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 circus performers from The Royal Countess Zingara supporting the 67 Blankets for Nelson Mandela Day Secret Scarves Shh… campaign by knitting scarves for nurses at the Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital, firefighters battling a fast-moving wildfire on the slopes of Table Mountain in Cape Town, and models showcasing the latest creations by South African designers during Braam Fashion Week 2026 in Johannesburg. These are some of the compelling images from around the world.
A Virgin Mary statue remains untouched in front of a burned out residential home in the Balboa neighborhood of Spokane, Washington, on August 2, 2026. Fast-moving fires left a trail of destruction in the northwestern US city of Spokane on Sunday, with officials reporting hundreds of structures reduced to cinders.
Thousands of people were ordered to evacuate their homes Saturday and overnight into Sunday, as three separate fires broke out in and around the city in the east of Washington state. (Photo by Erick Doxey / AFP)
Inspired by the Secret Scarves Shh… campaign, a nationwide winter warmth project by 67 Blankets for Nelson Mandela Day, the cast and crew of The Royal Countess Zingara picked up their knitting needles to make warm scarves for nurses at the Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital, one of the charities The Royal Countess Zingara proudly supports. Aerial artist Jenny le Roux poses upside down, 30 July 2026, with some of the scarves, adding a little circus flair. The Royal Countess Zingara is currently at Melrose Arch until December 2026. Picture: Michel Bega/The Citizen
Neutral Athlete artistic swimmer Vasilina Khandoshka competes in the women’s solo free artistic swimming final event during the LEN European Aquatics Championships, at the Olympic Aquatics Centre in Saint-Denis, northeastern suburbs of Paris, on August 3, 2026. (Photo by JULIEN DE ROSA / AFP)
A fire rages on the side of Table Mountain in Cape Town on August 2, 2026. Cape Town firefighters are battling a raging blaze that is moving towards the peak of Table Mountain. (Photo by GIANLUIGI GUERCIA / AFP)
Visitors take photos as they walk through the installation “Infinity Mirrored Room – The Hope of the Polka Dots Buried in Infinity Will Eternally Cover the Universe” during the last day of the exhibition “Yayoi Kusama” by Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama at the Museum Ludwig in Cologne, western Germany, on August 2, 2026. For the Museum Ludwig in Cologne, the Kusama exhibition, that run from March 14 to August 2, 2026, has broken a record with over 470,000 visitors. The Museum Ludwig had organized this major exhibition of the Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama on the occasion of its 50th anniversary. The exhibition took visitors on a journey through Kusama’s entire oeuvre with over 300 works, from her first drawings from around 1934 to the present day. Yayoi Kusama was born on March 22, 1929 and is now aged 97. (Photo by Ina FASSBENDER / AFP)
Vusumuzi “Cat” Matlala, his wife Tsakani Matlala, Musa Kekana, Tiego Floyd Mabusela and Nthabiseng Zandile Nzama appear before the Gauteng Division of the High Court in Johannesburg on 3 August 2026. The five accused 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: Lerato Thooe
Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Mr David Maynier wave with the overwintering team during a send-off of the SA Agulhas II to Marion Island at V&A Waterfront on August 03, 2026 in Cape Town, South Africa. The overwintering team seeks to advance South Africa’s internationally respected scientific and research work in the Southern Ocean. (Photo by Gallo Images/Misha Jordaan)
A devotee dressed as the Hindu goddess Kali takes part in a procession during the Bonalu Festival at the Sri Ujjaini Mahakali Temple in Secunderabad on August 3, 2026. (Photo by Noah SEELAM / AFP)
This aerial view shows a hot-air balloon during the International Cantoya Festival in Patzcuaro, Michoacan State, Mexico on August 1, 2026. (Photo by Enrique Castro / AFP)
Models showcase creations by South African designers on the runway during Braam Fashion Week 2026 in Johannesburg, South Africa, on August 1, 2026. The event highlights local craftsmanship, contemporary style, and creative vision, serving as a platform to empower the next generation of fashion talent and promote the country’s growing design industry. (Photo by Ihsaan Haffejee/Anadolu via Getty Images)
A man walks along a destroyed road in Uki, Kumamoto prefecture on August 3, 2026, following the July 28 earthquake. (Photo by JIJI PRESS / AFP)
This aerial photograph shows Muslim devotees gathering between the shrines of Imam Hussein and Imam Abu Al-Fadl Al-Abbas in Iraq’s central holy city of Karbala on August 2, 2026, during the Arbaeen pilgrimage, which commemorates 40 days of mourning after the martyrdom in the Battle of Karbala in 680 CE of Imam Hussein, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad. The Arbaeen marks one of the most significant events in the Shia Muslim calendar, during which pilgrims, many from Iran, flock to Iraq to visit the holy shrines. (Photo by Karar Jabbar / AFP)
An Iranian woman walks past an anti-US billboard at Enghelab Square in central Tehran on August 3, 2026. Iran denied any negotiations were taking place with the United States after the US president said new talks would begin on August 3 in an effort to end their war, now in its sixth month. Washington and Tehran have been at war since February 28, when the US and Israel launched surprise strikes against Iran, though months of on-off diplomacy have led to periods of relative calm. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP)
Executive Mayor of the City of Cape Town Geordin Hill-Lewis makes a major announcement regarding more policing powers for Metro Police at LEAP Base in Bishop Lavis on August 03, 2026 in Cape Town, South Africa. This follows extensive engagements with the Acting Police Minister and predecessors, the City of Cape Town has onboarded senior counsel to accelerate crime investigation powers for Metro Police. (Photo by Gallo Images/ER Lombard)
A controlled underwater explosion is pictured on the riverbed of the Danube River in Izvoarele village, on August 3, 2026. The blast aimed at deepening the channel and diverting a higher volume of water toward the cooling systems of the Cernavoda Nuclear Power Plant. Local authorities and plant engineers authorized the blasting operations to counteract critically low water levels caused by a prolonged summer heatwave, ensuring the continuous and safe operation of the facility’s reactors. (Photo by Daniel MIHAILESCU / AFP)
E-foil instructor and co-founder of “Foil in Paris” Nicolas Percocet rides on the Seine River, with the La Defense business district in the background, in Paris on August 2, 2026. (Photo by Simon WOHLFAHRT / AFP)