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 a massive fire engulfing a chemical plant in Santiago, principal dancers rehearsing Cape Ballet Africa’s production of Swan Lake ahead of its Johannesburg run, and Ukrainian firefighters battling blazes after a deadly wave of Russian missile and drone strikes on Kyiv. These are some of the compelling images from around the world.
This aerial view shows a large fire at a chemical plant in the Quilicura commune of Santiago on August 4, 2026. (Photo by Javier TORRES / AFP)
Principal dancers Leanè Theunissen and Gabriel Ravenscroft perform in Cape Ballet Africa’s production of Swan Lake at The Teatro, at Montecasino, 5 August 2026. The classic love story, set to Tchaikovsky’s soaring score, is choreographed and directed by Elena Glurjidze and will run from 7 to 23 August. Picture: Michel Bega/The Citizen
Ukrainian firefighters work to put out a fire following massive Russian ballistic missile and drone strikes in Kyiv on August 5, 2026, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Russian missile and drone strikes killed at least 17 people and wounded dozens more in Kyiv and the surrounding region overnight, authorities said August 5, 2026, the latest in a wave of deadly attacks on Ukraine. Kyiv was unable to shoot down any of the missiles launched by Russia, whose intensifying missile attacks have prompted Kyiv to plead for more US-made Patriot interceptors. (Photo by Tetiana DZHAFAROVA / AFP)
People pack into a wave pool at an ocean park as they seek relief from the heat in Shenyang, northeastern China’s Liaoning province on August 4, 2026. (Photo by CN-STR / AFP)
Maintenance workers from Switzeland and locall crew changing the cables during the annual maintenance shutdown at Table Mountain Aerial Cableway Lower Station on August 05, 2026 in Cape Town, South Africa. The dedicated closure period is essential to maintaining the safe, reliable, and efficient operation of the Cableway. (Photo by Gallo Images/Brenton Geach)
Athletes compete in the men’s 5km open water swimming event during the LEN European Aquatics Championships, in the Seine River in Paris, on August 5, 2026. (Photo by JULIEN DE ROSA / AFP)
This photo shows boats in a marina left stranded on dry ground by the low water level of the Danube River near Apatin, Serbia, on August 4, 2026, as prolonged hot and dry weather continues to lower water levels across the country. Scientists say global warming is increasing droughts and causing weather emergencies to become more extreme and more frequent. Prolonged drought and hot weather across Europe have pushed water levels along the Danube river to record seasonal lows, reaching its lowest flow rate in the last 30 years. (Photo by Nenad MIHAJLOVIC / AFP)
A Two-tailed swallowtail (Papilio multicaudata) is seen perching on a flower at the Chapultepec Forest, in Mexico City, on August 4, 2026. (Photo by Yuri CORTEZ / AFP)
Officers receive year long service award at the medal ceremony for enforcement services staff at Sea Point Civic Centre on August 04, 2026 in Cape Town, South Africa. The ceremony recognised officers who have demonstrated exemplary professionalism, achievement, and dedication to the Directorate. (Photo by Gallo Images/Misha Jordaan)
A ragpicker pushes his cart as he carries salvaged recyclable materials past a mural along a street in New Delhi on August 5, 2026. (Photo by Sajjad HUSSAIN / AFP)
An aerial view taken on August 5, 2026 shows the ‘Werksschwimmbad’ swimming pool at Zeche Zollverein in Essen, western Germany. The swimming pool at the UNESCO World Heritage Site Zollverein was designed by Frankfurt-based artists Dirk Paschke and Daniel Milohnic in 2001 as part of the art project ‘Contemporary Art and Criticism’. (Photo by Ina FASSBENDER / AFP)
The words “One Westbury, One People” are painted on one of the flats in Westbury, Johannesburg, 4 August 2026, ahead of an address by ACDP Bishop Dulton Adams at Mabaleng Grounds following the fatal shooting of a 17-year-old. Adams met with community members to discuss concerns over drugs and gangsterism in the area. Picture: Jessica Nkuna
Leader of the Opposition in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature, Solly Msimanga, briefs the media at the Gauteng Legislature in Johannesburg on 5 August 2026. Msimanga criticised Speaker of the Gauteng Provincial Legislature Morakane Mosupyoe over the legislature’s reported R5.9 million expenditure on a trip to Venezuela. Picture: Lerato Thooe
Keira Lock, 17, poses for a portrait at the Artscape Theatre in Cape Town, on August 5, 2026 where she is competing in the 13th South African International Ballet Competition. (Photo by MARCO LONGARI / AFP)
A woman visits the 798 art district in Beijing on August 5, 2026. (Photo by ADEK BERRY / AFP)
A ’No Fishing’ sign is pictured in the dried up Falmer Pond in Falmer, East Sussex, south of London on August 5, 2026. England and Wales both experienced the “driest July on record”, the UK Met Office weather agency said on August 5, based on provisional figures. (Photo by GLYN KIRK / AFP)