24 hours in pictures, 29 May 2025
24 hours in pictures, 29 May 2025
Through the lens: The Citizen's Picture Editors select the best news photographs from South Africa and around the world.
Kelly Smith during sentencing proceedings in the Joshlin Smith kidnapping trial at the White City Multipurpose Centre on May 29, 2025 in Saldanha Bay, South Africa. The trio was found guilty of kidnapping and trafficking Joshlin Smith (6) in February last year. (Photo by Gallo Images/Brenton Geach)
Workers repair a damaged apartment building following a Ukrainian drone attack in Moscow, Russia, 29 May 2025. According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, 48 drones were intercepted and destroyed in seven regions of Russia. Picture: EPA-EFE/YURI KOCHETKOV An aerial view shows Indian farmers work in paddy fields at Watlab village, north of Srinagar, India on May 28, 2025. Picture: Matrix Images/ Danish Ismail Voters preparing to depart from Incheon International Airport cast early ballots for the 21st presidential election in Incheon, South Korea, May 29, 2025. Picture: Matrix Images/Lee Sang-hoon Members from the Scottish Greens joined campaigners outside the Scottish Parliament for a rally opposing Flamingo Land's resort plan on the banks of Loch Lomond on May 29, 2025 in Edinburgh, Scotland. (Photo by Jeff) Russian Communist Party members attend a ceremony for the dispatch of a humanitarian convoy to support Russian military personnel and local residents in the Kursk, Donetsk, and Luhansk regions, organized by the Russian Communist Party and the All-Russian Headquarters of the Protest Movement, in Moscow, Russia, 29 May 2025. The Russian Communist Party said that this is the 138th humanitarian convoy of its kind by the party and their supporters, dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the Great Victory and the International Day for the Protection of Children. The convoy contains vehicles, food, medicines, equipment, and special-purpose military gear. Picture: EPA-EFE/SERGEI ILNITSKY Paul Hannam Quad Bike Stunt Show at The Royal Bath And West Show, on May 29, 2025 in Shepton Mallet, England. The historic show is one of the oldest surviving agricultural shows in England, taking place over four days. The first show took place in Taunton in 1852 and then toured the country for more than 100 years before a permanent home was found at Shepton Mallet in 1965. It gained its Royal Patronage in 1977. (Photo by) PETA animal rights activists stage a performance showing the skinning of a human as part of an anti-leather protest by the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) outside a Coach retail store in London, Britain, 29 May 2025. PETA activists protested against the global fashion house Coach's use of leather in their retail products, saying the leather industry contributes to climate catastrophe, land devastation, deforestation, pollution and loss of biodiversity. Picture: EPA-EFE/ANDY RAIN Osman Gazi vessel, Turkiye's first Floating Production Unit (FPU), passes through the Bosphorus to mark the 572nd anniversary of the Conquest of Istanbul, at Ahirkapi Anchorage Area in Istanbul, Turkiye on May 29, 2025. (Photo by Hakan Akgun/Anadolu via Getty Images) A general view, with the village of Kippel in the foreground, after a massive avalanche triggered by the collapse of the Birch Glacier nearly destroyed the village of Blatten, Switzerland, 29 May 2025. One person went missing, and numerous houses were destroyed after a large part of Blatten, which had been evacuated earlier, was buried under masses of ice, mud, and rock. Between 19 and 28 May, several million cubic meters of rock fell from the Kleines Nesthorn mountain above Blatten, forming a nine-million-tonne debris cone on the Birch Glacier, which ultimately collapsed on 28 May 2025. Picture: EPA-EFE/JEAN-CHRISTOPHE BOTT Andriy Shevchenko poses for photos and signs autographs for participants at the presentation of the Golden Balls installation, presented by trophy holders Andriy Shevchenko, Igor Byelanov and Oleg Blokhin, in Lviv, Ukraine, May 29, 2025. For the first time, Ukrainians will be able to see 3 legendary awards together live and freely. The goal is to inspire young Ukrainians to play football and show that nothing is impossible if you are really passionate about your job. That is why the slogan of the tour is 'The next golden ball is yours'. During the event, Andriy Shevchenko spoke about the idea, goal and value of the project, and Igor Byelanov and Oleg Blokhin – why this project is important to them. A charity series of goods was created especially for the event. All proceeds from sales will be directed to the UAF's children's tournament 'School Ball'. After the presentation, an autograph session with three football legends took place.The Golden Ball is an award for the best football player in the world. (Photo by Olena Znak/Anadolu via Getty Images) People protesting due to poor service delivery whilst MMC Ald Jongizizwe Dlabathi delivers City Of Ekurhuleni budget speech at OR Tambo Government Precinct on May 29, 2025 in Johannesburg, South Africa.The speech outlined key allocations for infrastructure development, service delivery improvements, and initiatives aimed at boosting local economic growth. (Photo by Gallo Images/OJ Koloti) People purchase animals to sacrifice ahead of Eid al-Adha at a market in Waraq district, Giza, Egypt on May 29, 2025. Eid al-Adha, one of the holiest Muslim holidays, marks the end of the yearly