FIS Alpine Skiing World Cup stop in Adelboden, Switzerland, 12 January 2025. Picture: EPA-EFE/JEAN-CHRISTOPHE BOTTResidents assess the damage to a road affected by multiple earthquakes near the town of Kabanna, on January 12, 2025. Evacuations and displacement are underway in Ethiopia after a series of earthquakes rocked the remote north of the Horn of Africa nation. The earthquakes have damaged houses and threatened to trigger a volcanic eruption of the previously dormant Mount Dofan, near Segento in the northeast Afar region. (Photo by Amanuel Sileshi / AFP)Bedatu Hirpa of Ethiopia reacts after winning the women’s race of the 2025 Dubai Marathon in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 12 January 2025. Picture: EPA-EFE/ALI HAIDERKing Togbe Yedy, one of the heads of the convent of the Temple of Mami Wata, poses on the beach outside the Temple in Ouidah, on January 11, 2025. Mami Wata, is a mermaid, water spirit, a Goddess in the folklore of parts of Western Africa, Eastern Africa, and Southern Africa. Historically, scholars trace her origins to early encounters between Europeans and West Africans in the 15th century, where Mami Wata developed from depictions of European mermaids. Mami Wata subsequently joined native pantheons of deities and spirits in parts of Africa. (Photo by MARCO LONGARI / AFP)Youths run barefoot in heavy rain beside tournament signage on day one of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on January 12, 2025. (Photo by WILLIAM WEST / AFP)
