24 hours in pictures, 2 June 2025
Through the lens: The Citizen's Picture Editors select the best news photographs from South Africa and around the world.
Sarafina cast at the opening night of Sarafina The Musical at Joburg Theatre on June 01, 2025 in Johannesburg, South Africa. Picture: Gallo Images
The Blue Bridge, a pedestrian bridge in Craighall Park that crosses the Braamfontein Spruit, is seen, 2 June 2025, still damaged after heavy rains and floods damaged the bridge on 5 March, and again on 26 March. Despite being cordoned off the bridge is still in use daily. The community has launched a petition to put pressure on authorities, including the City of Johannesburg and Johannesburg Roads Agency, to fix the bridge. Picture: Michel Bega/The Citizen A woman wears long clothing to protect her from the heat while riding along a street in Hanoi, Vietnam, 02 June 2025. Northern and central Vietnam have experienced a widespread heatwave, with the highest temperatures up to 40 degrees Celcius. Picture: EPA-EFE/LUONG THAI LINH Muslim worshippers gather to pray around the Kaaba, Islam's holiest shrine, at the Grand Mosque complex in the holy city of Mecca on June 1, 2025 ahead of the annual Hajj pilgrimage. (Photo by HAZEM BADER / AFP) Boiketlong informal settlement artist Molatodi Mpahane showscases his work along Waterdaal Road in Sebokeng, north of Johannesburg, 2 June 2025. He has been showcasing his artworks since 2013. He makes his art in two days. Picture: Nigel Sibanda/The Citizen Paris Saint-Germain's players light smoke flares as they parade on a bus on the Champs-Elysees avenue in Paris on June 1, 2025, a day after PSG won the 2025 UEFA Champions League final football match against Inter Milan in Munich. (Photo by Thibaud MORITZ / AFP) A labourer struggles to pull two sheep down slippery stone steps for a wash ahead of the Muslim holy festival Eid al-Adha in Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian Kashmir, 02 June 2025. Eid al-Adha is one of the holiest Muslim holidays, marking the annual Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca. Picture: EPA-EFE/FAROOQ KHAN Smoke rises from the crater of the Etna volcano as it erupts, on Mount Etna near Catania on June 2, 2025. A huge plume of ash, gas and rock spewed forth on June 2, 2025, from Italy's Mount Etna, Europe's largest active volcano, after a portion of its southeastern crater likely collapsed, authorities said. (Photo by Giuseppe Distefano / AFP) Cuirassiers, the honor guard of the president of the Italian republic, take position on the steps of the Altar of the Fatherland for the wreath-laying ceremony in honor of the Unknown Soldier during the celebrations for the Republic Day, in Rome, Italy, 02 June 2025. Picture: EPA-EFE/ANGELO CARCONI Fish float on the surface of the water during during a mass die-off at the Ibn Najm marsh, about 25 kilometres northeast of Najaf in central Iraq on June 1, 2025. (Photo by Qassem al-KAABI / AFP) Dancers from the Surialanga Dance Company perform a dance at the International Convention Centre in Durban during the ' I am because We are' event organised by the Brahma Kumaris. Brahma Kumaris is a spiritual movement that emphasizes meditation, personal transformation, and world renewal. It teaches individuals to view the world as fundamentally spiritual, not just material, and cultivates a collective consciousness of peace and individual dignity. Picture: Rajesh Jantilal A man enjoys the fifteenth annual Tomato Fight Festival known as 'Tomatina' in Sutamarchan, Boyaca Department, Colombia on June 1, 2025. (Photo by Raul ARBOLEDA / AFP)
MORE: 48 hours in pictures, 1 June 2025
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
eNCA
35 minutes ago
- eNCA
Filmmakers try to cash in on India-Pakistan battle
NEW DELHI - Indian filmmakers are locking up the rights to movie titles that can profit from the patriotism fanned by a four-day conflict with Pakistan, which killed more than 70 people. The nuclear-armed rivals exchanged artillery, drone and air strikes in May, after India blamed Pakistan for an armed attack on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir. The fighting came to an end when US President Donald Trump announced a surprise ceasefire. Now, some Bollywood filmmakers see an opportunity to cash in on the battle. India tagged its military action against Pakistan "Operation Sindoor", the Hindi word for vermilion, which married Hindu women wear on their foreheads. The name was seen as a symbol of Delhi's determination to avenge those widowed in the April 22 attack in Kashmir's Pahalgam, which sparked the hostilities. Film studios have registered a slew of titles evoking the operation, including: "Mission Sindoor", "Sindoor: The Revenge", "The Pahalgam Terror", and "Sindoor Operation". "It's a story which needs to be told," said director Vivek Agnihotri. "If it was Hollywood, they would have made 10 films on this subject. People want to know what happened behind the scenes," he told AFP. Agnihotri struck box office success with