Muslim Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca. During Eid al-Adha, Muslims slaughter sacrificial animals and split the meat into three parts: for the family, for relatives and friends, and for the poor and needy. Picture: Matrix Images / Khaled Elfiqi A woman takes part in a protest against Germany organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) outside the German Consulate in Cape Town, South Africa on May 28, 2025. The protest coincided with the first official Genocide Remembrance Day on 28 May in honour of the victims of the 1904-1908 Nama-Herero Genocide committed by German colonial forces in Namibia. The PSC acknowledged the suffering of the Herero and Nama peoples and called for justice in Gaza. The protest included a performance where animal bones were thrown over a sign of Gaza with the group calling for an end to the Genocide. Picture: Matrix Images / Nic Bothma River Park community members forcefully ask a City Power employee to reconnect them after he disconnected them during the cut-off operation in Riverpark, Alexandra in Johannesburg, 29 May 2025, where illegal electricity connections continue to pose significant risks to infrastructure, public safety, and revenue collection. Picture: Nigel Sibanda / The Citizen
MORE PICTURES: Pro-Palestine group demonstrate at Glencore
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Daily Maverick
9 hours ago
- Daily Maverick
Russia and Ukraine exchange prisoners of war
Prisoner exchange follows Istanbul talks on June 2 Emotional reunions as POWs return home Kyiv and Moscow remain far apart on ending the war By Aleksandar Vasovic and Vladyslav Smilianets lt of direct talks between the two sides in Istanbul on June 2 that resulted in an agreement to exchange at least 1,200 POWs on each side and to repatriate thousands of bodies of those killed in Russia's war in Ukraine. The return of POWs and the repatriation of the bodies of the dead is one of the few things the two sides have managed to agree on as broader negotiations have failed to get close to ending the war, now in its fourth year. Fighting has raged on, with Russia saying on Monday its forces had taken control of more territory in Ukraine's east-central region of Dnipropetrovsk and Kyiv saying Moscow had launched its largest drone attack of the war. Officials in Kyiv said some of the Ukrainian prisoners who came home on Monday had been in Russian captivity since the beginning of the war. At a rendezvous point for the returning Ukrainian prisoners, soon after they crossed back into northern Ukraine, an official handed one of the freed men a cellphone so that he could call his mother, a video released by Ukrainian authorities showed. 'Hi mum, I've arrived, I'm home!' the soldier shouted into the receiver, struggling to catch his breath because he was overcome by emotion. The released Ukrainian men were later taken by bus to a hospital in northern Ukraine where they were to have medical checks and be given showers, food and care packages including mobile phones and shoes. Jubilation was tinged with sadness because outside the hospital were crowds of people, mostly women, looking for relatives who went missing while fighting for Ukraine. The women held up pictures of the missing men in the hope that one of the returning POWs would recognised them and share details about what happened to them. Some hoped their loved ones would be among those released. Oksana Kupriyenko, 52, was holding up an image of her son, Denys, who went missing in September 2024. 'Tomorrow is my birthday and I was hoping God will give me a gift and return my son to me,' she said, through tears. PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSISTANCE Neither side said how many prisoners had been swapped on Monday, but the Russian Defence Ministry said in its own statement that the same number of military personnel had been exchanged on each side. Kremlin aide Vladimir Medinsky said at the weekend that a first list of 640 POWs had been handed to Ukraine. The Russian military said its returned servicemen were now in Belarus, a close Russian ally, where they were receiving psychological and medical assistance before being transferred to Russia for further care. Footage broadcast by Russia's RIA state news agency showed a group of freed Russian soldiers on board a coach raising their hands in the air and shouting: 'Hurrah we're home.' The same group was shown holding a Russian flag and chanting 'Russia! Russia!' before boarding the coach. 'It is very difficult to convey what I'm feeling inside now. But I am very happy, proud and grateful to everyone who took part in this process, in the exchange and bringing us home,' said one freed Russian soldier. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said his country had received a first group of prisoners from Russia and that it would take several days to complete the swap. Both sides say the intention for this round of prisoner swaps is also to hand over people who are gravely ill or severely injured. The people seen being handed over so far on Monday appeared to be fit and well. 'Today's exchange has begun. It will be done in several stages in the coming days,' Zelenskiy said on the Telegram app. 'The process is quite complex, with many sensitive details, and negotiations continue virtually every day. We count on the full implementation of the humanitarian agreements reached during the meeting in Istanbul. We are doing everything possible to bring back every single person.'
