48 hours in pictures, 6 September 2026

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 weekend’s news events, featuring the Springboks taking on New Zealand in the third Test of rugby’s greatest rivalry at Johannesburg’s FNB Stadium, a moving tribute to police officers who lost their lives in the line of duty at the annual SAPS Commemoration Day in Pretoria, and the aftermath of severe weather in Gauteng after a tree fell onto a taxi in Johannesburg. These are some of the compelling images from around South Africa. General View during the Castle Double Malt Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry, 3rd Test match between South Africa and New Zealand at FNB Stadium on September 05, 2026 in Johannesburg, South Africa. (Photo by Floris van Schouwenburg/Gallo Images) Rugby supporters during the Castle Double Malt Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry, 3rd Test match between South Africa and New Zealand at FNB Stadium on September 05, 2026 in Johannesburg, South Africa. (Photo by Sydney Seshibedi/Gallo Images) A fan poses next to the iconic Freddie Mercury statue overlooking Lake Geneva during Montreux Freddie Day, marking the 80th anniversary of the birth of the Queen frontman, in Montreux, Switzerland, on September 5, 2026. (Photo by Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP) Palestinian children gather between the tents for an outdoor cartoon screening as part of the Little Wings Cinema mobile initiative, at a camp for people displaced by the war in Gaza City on September 5, 2026. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP) President Cyril Ramaphosa attends the annual South African Police Service (SAPS) Commemoration Day at the SAPS Memorial Site at Union Buildings, 6 September 2026, in Pretoria, South Africa. This year’s commemoration pays tribute to 12 SAPS members who lost their lives in the line of duty during the 12-month period from 01 April 2025 to 31 March 2026. Picture: Michel Bega/The Citizen A family member cries before laying a wreath at the annual South African Police Service (SAPS) Commemoration Day at the SAPS Memorial Site at Union Buildings, 6 September 2026, in Pretoria, South Africa. This year’s commemoration pays tribute to 12 SAPS members who lost their lives in the line of duty during the 12-month period from 01 April 2025 to 31 March 2026. Picture: Michel Bega/The Citizen Carrying mattresses an internally displaced (IDP) Yemen, one of many who fled their homes due to renewed clashes between Yemen’s Saudi-backed government forces and the country’s Houthi rebels, unload their belongings and set-up makeshift homes in the al-Kadah area of the Taiz Governorate, southwestern Yemen on September 6, 2026. Fighting between Yemeni government forces and Iran-backed Houthi rebels in southwest Yemen killed more than 140 combatants between midday September 5 and September 6, military sources said. Days-long clashes have erupted in Yemen over control of a gateway to the Red Sea in the deadliest fighting in the Arabian Peninsula country since a 2022 ceasefire between the two sides collapsed in July. (Photo by Ahmad AL-BASHA / AFP) AmaZulu King Misuzulu kaZwelithini looks on as he sits on a throne during the annual Umkhosi Womhlanga (Reed Dance in Zulu), a traditional ceremony celebrating Zulu culture, in Ingwavuma, KwaZulu Natal on September 5, 2026. Every September, thousands of women, known locally as maidens, descend on the royal palace in the southeast Kwazulu-Natal province, to present a tall reed to the Zulu King Misuzulu kaZwelithini, as a traditional rite of womanhood. (Photo by EMMANUEL CROSET / AFP) A skateboarder does a trick during the SKATE × FASHION street-style fashion show at Church Square on September 04, 2026 in Pretoria, South Africa. The fashion show is a unique fusion of skateboarding culture and high-energy street fashion. (Photo by Gallo Images/Alet Pretorius) This handout photo released on September 6, 2026 by the German Isar Aerospace company shows the launch of a rocket into orbit from Andoya in Norway on September 5, 2026. Germany’s Isar Aerospace launched a rocket into orbit from Norway on September 5, 2026 as Europe races to boost its ability to economically send satellites into space independently of the United States. Isar’s 28-metre (92-foot) long two-stage Spectrum rocket blasted off shortly after 2000 GMT from Andoya spaceport, north of the Arctic circle, the company said. (Photo by Handout / Isar Aerospace / AFP) Hare Krishna devotees perform the Abhishekam ritual, pouring milk and curd over the deities of Lord Krishna (left) and Radha Rani (right), during midnight celebrations marking the Hindu festival of Krishna Janmashtami at the Hare Krishna Temple in Durban, 5 September 2026. The festival, which commemorates the birth of Lord Krishna, featured devotional chanting, dancing, dramatic performances, spiritual discourses and offerings of flowers, fruit and food, followed by the distribution of prasadam (blessed vegetarian food) to devotees after the midnight prayers. Picture: Rajesh Jantilal A tree lies across a taxi in Langlaagte, Johannesburg, 4 September 2026, after strong winds and adverse weather sweep across parts of Gauteng. Picture: Shaun Holland/The Citizen Phillip Mazibuko, also known as “Bra Styles”, attends the 19th edition of FNB Art Joburg at the Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg, 4 September 2026. Running from 4 to 7 September, the fair brings together more than 100 artists, established galleries and emerging exhibitors across eight curated sectors, including the newly introduced ARC section dedicated to solo presentations. Picture: Jessica Nkuna Hindu devotees prepare to form a human pyramid to break a suspended curd-pot on the occasion of Krishna Janmashtami festival in Mumbai on September 5, 2026. (Photo by Indranil MUKHERJEE / AFP) A giant rainbow flag is placed on the square in front of the Cathedral in Magdeburg, eastern Germany, during state elections in Saxony-Anhalt on September 6, 2026. Polls opened at 8:00 am local time (0600 GMT) in Saxony-Anhalt, in east Germany, for a regional vote in which the far-right AfD is the clear frontrunner and could win its first state government. More than 1.7 million voters have until 6:00 pm (1600 GMT) to elect state lawmakers in a vote seen as a key test for Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s increasingly unpopular federal coalition. (Photo by Tobias SCHWARZ / AFP) People wearing a Venetian costume take part in a parade through the town’s streets during the 20th edition of Les Flaneries au Miroir, a Venetian-style costume gathering, in Martigues, south-eastern France, on September 6, 2026. (Photo by Thibaud MORITZ / AFP) A life-sized custom-built replica of Disney Pixar’s Lightning McQueen character from “Cars” movie is displayed in the pit lane ahead the Italian Formula One Grand Prix at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza circuit in Monza, northern Italy on September 6, 2026. (Photo by Andrej ISAKOVIC / AFP) Build One South Africa (BOSA) leader Mmusi Maimane delivers his address during the launch of the party’s 2026 Local Government Elections manifesto at Fairview Primary School in Johannesburg, 5 September 2026. Picture: Nigel Sibanda/The Citizen Chilean Sara Canales holds a sign with the picture of a disappeared friend, victim of Augusto Pinochet’s dictatorship (1973–1990), during a memorial march to the General Cemetery, in Santiago, on September 6, 2026. Next September 11 marks the 53rd aniversary of the military coup led by the late dictator Augusto Pinochet against then Chile’s President Salvador Allende, and whose iron-fisted government left thousands of victims. (Photo by Javier TORRES / AFP) MORE PICTURES: Extraordinary ocean images showcase nature’s beauty and fragility