his 2022 release, "The Kashmir Files", based on the mass flight of Hindus from Kashmir in the 1990s. Coloured narratives The ruling right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party gave that film a glowing endorsement, despite accusations that it aimed to stir up hatred against India's minority Muslims. Since Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi took office in 2014, some critics say Bollywood is increasingly promoting his government's ideology. Raja Sen, a film critic and screenwriter, said filmmakers felt emboldened by an amenable government. "We tried to wage a war and then we quietened down when Mr Trump asked us to. So what is the valour here?" Sen told AFP of the Pakistan clashes. AFP | Shammi MEHRA Anil Sharma, known for directing rabble-rousing movies, criticised the apparent rush to make films related to the Pahalgam attack. "This is herd mentality... these are seasonal filmmakers, they have their constraints," he said. "I don't wait for an incident to happen and then make a film based on that. A subject should evoke feelings and only then cinema happens," said Sharma. Sharma's historical action flick "Gadar: Ek Prem Katha" (2001) and its sequel "Gadar 2" (2023), both featuring Sunny Deol in lead roles, were big hits. In Bollywood, filmmakers often seek to time releases for national holidays like Independence Day, which are associated with heightened patriotic fervour. "Fighter", featuring big stars Hrithik Roshan and Deepika Padukone, was released on the eve of India's Republic Day on January 25 last year. Anti-Muslim bias Though not a factual retelling, it drew heavily from India's 2019 airstrike on Pakistan's Balakot. The film received mixed-to-positive reviews but raked in $28 million in India, making it the fourth highest-grossing Hindi film of that year. This year, "Chhaava", a drama based on the life of Sambhaji Maharaj, a ruler of the Maratha Empire, became the highest-grossing film so far this year. It also generated significant criticism for fuelling anti-Muslim bias. "This is at a time when cinema is aggressively painting Muslim kings and leaders in violent light," said Sen. AFP | TAUSEEF MUSTAFA "This is where those who are telling the stories need to be responsible about which stories they choose to tell." Sen said filmmakers were reluctant to choose topics that are "against the establishment". "If the public is flooded with dozens of films that are all trying to serve an agenda, without the other side allowed to make itself heard, then that propaganda and misinformation enters the public psyche," he said. Acclaimed director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra said true patriotism is promoting peace and harmony through the medium of cinema. Mehra's socio-political drama "Rang De Basanti" (2006) won the National Film Award for Best Popular Film and was chosen as India's official entry for the Golden Globe Awards and the Academy Awards in the Best Foreign Language Film category. "How we can arrive at peace and build a better society? How we can learn to love our neighbours?" he asked. "For me that is patriotism."
eNCA
15 hours ago
- eNCA
Honkytonk Kenya - Africa's home of country music
NAIROBI - The party is in Kenya, but the vibe is distinctly Americana: A sea of cowboy hats and boots with a soundtrack of whisky-soaked tales about heartbreak and good ol' boys. Kenya has become the unlikely home of a growing country music scene, possibly the biggest in Africa, as testified by the thousands line-dancing in a field in the capital Nairobi this weekend for International Cowboys and Cowgirls Day. The festival crowd went wild for the king of the local country scene, "Sir Elvis" Otieno, as his deep baritone belted out classics like "Take Me Home, Country Roads" mixed with newer hits like "Down to the Honkytonk". Sir Elvis's parents named him after another musical monarch who died a few months before he was born in 1977, and then raised him on a diet of country legends like Jim Reeves and Alan Jackson. "When I started out it was a very tiny genre" in Kenya, he told AFP at the festival. "It's a dream come true to see a crowd like this today." AFP | Fredrik Lerneryd There are links, he said, to local traditions, particularly the story-telling music of the Kikuyu tribe known as Mugithi. "Kikuyu folk music has the same kind of language, they draw from each other quite a bit," said Sir Elvis. "It's really crazy -- so many thousands of miles apart, but the messaging is the same." - 'Life, love, hate, forgiveness' - Anne Anene still remembers the song that turned her into a country music fan: Dolly Parton's "Do I Ever Cross Your Mind?". "Her songs always speak to me because they always have deep messages, and they usually tell a story of what I go through," said Anene, a customer service representative for a health insurance firm. "I've always hoped to go to Texas or Nashville one day," she added. "I'd like to visit the ranches, I like horse riding, I like the ranch kind of life -- the quiet, the calm."
