48 hours in pictures, 8 March 2026

2026-03-08 - 15:43

Attendees at the Holi festival celebration in Sandton pose for a photograph with their faces covered in colourful powders, 8 March 2026, at the Shree Radhe Shyam Mandir, Marlboro. Holi is a Hindu spring festival celebrating colors, joy, and renewal. The event was organised by the India Club South Africa in association with the High Commission of India and the Consulate General of India. Picture: Michel Bega/The Citizen Rescuers retrieve a body from under the rubbles of a five-story residential building which was hit by a ballistic missile in Kharkiv on March 7, 2026 amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Russia pummelled Ukraine with drone and missile attacks overnight, killing six people and triggering air alerts across the country, officials said. The bodies of five people were found in the rubble of an apartment block in the eastern Kharkiv region, while one person was killed in the Dnipropetrovsk region. (Photo by SERGEY BOBOK / AFP) Democratic Alliance (DA) mayoral candidate for Johannesburg Helen Zille delivers her manifesto address at Johannesburg City Hall, 7 March2026. Picture: Nigel Sibanda/ The Citizen Venezuelan police officers stand guard during the release of prisoners at the entrance to the Bolivarian National Police (PNB) Zone 7 prison in Caracas on March 7, 2026. At least 17 political prisoners were released from a prison in Caracas on March 7, 2026. This follows an amnesty law pushed by acting president Delcy Rodriguez, who has been ruling Venezuela since Nicolas Maduro was captured by the US military on January 3. (Photo by Juan BARRETO / AFP) Volunteers arrange food parcels for the Zanzibar National Iftar, which brought together approximately 15,000 people at Amani Complex Stadium in Zanzibar on March 7, 2026. The Iftar was organized by the Zanzibar Commission for Tourism as part of efforts to promote halal tourism during the month of Ramadan. (Photo by ERICKY BONIPHACE / AFP) Minister John Steenhuisen at the mass vaccination against Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD) roll-out outreach at Magagula Heights in Katlehong on March 07, 2026 in Ekurhuleni, South Africa. This ongoing vaccination rollout forms part of the government’s urgent response to curb the spread of FMD, a highly contagious viral illness affecting cloven-hoofed animals. (Photo by Gallo Images/OJ Koloti) A woman parades with a writing reading ‘If not now, when? If not here, where? If not you, who? If not with love and rebellion, how?’ during a demonstration marking the International Women’s Day in Madrid on March 8, 2026. Thousands of people marched through the streets of Madrid to call for equality and an end to violence against women, also protesting against the war in the Middle East. (Photo by Thomas COEX / AFP) Supporters of Israel and Iranian pro-democracy activists chant slogans and hold flags as they take part in a demonstration on one of the main alley of the Victoria and Albert Waterfront shopping mall in Cape Town, on March 7, 2026. (Photo by GIANLUIGI GUERCIA / AFP) Portraits of the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (C) and of the late Ayatollah Komeini (L and R), the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran, are carried outside the US Consulate in Johannesburg on March 7, 2026, during a demonstration against the ongoing war involving the United States, Israel and Iran, with protesters expressing solidarity with Iran, Yemen and Palestinians. (Photo by EMMANUEL CROSET / AFP) Paranormal investigator Nigel Mullinder poses for a photograph, 5 March 2026, in Modderfontein, east of Johannesburg. Mullinder has a large social media following where his videos explore paranormal activity across Gauteng and South Africa. He recently visited the former home of deceased convicted paedophile and serial killer Gert van Rooyen and attempted to speak to Van Rooyen and his victimes. Picture: Michel Bega/The Citizen A protestor kicks a pinata depicting Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu outside the US consulate during a protest against the conflict in the Middle East in Mexico City on March 7, 2026. (Photo by Carl de Souza / AFP) Cyclists on Chapmans Peak during the 2026 Cape Town Cycle Tour on March 08, 2025 in Cape Town, South Africa. The tour is an annual cycle race which is usually 109 km long and it is the first event outside Europe to be included in the Union Cycliste Internationale’s Golden Bike Series. (Photo by Gallo Images/Brenton Geach) A handler grooms his Toy Poodle at National Exhibition Centre on March 07, 2026 in Birmingham, England. Crufts 2026 runs for four days Thursday 5th March culminating in the Best In Show competition on Sunday night. The world famous dog show is organised by The Royal Kennel Club and this year’s show features over 18,600 dogs and has expanded into Hall 8 for new grooming competitions and Young Kennel Club activities. (Photo by Ryan Jenkinson/Getty Images) Kosovo-based feminist artist and activist Saranda Sadikaj, known as “Ms. Indefinite” throws a bucket of coloured water over herself during her performance in Pristina on March 8, 2026, marking the international women’s rights’ day. (Photo by Armend NIMANI / AFP) A buddhist monk walks over burning wood sticks during annual “Hiwatari Matsuri” Fire walking festival at Takaosan Yakuoin Temple on March 08, 2026 in Tokyo, Japan. Led by mountain ascetics chanting esoteric prayers, barefoot worshippers file across the smoking embers to seek protection, long life and relief from misfortune. (Photo by Takashi Aoyama/Getty Images) An Emirates Airbus A380 passenger aircraft prepares for landing at Dubai International Airport in Dubai on March 8, 2026. The United States and Israel launched strikes against Iran on February 28, sparking swift retaliation by the Islamic republic which responded with missile attacks across the region. The war has dragged in global powers, upended the world’s energy and transport sectors, and brought chaos to even usually peaceful areas of the volatile region. (Photo by AFP) An Iranian civil defence member walks with a hose next to a destroyed fuel tanker vehicle near an ongoing fire following an overnight airstrike on the Shahran oil refinery in northwestern Tehran on March 8, 2026. The United States and Israel launched strikes against Iran on February 28, sparking swift retaliation by the Islamic republic which responded with missile attacks across the region. The war has dragged in global powers, upended the world’s energy and transport sectors, and brought chaos to even usually peaceful areas of the volatile region. (Photo by AFP) Vehicles move along a highway past a war memorial statue and a billboard depicting Iran’s late supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei who was killed in an air strike on February 28, with plumes of black smoke billowing, in Tehran on March 8, 2026. The United States and Israel launched strikes against Iran on February 28, sparking swift retaliation by the Islamic republic which responded with missile attacks across the region. The war has dragged in global powers, upended the world’s energy and transport sectors, and brought chaos to even usually peaceful areas of the volatile region. (Photo by AFP) This video grab taken from UGC images posted on social media on March 7 and 8, 2026 shows fire erupting at an oil depot in Iran’s capital Tehran. The United States and Israel launched strikes against Iran on February 28, sparking swift retaliation by the Islamic republic which responded with missile attacks across the region. The war has dragged in global powers, upended the world’s energy and transport sectors, and brought chaos to even usually peaceful areas of the volatile region. (Photo by UGC / AFP) A model presents a creation for Comme des Garcons for the Women’s Ready to Wear Fall/Winter 2026-2027 collection fashion show as part of the Paris Women Fashion Week, in Paris, on March 7, 2026. (Photo by STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN / AFP) MORE PICTURES: Behind the scenes at romantic ballet classic Giselle