Through the lens: The Citizen's Picture Editors select the best news photographs from South Africa and around the world.
A folklore actor performs during an opening of the festival ‘Moscow Maslenitsa’ near Red Square in Moscow, Russia, 21 February 2025. The Moscow Maslenitsa festival takes place at more than 30 venues in Moscow as part of the project ‘Winter in Moscow’. The festival runs from 21 February to 02 March 2025. Picture: EPA-EFE/YURI KOCHETKOV
A rider passes geese during WorldSBK Free Practice 2 during the 2025 FIM Superbike World Championship at Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit on Phillip Island, Victoria, Australia, 21 February 2025. Picture: EPA-EFE/JOEL CARRETTA protester throws a stone towards the police during an anti-government protest near the presidential palace in Jakarta, Indonesia, 21 February 2025. Thousands of protesters rallied across Indonesia under a social media slogan ‘Dark Indonesia’ against the government’s recent budget cuts, amid fears that they will negatively affect public administration and education. Picture: EPA-EFE/BAGUS INDAHONOSouth African President Cyril Ramaphosa attends the G20 Foreign Ministers meeting at Nasrec Expo Centre, Johannesburg, South Africa, 20 February 2025. The meeting of the G20 Foreign Ministers leads up to the The G20 Summit in November 2025 in Johannesburg that will bring together leaders from 55 nations and organizations. Picture: EPA-EFE/KIM LUDBROOKAn object, believed to the tank of the Falcon 9 rocket, that was found in Sedziny village, west-central Poland, 21 February 2025. Another unidentified object, likely a piece of SpaceX rocket debris, has been discovered in a forest in Poland’s western Wielkopolskie province, according to a spokesperson for the local fire service. This marks the fourth suspected piece of Falcon 9 debris that has fallen to the ground in Poland over the past few days. Picture: EPA-EFE/JAKUB KACZMARCZYKA model presents a creation from the Autumn/Winter 2025/2026 collection of the Simorra brand during the Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Madrid, at IFEMA convention center in Madrid, Spain, 21 February 2025. Picture: EPA-EFE/J.J. GUILLENA view of downtown Mariupol from the Russian Orthodox Church of the Holy Prince Alexander Nevsky in Mariupol, Donetsk region, 16 February 2025 (issued 21 February 2025). The city of Mariupol endured a nearly three-month siege during the early stages of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, eventually falling to Russia in May of the same year. The city, strategically located near the Sea of Azov, accounted for the largest Russian-speaking population in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region. The United Nations estimated that by mid 2022, around 90 percent of buildings in Mariupol had been damaged or destroyed, while around 350,000 people had fled the city. According to the former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, between February and April 2022 Mariupol was likely the deadliest place in Ukraine. Picture: EPA-EFE/STRINGERRacquel Chantel Smith, during the pre-trial hearing in the Joshlin Smith disappearance case at Western Cape High Court on February 21, 2025 in Cape Town, South Africa. The suspects are facing charges of kidnapping and trafficking in the case of the Grade 1 Diazville Primary School learner who was last seen on February 19th wearing a light blue T-shirt and light blue denim shorts. (Photo by Gallo Images/Brenton Geach)Gold medalists Riku Miura (front) and Ryuichi Kihara of Japan pose with their medals after the Pairs Free skate program of the ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships in Seoul, South Korea, 21 February 2025. Picture: EPA-EFE/JEON HEON-KYUNA charred bus at the main bus parking lot following an incident the previous night, in Bat Yam, Israel, 21 February 2025. According to the Israeli police, four explosive devices had been planted on four buses between Bat Yam and Holon on 20 February, with three of them exploding with no casualties nor injuries. Police were treating the incident as an act of terrorism. Picture: EPA-EFE/ABIR SULTANDancers perform during the G20 Foreign Ministers meeting at Nasrec Expo Centre, Johannesburg, South Africa, 20 February 2025. The meeting of the G20 Foreign Ministers leads up to the The G20 Summit in November 2025 in Johannesburg that will bring together leaders from 55 nations and organizations. Picture: EPA-EFE/KIM LUDBROOKTourists dressed in traditional Qing dynasty costumes pose for a photo in the Forbidden City in Beijing, China, 21 February 2025. The year 2025 marks the 100th anniversary of the Forbidden City’s establishment as a museum. Picture: EPA-EFE/WU HAOA Dutch F-36 fighter jet lands at the Lielvarde base, Latvia, 21 February 2025. Two Dutch F-35 fighter jets, which are currently deployed at the renovated Amari Air Base in Estonia as part of NATO’s Baltic Air Policing Mission, arrived at the National Armed Forces’ military base Lielvarde to demonstrate NATO’s presence in the region. Picture: EPA-EFE/VALDA KALNINAFrancois Rodgers, SA KZN Leader during a protest calling for the axing of eThekwini City Manager over failures to address the ongoing water crisis at Durban City Hall on February 21, 2025 in Durban, South Africa. This comes as residents across eThekwini are faced with constant water outages. (Photo by Gallo Images/Darren Stewart)A restorer from the Heritage Conservation and Restoration Department restores a cultural relic in the Forbidden City, during a visit organised for journalists in Beijing, China, 21 February 2025. The year 2025 marks the 100th anniversary of the Forbidden City’s establishment as a museum. Picture: EPA-EFE/WU HAOA Bangladeshi volunteer takes pictures with her phone during Language Martyrs’ Day and International Mother Language Day in Dhaka, Bangladesh, 21 February 2025. On 21 February every year, Bangladesh celebrates Language Movement Day, or Language Martyrs’ Day, which commemorates the Bengali Language Movement demonstrations in 1952. Picture: EPA-EFE/MONIRUL ALAMA squirrel searches for food at a park covered with snow during a sunny weather, in Moscow, Russia, 21 February 2025. Picture: EPA-EFE/MAXIM SHIPENKOV
