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 ferry engulfed in flames off Indonesia, damage to Soweto’s iconic Regina Mundi Catholic Church after strong winds ripped tiles from its roof, the wreckage of a tour bus following a deadly crash in Egypt, and firefighters responding to a building fire in Seoul, South Korea. These are some of the compelling images from South Africa and around the world.
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A crane lifts the wreckage of a tour bus following a crash on the desert highway in Giza on October 20, 2026. A large truck crashed into a tour bus west of the Egyptian capital on October 20, killing 13 people and injuring 34, state media reported. (Photo by Khaled KAMEL / AFP)
An aerial view shows smoke billowing from the KMP Batumandi ferry after it caught fire in waters off Merak in Cilegon, Banten province on October 20, 2026. (Photo by GANIS BUNGSU / AFP)
Women affected by breast cancer pose for a photo during the “A Brushstroke for Life” event in Guadalajara, Jalisco state, Mexico, on October 19, 2026. In the event, 100 women are adorned with body paint by artists. The activity has evolved into an artistic and therapeutic movement aimed at raising public awareness of breast cancer, the most common cancer among women worldwide. It is part of a World Health Organization (WHO) initiative to promote awareness, encourage early detection and highlight the importance of timely treatment. (Photo by ULISES RUIZ / AFP)
Firefighters work at the scene of a fire at a building in the Gangnam district in Seoul on October 20, 2026. (Photo by Philip FONG / AFP)
A pedestrian passes the Regina Mundi Catholic Church in Soweto, 20 October 2026, after strong gusts of wind ripped tiles off the roof of the iconic church on Monday at around 2pm. Nobody was injured in the incident. The landmark played a significant role in the anti-apartheid struggle, providing refuge to students during the 1976 Soweto uprising. Picture: Michel Bega/The Citizen
A Department of Water and Sanitation worker demonstrates a device the public can use to test water clarity during the river clean-up at Kaalspruit on October 20, 2026, in Clayville, South Africa. Deputy Minister of Water and Sanitation, Dr Jack Bloom, along with NGOs and community volunteers clean-up and officially open a set of litter traps on the Kaalspruit that were installed by Fresh NGO with the aim to stop pollution at its source by catching waste before it flows downstream into the Hennops River. (Photo by Gallo Images/Alet Pretorius)
Former police general, Ntshumbumbezeni Mulangi Mphego appears at Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court on October 20, 2026 in Johannesburg, South Africa. Mphego was arrested by the SAPS National Cold Case Unit for the unlawful possession of SAPS-issued ammunition, linked to the investigation into the murder of Lieutenant General Sindile Mfazi. (Photo by Gallo Images/Fani Mahuntsi)
Workers carry a stack of raw bananas in a basket at a fruit and vegetable market in Karachi on October 20, 2026. (Photo by Rizwan TABASSUM / AFP)
A horse-drawn carriage driver waits near Central Park for passengers, in New York City on October 19, 2026. The New York City Council is set to vote October 22 on a proposal that would bring an end the horse-drawn carriage industry in New York. (Photo by TIMOTHY A. CLARY / AFP)
Police personnel perform prayer to weapons as part of a ritual on the occasion of the Hindu festival of Dussehra in Ahmedabad on October 20, 2026. (Photo by Shammi MEHRA / AFP)
Cyril Ramaphosa (President of South Africa) during the ANC campaign trail in Daveyton on October 20, 2026 in Ekurhuleni, South Africa. The campaign trail forms part of political parties mobilizing supporters ahead of the upcoming local government elections. (Photo by Gallo Images)
Pedestrians use their mobile phones to photograph an altar inspired by monarch butterflies and the Xoloitzcuintle, or Mexican hairless dog, displayed on the facade of a hotel ahead of the Day of the Dead commemoration in Mexico City on October 19, 2026. (Photo by Yuri CORTEZ / AFP)
A demonstrator hurls a box of mineral water toward riot police as he and others protest on the second anniversary of Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto’s administration on the steps of the Regional Legislative Council building in Yogyakarta on October 20, 2026. (Photo by DEVI RAHMAN / AFP)
An Indonesian military personnel climbs up the Welcome Statue at the Hotel Indonesia Roundabout to bring down Greenpeace Indonesia activists who had scaled the structure for a protest in Jakarta on October 20, 2026. The demonstration on the second anniversary of President Prabowo Subianto’s inauguration urged the government to tackle the worsening climate crisis and the rising cost of living. (Photo by BAY ISMOYO / AFP)
Security personnel stand guard beside an effigy of a cockroach, due to be burnt alongside an effigy of mythic demon king Ravana (not pictured), on the occasion of the Hindu festival of Dussehra in New Delhi on October 20, 2026, amid youth-led Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) protests demanding the resignation of India’s Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged voter roll irregularities linked to the “special intensive revision” (SIR). (Photo by Arun SANKAR / AFP)
MMC Mlungisi Mabaso and IFP President, Velenkosini Hlabisa at the campaign trial at Kliptown on October 20, 2026 in Soweto, South Africa. The campaign trail forms part of the party’s mobilisation of supporters ahead of the upcoming local government elections. (Photo by Gallo Images/Sharon Seretlo)
Aerial view of the construction site of the Carcel Metropolitana para Sindicados, a metropolitan mega-jail, in the San Cristobal district of Medellin, Colombia, on October 19, 2026. (Photo by JAIME SALDARRIAGA / AFP)
Barber Ricky Jefferies speaks to the media a day after tackling a man who attacked Australian politician Helen Haines in the northern regional city of Wangaratta, about 250 kilometres north-east of Melbourne on October 20, 2026. Australian independent lawmaker Helen Haines underwent surgery overnight but remains in a critical condition after being struck deliberately by a car in an attack, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on October 20. Political violence is rare in Australia, but law enforcement have documented a steady rise in threats and abuse directed towards the nation’s elected officials in recent years. (Photo by William WEST / AFP)
Albanian police officers kick a tear gas canister during an anti-government demonstration in central Tirana on October 19, 2026. Violent demonstrations have rocked Tirana since October 13, 2026, with protesters calling for action over poor university conditions, high tuition fees and corruption. (Photo by Armend NIMANI / AFP)
The Waxing Gibbous moon is seen over Bogota on October 19, 2026. (Photo by LUIS ACOSTA / AFP)
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