Through the lens: The Citizen’s Picture Editors select the best news photographs from South Africa and around the world.
We bring you a visual snapshot of the day’s news events, featuring mourners paying tribute at Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate following the deadly attack near the city’s Pride parade, a devastating wildfire that has forced the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of people in France’s Gironde region, South Africa’s Zelme Daries competing in the women’s all-around gymnastics final at the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games, and other compelling images from around the world.
Two firefighter helmets and a fire hose are pictured on the ground as a forest fire rages in Saint-Jean-d’Illac, some 30km from Bordeaux, on July 26, 2026 as a wildfire has been ravaging the forest north of the Arcachon Basin (Gironde). The 220,000 people evacuated due to the massive wildfire in France’s Gironde region will not be able to return home “until the fire has been brought under control”, the local prefect said, also ruling out any normal workday on Monday in the affected towns, ahead of a possible worsening of the situation on Tuesday due to an expected rise in temperatures. (Photo by ROMAIN PERROCHEAU / AFP)
South Africa’s Pieter Coetze swims to win the Men’s 200m Backstroke Final during the swimming event at the Tollcross International Swimming Centre in Glasgow, on day three of the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland, on July 26, 2026. (Photo by Oli SCARFF / AFP)
An aerial view shows residential buildings partially submerged in floodwaters after heavy monsoon rains induced a rise in the water level of the River Ravi in Pakistan’s Muridke on July 27, 2026. (Photo by Arif ALI / AFP)
South Africa’s Erin Gallagher (L), Australia’s Alex Perkins and New Zealand’s Hazel Ouwehand celebrate during the Women’s 50m Butterfly Medal Ceremony at the swimming event at the Tollcross International Swimming Centre in Glasgow, on day two of the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland, on July 25, 2026. (Photo by Oli SCARFF / AFP)
This photograph shows a damaged interior view of the Agricultural Bank of Sudan after it was reportedly targeted by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in El-Obeid on July 27, 2026. The war between the army and the RSF — former allies before they fell out in a power struggle — erupted in April 2023 and has since killed over 200,000 people, aid workers estimate. It has also caused the world’s largest hunger and displacement crises. In El-Obeid alone, a city of about half a million people which the UN says has doubled in sized because of displacement, only a fraction have reliable access to food. (Photo by AFP)
Vusumuzi “Cat” Matlala, his wife Tsakani Matlala, Musa Kekana, Tiego Floyd Mabusela and Nthabiseng Zandile Nzama appear before the Gauteng South High Court in Johannesburg, 27 July 2026. They are standing trial on charges relating to the attempted murders of businessman Joe Sibanyoni and five others, media personality Tebogo Thobejane and three others, and musician DJ Vettys and two others. Picture: Nigel Sibanda/The Citizen
Yoga enthusiasts practice at a lotus pond in Gucun Park in Shanghai, east China, on July 26, 2026, to avoid the midday heat during the dog days of summer. (Photo by Yang Jianzheng / IC photo / Imaginechina via AFP)
Zelme Daries of Team South Africa competes in Floor Exercise during the Women’s All-Around Final on day three of the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games at The Arena on July 26, 2026 in Glasgow, Scotland. Daries finished 13th in the competition, with her older sister Naveen Daries taking 10th position. (Photo by Naomi Baker/Getty Images)
A woman walks past a large billboard pledging revenge against US President Donald Trump along Jomhouri Street in central Tehran on July 27, 2026. Iran’s foreign ministry said on July 27 that the US was not involved in recent talks with Oman over the administration of the strategic Strait of Hormuz. Traffic through the vital global shipping route has been under Iranian control since the outbreak of war with Israel and the United States on February 28. (Photo by AFP)
Youth and students dance at the plaza of the Arch of Triumph to mark the 73rd anniversary of the end of the Korean War in Pyongyang on July 27, 2026. (Photo by KIM Won Jin / AFP)
Pallas’s cat Azu, a species considered to be the world’s oldest living feline, is seen in her enclosure at Kobe Animal Kingdom in Kobe on July 27, 2026. Pallas’s cat Azu gave birth to five kittens on May 12. (Photo by PAUL MILLER / AFP)
People pay their respects in front of landmark Brandenburg Gate where flowers, condolence placards and a huge rainbow flag have been arranged on the ground, on July 27, 2026 in Berlin two days after a car ramming attack that killed one person and injured 29 near the Christopher Street Day (CSD) parade. German police announced on July 26, 2026 that they had shot and killed the chief suspect in what officials described as a deadly Islamist attack near the Berlin Pride parade the night prior, the latest ramming assault to hit the country. The attack late on July 25 — the first such incident to target the German capital’s LGBTQ community, killed one woman and wounded 29 others. (Photo by John MACDOUGALL / AFP)
Silver medallist South Africa’s Aimee Canny (L), gold medallist Scotland’s Angharad Evans and bronze medallist Australia’s Sienna Toohey celebrate during the medal ceremony for the Women’s 100m Breaststroke Final at the swimming event at the Tollcross International Swimming Centre in Glasgow, on day three of the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland, on July 26, 2026. (Photo by Oli SCARFF / AFP)
Imported iron ore is seen at the ore terminal of Qingdao Port in Shandong province, eastern China, on July 27, 2026. (Photo by CN-STR / AFP)
Kris Mihaylov of Team South Africa and Edward Mildred of Team England compete during the Men’s 200m Butterfly – Heats on day four of the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games at Tollcross International Swimming Centre on July 27, 2026 in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)
Tudor Pro Cycling Team’s French rider Julian Alaphilippe interacts with the crowd as he cycles up Rue Lepic on the ascent of the Butte de Montmartre during the 21st stage of the 113th edition of the Tour de France cycling race, 88,7 km starting and finishing in Paris, on July 26, 2026. (Photo by GEOFFROY VAN DER HASSELT / AFP)
Maximiliano Torres clears snow from the roof of a restaurant affected by a several storms near the Argentina-Chile border in Puente del Inca, Mendoza province, Argentina on July 26, 2026. Snowfall is forecasted for the next few days on the Andes mountains forcing the clousure of the international road between Argentina and Chile where dozens of trucks are stranded according to local authorities. (Photo by Andres LARROVERE / AFP)