eNCA
12 hours ago
- eNCA
Russia, Ukraine swap first prisoners in large-scale exchange
Russia and Ukraine on Monday swapped a first group of captured soldiers -- part of an agreement reached during peace talks that appeared to be in doubt over the weekend. The deal to exchange prisoners of war and repatriate the bodies of killed fighters was the only concrete agreement reached at the talks, which have failed to lead to a breakthrough towards ending the three-year war. Progress has stalled. Russia has issued tough conditions for halting its invasion and has repeatedly rejected calls for an unconditional ceasefire. "Today an exchange began, which will continue in several stages over the coming days," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on social media. He posted images of soldiers draped in Ukrainian flags, cheering and hugging. "Among those we are bringing back now are the wounded, the severely wounded, and those under the age of 25," he added. Russia's defence ministry also confirmed the swap was part of "agreements reached on 2 June in Istanbul". Neither side said how many prisoners were released. After the talks in Istanbul, both said it would involve more than 1,000 captured soldiers, making it the largest exchange of the three-year war. The swap itself had appeared in jeopardy over the weekend, when Moscow and Kyiv traded accusations of delaying and thwarting the planned exchange. Zelensky accused Russia on Sunday of playing a "dirty, political game" and of not sticking to the agreed parameters -- to free all captured soldiers that are sick, wounded or under the age of 25. Russia said Kyiv was refusing to take back bodies of dead soldiers, 1,200 of which it said were waiting in refrigerated trucks near the border. - Talks 'pointless' - Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine triggered the biggest European conflict since World War II, forced millions to flee their homes and decimated much of eastern and southern Ukraine. Pressed by US President Donald Trump to end the conflict, the two sides have opened direct negotiations for the first time in more than three years in search of an agreement. But they appear as far apart as ever from an agreement. In Istanbul on June 2, Russia demanded Ukraine withdraw its forces from areas still under its control, recognise Moscow's annexation of five Ukrainian regions and renounce all Western military support. Kyiv is seeking a full ceasefire and a summit between Zelensky, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Trump to try to break the impasse. While welcoming POW exchanges, Zelensky said last week said it was "pointless" to hold further talks with the current Russian delegation -- who he previously dismissed as "empty heads" -- since they could not agree to a ceasefire. Meanwhile fighting on the front lines and in the skies has intensified. Russia said on Sunday its troops had crossed into Ukraine's industrial Dnipropetrovsk region for the first time in its campaign -- a potentially key advance given that Moscow has not put forward a territorial claim to that region. war And Moscow launched a record 479 drones at Ukraine overnight, Kyiv's air force said on Monday. The Ukrainian mayor of the western city of Rivne, Oleksandr Tretyak, called it "the largest attack" on the region since the start of the war. Russia said it had targeted an airfield near the village of Dubno in the Rivne region. It called the attack "one of the retaliatory strikes" for a brazen drone attack by Ukraine on June 1 against Russian military jets stationed at air bases thousands of kilometres (miles) behind the front line. Kyiv also claimed responsibility for an attack on a Russian electronics factory overnight, saying it manufactured parts for drones.
Daily Maverick
14 hours ago
- Daily Maverick
Kremlin says Russia is still ready for prisoner swap with Ukraine despite problems
The Kremlin said on Monday that Russia was still ready to honour agreements with Ukraine on a new prisoner of war exchange and on the repatriation of dead soldiers despite what it said was Kyiv's failure to so far honour its side of the bargain. Russia accused Ukraine on Saturday of indefinitely postponing the exchanges, something Kyiv denied. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Monday repeated Russian accusations against Ukraine. 'We have seen and heard a hundred different excuses, justifications and so on, but it is difficult to view them as credible,' Peskov told reporters. 'The Russian side remains ready to implement the agreements reached in Istanbul.' The exchanges were agreed to during a second round of direct peace talks in Istanbul on June 2 and are meant to see a new prisoner of war swap of at least 1,200 POWs – focusing on the youngest and most severely wounded – as well as the repatriation of thousands of bodies of those killed in the war. The return of prisoners of war and the return of the bodies of the dead is one of the few things the two sides had been able to agree on, even as their broader negotiations have failed to get close to ending the war, now in its fourth year. Kremlin aide Vladimir Medinsky said on Saturday that the Russian side had shown up at the agreed exchange point with the bodies of 1,212 Ukrainian dead soldiers only to find nobody from Ukraine to take them. He said a first list of 640 POWs had also been handed to Ukraine in order to begin the exchange. Ukrainian officials rejected those accusations and President Volodymyr Zelenskiy vowed on Sunday to press on with prisoner exchanges despite tensions around the issue. He said though that Ukraine had not yet received a full list of prisoners to be released and accused Moscow of 'trying to play some kind of dirty political and information game.'
