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 the aftermath of a powerful earthquake in southwestern Japan that left part of a bridge collapsed in Kumamoto Prefecture, members of the South African Municipal Workers’ Union (SAMWU) marching through Johannesburg over unpaid salaries and wage disputes, and demonstrators gathering outside Peru’s Palace of Justice ahead of President-elect Keiko Fujimori’s inauguration to protest alleged state crimes and the country’s political direction. These are some of the compelling images from around the world.
Residents walk by debris and a damaged home a day after a tornado ripped through Menasha, Wisconsin, on July 28, 2026. (Photo by Octavio JONES / AFP)
Cars drive on the partially colapsed Ueyanagi Bridge in Yatsushiro, Kumamoto Prefecture, on July 29, 2026, after an earthquake struck southwestern Japan the previous day. (Photo by JIJI PRESS / AFP)
A unionist wrapped in a Venezuelan national flag, signs another Venezuelan national flag during a protest march in demand of elections in Caracas on July 28, 2026. (Photo by Federico PARRA / AFP)
People hold flares during a memorial event marking the fourth anniversary of the deaths of dozens of Ukrainian soldiers in the July 29, 2022, bombardment of the Russian-controlled prison in Olenivka, in the eastern Donetsk region, in front of St. Michael’s Golden-Domed Cathedral in Kyiv on July 28, 2026, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Genya SAVILOV / AFP)
Aimee Canny of Team South Africa competes during the Women’s 200m Breaststroke – Heats on day six of the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games at Tollcross International Swimming Centre on July 29, 2026 in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Adam Pretty/Getty Images)
A demonstrator dressed as a nun walks in front of police officers during a rally of victims of crimes allegedly committed by the Peruvian state and against Peru’s president-elect Keiko Fujimori outside the Palace of Justice in Lima on July 28, 2026. Fujimori will take office on July 28, 2026, vowing to tackle the wave of crime sweeping the Andean nation. Fujimori won the June 7 presidential runoff by fewer than 50,000 votes, after losing the past three runoffs. (Photo by Anthony Nino de Guzman / AFP)
Israeli settlers try to extinguish a wildfire near the Ein Samiya spring in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on July 29, 2026. (Photo by ilia YEFIMOVICH / AFP)
Ngizwe Mchunu and his followers wait outside Hillbrow police station in Johannesburg yesterday to meet police over drugs and illegal immigration. Picture: Nigel Sibanda
This aerial photo shows people cooling off at a water park amid hot weather in Nanjing, in eastern China’s Jiangsu province on July 28, 2026. (Photo by CN-STR / AFP)
Alan Winde, Premier of the Western Cape, Acting National Commissioner of the South African Police Service (SAPS) Lieutenant General Puleng Dimpane, and newly appointed Western Cape Provincial Commissioner Lieutenant General Sizakhele William Dyantyi attend the announcement of the appointment of the new Provincial Commissioner at SAPS Provincial Headquarters on July 29, 2026, in Cape Town, South Africa. The appointment forms part of ongoing efforts to strengthen leadership within the South African Police Service as part of its organisational renewal programme, reinforcing the organisation’s commitment to professional, ethical, accountable and effective policing in support of the SAPS Reset Agenda. (Photo by Gallo Images/Brenton Geach)
Guests at the official opening of the Gautrain Sandton Station Smart Driver’s Licensing Centre (DLTC) on July 29, 2026 in Sandton, South Africa. The Smart Licensing Centre offers a comprehensive range of licensing services, including vehicle licence renewals, driving licence applications, driving licence renewals and other related services. (Photo by Gallo Images/Luba Lesolle)
JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA – JULY 29: Members of the South African Municipal Workers’ Union (SAMWU) march to the offices of the Gauteng Premier over unpaid salaries on July 29, 2026 in Johannesburg, South Africa. The union protested wage disputes, financial interference, and delayed salary agreements. (Photo by Gallo Images/Fani Mahuntsi)
South African actor John Kani, Nelson Mandela Foundation Chairperson Naledi Pandor, former Constitutional Court Justice Albie Sachs, and Presidential Shirt owners Geoff Mabote and Rob Sim cut the ribbon during the opening of the new Presidential Shirt Emporium at Mandela Square in Sandton, Johannesburg, July 29, 2026. Located just steps from the iconic Nelson Mandela statue, the new store was officially launched with reflections by John Kani on “what it means to dress like a free man,” accompanied by performances from musicians Vusi Mahlasela and Ernie Smith. Picture: Nigel Sibanda/The Citizen
A devotee prays as he visits Shwedagon Pagoda during the full moon day of Waso, a sacred day in the Myanmar lunar calendar that marks the beginning of Buddhist Lent, in Yangon on July 29, 2026. (Photo by Sai Aung MAIN / AFP)
Migrants aboard a smugglers’ boat attempt to cross the English Channel off the beach of Gravelines, northern France, on July 29, 2026. (Photo by Francois LO PRESTI / AFP)
Athletes compete in the men’s 10,000 final during the athletics event at the Scotstoun Stadium in Glasgow, on day five of the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland, on July 28, 2026. (Photo by Ben STANSALL / AFP)