24 hours in pictures: Ekurhuleni sinkhole, French school protests and more

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 riot police guarding a burning barricade during student protests over school conditions in Toulouse, Democratic Alliance representatives unveiling a campaign poster at the long-standing Rondebult Road sinkhole in Ekurhuleni, and protesters in New Delhi climbing over police barricades during demonstrations calling for India’s chief election commissioner to resign. These are some of the compelling images from South Africa and around the world. (For best view, click on image for fullscreen) Storm waves created due to Tropical Storm Rachel crash into the boardwalk and homes in Long Beach, California, on October 11, 2026. Tropical Storm Rachel churning in the Pacific was expected to make a rare West coast landfall near the California and Mexico border early Sunday, according to the National Weather Service (NWS), packing potential for strong winds and heavy rains that could cause further destruction and coastal flooding. (Photo by David Swanson / AFP) Riot police officers stand guard near burning trash as protesters and high-school students gather outside the Lycee Toulouse Lautrec, in Toulouse on October 12, 2026. Since late September, pupils have barred the entrances to hundreds of schools, complaining of teacher absences, overloaded timetables, dilapidated classrooms and buildings ill-adapted to rising temperatures, among other grievances. (Photo by Ed JONES / AFP) Khathutshelo “Khathu” Rasilingwane speaks during the Democratic Alliance’s flighting of their new campaign poster, 12 October 2026, at the Rondebult Road sinkhole, in Ekurhuleni. The notorius sinkhole formed over three years ago and has been a bane for local residents causing traffic chaos on surrounding alternative routes, and has forced businesses in the area to close. Picture: Michel Bega/The Citizen International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva (front 2nd R) walks alongside Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnviraku (2nd row L), Thailand’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Ekniti Nitithanprapas (front R), and World Bank Group President Ajay Banga (back 2nd R) as they tour an exhibition during the opening day of the 2026 Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group (WBG) at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center (QSNCC) in Bangkok on October 12, 2026. Finance ministers and central bankers meet in Bangkok this week for the annual gatherings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, with the global economy buffeted between the US-Iran war’s energy shock, rising debt pressures and the AI boom. (Photo by Panumas Sanguanwong / AFP) An Airbus 330 refuelling aircraft is pictured during Spain’s National Day military parade in Madrid, on October 12, 2026. (Photo by JAVIER SORIANO / AFP) Indian warship INS Tarkash during the multinational Maritime Exercise IBSAMAR IX at Naval Base Simon’s Town on October 12, 2026 in Cape Town, South Africa. Exercise IBSAMAR IX is a joint trilateral naval engagement between the navies of South Africa, India and Brazil that aims to cultivate interoperability, strengthen long-standing maritime security partnerships and enhance joint operational capabilities to safeguard vital international shipping lanes and boost regional maritime economic stability. (Photo by Gallo Images/Brenton Geach) Boats sail past Vittoria Light lighthouse at the start of the 58th Barcolana Sailing Regatta in the Gulf of Trieste on October 11, 2026. (Photo by Alberto PIZZOLI / AFP) Protesters climb over police barricades during a rally on October 12, 2026 in New Delhi, India. The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) has called a mass protest to demand the resignation of India’s Chief Election Commissioner, Gyanesh Kumar, over what they say are alleged irregularities in electoral processes and the revision of voter rolls. Protests have spread to other parts of India, with opposition figures from the INDIA bloc also staging their own protests. (Photo by Ritesh Shukla/Getty Images) India’s opposition Congress party supporters scuffle with security personnel during a protest demanding the resignation of the country’s Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged voter roll irregularities linked to the “special intensive revision” (SIR), in New Delhi on October 12, 2026. Authorities deployed thousands of personnel across central Delhi for a third straight day on October 12, erecting heavy metal barricades and closing key metro stations before a march called by opposition leader Rahul Gandhi. (Photo by Sajjad HUSSAIN / AFP) A child and mother wearing face masks look on from a bridge amid thick haze from forest and land fires in the region in Palangkaraya, Central Kalimantan, on October 12, 2026. Toxic haze has shrouded parts of Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore for weeks as Jakarta struggles to contain fires that have scorched large tracts of Borneo and Sumatra, with the smoke drifting across the region. (Photo by REINA / AFP) The vehicle of migrants are vandalised by anti-migrant protesters during an action day in Salford, Manchester on 12 October, United Kingdom. (Photo by Loannis Alexopoulos/Anadolu via Getty Images) France’s President Emmanuel Macron sits inside a Citroen 2 CV car during the international Paris Motor Show at the Porte de Versailles in Paris on October 12, 2026. (Photo by Thibault Camus / POOL / AFP) A shopkeeper selling traditional clothes waits for customers at his roadside shop ahead of the Durga Puja festival in Kolkata on October 12, 2026. (Photo by Dibyangshu SARKAR / AFP) This photograph shows a view of the French Ministry for the Economy and Finances (Bercy), in Paris, on October 11, 2026. (Photo by Joel Saget / AFP) Chinese-made cars including BYD, BAIC, Jetour, Lynk & Co, and MG are seen in specialised vehicle racks in preparation for loading onto ships for export, at the Taicang Port area of Suzhou Port, in China’s eastern Jiangsu province on October 12, 2026. (Photo by CN-STR / AFP) An LA County Fire helicopter flies above crews fighting the Bike fire in the outskirts of Santa Clarita, California on October 11, 2026. Los Angeles County Fire is battling a fast moving wildfire that started on Sunday afternoon threatening homes in Santa Clarita, the third largest city in Los Angeles County. The LA County Sheriff’s office ordered residents to evacuate as the Bike fire grew to 100 acres in size in a very short time. (Photo by David Swanson / AFP) MORE PICTURES: Cosplayers, gaming and pop culture take centre stage at Comic Con Africa