24 hours in pictures, 14 January 2020
News in pictures
A Sikh devotee takes a dip in the holy sarovar (water tank) on the occasion of Sikh ‘Maghi Mela’ festival, following the Lohri or harvest festival, at the Golden Temple in Amritsar on January 14, 2020. Picture: AFP / NARINDER NANU
A selection of some of the best news photographs from South Africa and around the world.
- A man walks past an apartment building with its wall covered with the graffiti by Russia’s graffiti group Influx crew in the Moscow suburb on January 14, 2020. Picture: AFP / Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV
- Mourners, including President Cyril Ramaphosa, attend the funeral of Richard Maponya during his funeral service at the University of Johannesburg’s Soweto Campus, 14 January 2020. Maponya passed away on 6 January, a few days after celebrating his 99th birthday. Picture: GCIS
- Masked revellers take part in a carnival procession through the south-western North Macedonian village of Vevcani, on January 13, 2020. The Vevcani carnival is 1.400 years old and is held every year on the eve of the feast of Saint Basil (January 14), which also marks the beginning of the New Year according to the Julian calendar, observed by the Macedonian Orthodox Church. Picture: AFP / Robert ATANASOVSKI
- Participants wear masks and costumes on the first day of a carnival celebration marking the Orthodox St. Vasilij Day in the village of Vevcani, Republic of North Macedonia, 13 January 2020. The Vevcani Carnival is one of the most famous village festivals in the Balkans. It is believed that the custom is over 1,400 years old and based on old pagan beliefs. Essentially the carnival is the ritual of calling after Saint Basil the Great, which coincides with the Twelve Days of the Orthodox Christmas and the Orthodox New Year. The festivity is held on 13 and 14 January every year. People in Vevcanci believe that with their masks they banish evil spirits from their lives. The participants of the carnival are known as Vasilicari. The highlights of the carnival include a political satire where masked villagers act out current events. In 1993, the carnival and the village of Vevcani officially became a part of the World Federation of Carnival Cities. Picture: EPA-EFE/GEORGI LICOVSKI
- African penguins walk on rocks on Boulders beach in Simonstown, South Africa, 14 January 2020. The African penguin is listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) with a steady decline in their numbers over the past decade. BirdLife International report that recent data has revealed that the African penguin is undergoing a very rapid population decline, probably as a result of commercial fisheries and shifts in prey populations. Penguins are a major tourist attraction in Cape Town with Boulders Beach in Simonstown providing a unique nature experience for tourists who can walk a stretch of coastline and beach with African penguins and many other seabirds and marine life. The international body dedicated to seabird rehabilitation the Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds (SANCCOB) in Cape Town receives some revenue generated by soft toys and paraphernalia sold at the Boulders Beach shop. Tourism is being used as a tool to help the declining populations of African penguins. Experts urge it will take collective effort from government, NGO’s and private sector to help stop the decline of the African penguin population. Stricter policies for fisheries has also been highlighted as an important step in conserving the penguin’s food source. Picture: EPA-EFE/NIC BOTHMA
- Black toilet paper is on display at the international furniture fair IMM Cologne, in Cologne, Germany, 13 January 2020. The first interiors show of the year that runs from 13 to 19 January presents the trends that will be shaping the furniture and interiors sector. Picture: EPA-EFE/SASCHA STEINBACH
- Picture: Jacques Nelles
- An Afghan child standing on the snow poses for a photograph at an Internal Displaced Persons (IDP) camp in downtown Kabul, Afghanistan, 13 January 2020. According to the ministry of health, at least 18 people died due to the freezing weather last week in Afghanistan. Picture: EPA-EFE/HEDAYATULLAH AMID
- A costumed Bulgarian man, a so-called ‘Kuker’ mask dancer, performs a traditional dance during carnival celebrations in the village of Kosharevo, some 60 km from Sofia, Bulgaria, 13 January 2020. In ancient times, the old Thracians held the Kukeri Ritual Games in honor of god Dionysus – known as a god of wine and ecstasy. Even today these games are also known as the Dionysus’ games. Among the Kukeri (singular: kuker) dancers’ are many characters, including Dionysus and his satyrs as well as others from deep history such as the tsar, harachari, plyuvkachi, startzi, and pesyatzi. Picture: EPA-EFE/Borislav Troshev
- A man fetches water at a lake as ash and steam spews into the air from the Taal Volcano in Tanuan, Batangas, Philippines, 13 January 2020. Thousands of people have been ordered to evacuate as authorities in the Philippines raised the alert status of the Taal Volcano, which started spewing lava on 13 January. Ashfall has covered nearby communities and has also reached Manila, located 70 kilometers away. Picture: EPA-EFE/MARK R. CRISTINO
- Police Minister Bheki Cele. Picture: Tracy Lee Stark
- A Sikh devotee takes a dip in the holy sarovar (water tank) on the occasion of Sikh ‘Maghi Mela’ festival, following the Lohri or harvest festival, at the Golden Temple in Amritsar on January 14, 2020. Picture: AFP / NARINDER NANU
- A man and his child ride their motorcycle next to burning tires at the main highway during ongoing anti-government protests at Furn El Chebbak area in Beirut, Lebanon, 14 January 2020. After weeks of calm Lebanese anti-government protesters returned to the streets to demand immediate government formation. Picture: EPA-EFE/WAEL HAMZEH
For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.
For more news your way
Download our app and read this and other great stories on the move. Available for Android and iOS.