IOL News
2 days ago
- IOL News
Puppet ban in Indonesian capital threatens buskers
This photo taken on June 13, 2025 shows people dressed as Ondel-Ondel puppets, large traditional figures from Jakarta's Betawi culture, performing along with a traditional music band on a street during a family parade celebrating an 11-year-old boy's circumcision in Jakarta. In the sweltering heat of Indonesia's capital, Jakarta, tall, doll-faced folk effigies adorned in colourful costumes swayed stiffly side to side while traditional music was blaring. Once revered and considered sacred, the giant-headed puppet, known as Ondel-Ondel is now a dilemma and controversy. Image: Yasuyoshi CHIBA / AFP In the sweltering streets of Jakarta, buskers carry towering, hollow puppets and pass around a bucket for donations. Now, they fear becoming outlaws. City authorities say they will crack down on use of the sacred ondel-ondel puppets, which can stand as tall as a truck, and they are drafting legislation to remove what they view as a street nuisance. Performances featuring the puppets -- originally used by Jakarta's Betawi people to ward off evil spirits -- will be allowed only at set events. The ban could leave many ondel-ondel buskers in Jakarta without a job. "I am confused and anxious. I fear getting raided or even arrested. But what can I do? I need money to eat," Adi Sutisna, a 26-year-old Jakarta native who works as an ondel-ondel busker, told AFP. Adi, who only graduated from elementary school, has been working as an ondel-ondel busker for seven years, earning $7 on a good day to provide for his wife and five-year-old daughter. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad loading Ondel-ondel is the pride of the native Jakarta tribe, the Betawi people. Traditional performances were accompanied by instruments for festive and celebratory events, including weddings, circumcisions, and welcome ceremonies for honourable guests. Cyril Raoul Hakim, spokesman for Jakarta governor Pramono Anung, told AFP the ban was still being drafted with "the preservation of Betawi culture" in mind and it would be put to legislators soon. "We hope it will be passed not too long from now," he said. 'Very hot inside' Over time, ondel-ondel have been increasingly used by buskers who sway the puppets to music from loudspeakers, seeking money on the roadside, at traffic lights, and in the alleyways of Jakarta's densely populated neighbourhoods. The city administration has long wanted to ban ondel-ondel busking, arguing that the practice sullies the dignity of the cultural icon. Bureaucrats believe roadside busking undermines the puppets' cultural significance. But many Jakartans rely on the entertainment to bring in much-needed cash. According to government data, the number of people living below the poverty line in metropolitan Jakarta -- a megalopolis of 11 million people -- was up from 362,000 in 2019 to 449,000 as of September 2024. The Central Statistics Bureau says the poverty line in Indonesia in 2025 is just over one dollar a day. "The ondel-ondel is heavy; it is very hot inside," said Adi. "But I do it anyway because if I don't, my wife and my kid won't be able to eat." 'Bothers my soul' The planned ban has left authentic ondel-ondel performers and makers torn about the preservation of their culture and the plight of the buskers. Performers such as Fadillah Akbar believe the cultural symbol must be revered, and should not be used to beg for money. "The problem is that they beg on the street -- that's a disturbance, and it bothers my soul," the 33-year-old ondel-ondel artist said. He believes ondel-ondel must come in pairs, a woman and a man, and be accompanied by traditional live music instead of a recorded song playing on loudspeakers. "Of course, I feel bad for the buskers, especially since I know many of them, but it is a cultural icon whose dignity must be upheld," he said. The head of Jakarta's public order agency, Satriadi Gunawan, said ondel-ondel busking disturbed road users with loudspeakers and requests for money. "In Betawi culture, upholding ondel-ondel's dignity is important, and now it is often used to beg for money," he said. But some historians disagree, saying limiting the puppet presence on Jakarta's streets could hurt efforts to keep the dwindling tradition alive. "Banning ondel-ondel busking in the name of culture signifies their lack of understanding for tradition," said Jakarta-based historian JJ Rizal. "It proves that not only does the city government not understand culture, but it also endangers the preservation of art."
