48 hours in Pictures, 16 May 2021
Our Picture Editors select the best news photographs from South Africa and around the world to bring you a visual snapshot of the day's events.
An adult Brood X periodical cicada sheds its exoskeleton after spending 17 years underground in Washington, DC, USA, 14 May 2021 (issued 15 May 2021). After molting, the cicada’s body dries and hardens, then the 17-year-old bug looks for a mate. Trillions of Brood X cicadas are emerging in the Mid-Atlantic region of the US this year. EPA-EFE/JIM LO SCALZO
News in pictures
- Picture File: Smoke rises as the building collapses after an Israeli airstrike hits Al-Jalaa tower, which houses apartments and several media outlets, including The Associated Press and Al Jazeera, in Gaza City, 15 May 2021. In response to days of violent confrontations between Israeli security forces and Palestinians in Jerusalem, various Palestinian militants factions in Gaza launched rocket attacks since 10 May that killed at least nine Israelis to date. According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, at least 139 Palestinians, including 39 children, were killed in the recent retaliatory Israeli airstrikes. EPA-EFE/MOHAMMED SABER
- A Palestinian protester releases fireworks towards Israeli security forces amid clashes in Bethlehem, in the occupied West Bank on May 15, 2021, following a demonstration against the Israeli attack on Gaza as Palestinians commemorate the Nakba, the “catastrophe” of Israel’s creation in 1948. – Israel pummelled the Gaza Strip with air strikes, killing 10 members of an extended family and demolishing a building housing international media outlets, as Palestinian militants fired back barrages of rockets. The sharp uptick in violence, now in its sixth day, claimed more lives as clashes also swept the occupied West Bank. (Photo by HAZEM BADER / AFP)
- An adult Brood X periodical cicada sheds its exoskeleton after spending 17 years underground in Washington, DC, USA, 14 May 2021 (issued 15 May 2021). After molting, the cicada’s body dries and hardens, then the 17-year-old bug looks for a mate. Trillions of Brood X cicadas are emerging in the Mid-Atlantic region of the US this year. EPA-EFE/JIM LO SCALZO
- An adult Brood X periodical cicada dries its wings after shedding its exoskeleton in Washington, DC, USA, 15 May 2021. After molting, the cicada’s body dries and hardens, then the 17-year-old bug looks for a mate. Trillions of Brood X cicadas are emerging in the Mid-Atlantic region of the US this year. EPA-EFE/JIM LO SCALZO
- A maybug beetle (Melolontha) climbs on a plant
- People observe a Parasaurolophus sculpture displayed during the ?Jurassic Garden, a Prehistoric Adventure? exhibition at the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden in Miami, Florida, USA, 15 May 2021. Over 20 life-size dinosaurs surrounded by the Garden?s major collection of cycads, the living plants from the Prehistoric World, will be exposed from 15 to 18 May 2021. The Parasaurolophus is a genus of herbivorous dinosaur that lived about 76.5?73 million years ago. EPA-EFE/CRISTOBAL HERRERA-ULASHKEVICH
- A firefighter watches as the Palisades Fire calms down for the night in Topanga, California, USA, 15 May 2021. The fire had burned over 700 acres by nightfall, prompting evacuations. EPA-EFE/CHRISTIAN MONTERROSA
- Ahmed Hamed of Egypt bends before the shooting discipline of the Modern Pentathlon World Cup men’s individual final in Szekesfehervar, Hungary, 15 May 2021. EPA-EFE/Tamas Vasvari
- A helicopter flies over the Palisades Fire burning towards a hiking trail in Topanga, California, USA, 15 May 2021. The fire had burned over 700 acres by nightfall, prompting evacuations. EPA-EFE/Christian Monterrosa
- The flight VO-3770 of the Venezuelan state airline Conviasa standing on the airfield during the opening ceremony of the new regular flight on the route Moscow – Caracas at Vnukovo airport in Moscow, Russia, 15 May 2021. Venezuelan state-owned airline Conviasa has launched regular direct flights between Moscow and Caracas. EPA-EFE/YURI KOCHETKOV
- Italian rider Fabio Lottero in action during the third stage of the Andalucia Rally in Cadiz, Spain, 15 May 2021. The Andalucia Rally, stage of the FIA Cross Country Rallies World Cup, takes place from 12 to 16 May 2021. EPA-EFE/BRAIS LORENZO
- ‘Sangoma’ initiate Dipuo Banda sits alone in her teacher’s shack during her 3 day initiation ceremony with her teacher, family, friends and students in the Alexandra Township in Johannesburg, South Africa, 14 May 2021 (issued 15 May 2021). Sangomas, the Zulu term for Medicine Women or traditional healers, fulfill different social and political roles in the community, including divination, physical healing, emotional and spiritual illnesses, directing birth or death rituals and finding lost cattle. EPA-EFE/KIM LUDBROOK
- Tourists windsurf on Red Sea in the resort town of Dahab, 550kms from Cairo in the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt, 14 May 2021. Muslims around the world are celebrating Eid al-Fitr, the three day festival marking the end of the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan. Eid al-Fitr is one of the two major holidays in Islam. EPA-EFE/KHALED ELFIQI
- A trapeze artist with Gandeys Circus, Europe’s largest touring big top show, founded over 90 years ago, rehearses in the circus big top prior to reopening to the public on Monday, in Knutsford, northern England on May 15, 2021. – England will take the next step of reopening on Monday as planned, but the final stage, currently scheduled for June 21, could be in doubt after a rise in cases of the Indian coronavirus variant. (Photo by OLI SCARFF / AFP)
- Giant puppet ‘MOCCO’ designed by Noriyuki Sawa is seen during the “Rediscover Tohoku – MOCCO’s Journey from Tohoku to Tokyo” media tour at Takata Matsubara Tsunami Reconstruction Memorial Park in Rikuzentakata, Iwate Prefecture on May 15, 2021. (Photo by Philip FONG / AFP)
- This picture taken on May 15, 2021 shows a view of Bluewaters Island and the Ain Dubai (Dubai Eye) Ferris in the Gulf Emirate. (Photo by Giuseppe CACACE / AFP)
- A man drives his car during a lowriders cruise night in Van Nuys, California on May 15, 2021. – Lowriders, often customized, vintage cars with extravagant paint jobs, take their name from their ground-hugging, slow-and-low style. (Photo by Agustin PAULLIER / AFP)
- A man sits next the pond at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore on May 14, 2021, ahead of tightening restrictions over concerns of a rise in Covid-19 coronavirus cases. (Photo by Roslan Rahman / AFP)
- Moroccans gather on the coast a day after Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of Islamic holy fasting month of Ramada, in the capital Rabat on May 14, 2021. (Photo by FADEL SENNA / AFP)
- This picture shows Mount Fuji, Japan’s highest mountain at 3,776 meters (12,388 feet), seen from the window of a passenger aircraft en route to Kagoshima on May 14, 2021. (Photo by Charly TRIBALLEAU / AFP)
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