A selection of news photographs from around the world and South Africa captured significant events on February 1 and 2, 2026, including political demonstrations, natural disasters, and sporting events.
Global Events in Focus
Johannesburg Emergency Management Services (EMS) attend to a collapsed building in Doornfontein, Johannesburg, 2 February 2026. Three people were injured and taken to a nearby hospital when a transformer reportedly exploded at around 5am in a storage room adjacent to the building. Picture: Michel Bega/The CitizenUgandan police officers attempt to arrest an opposition supporter taking part in a demonstration against alleged election fraud and in support of opposition figures in Kampala, on February 2, 2026. Fugitive Ugandan opposition figure Bobi Wine went into hiding after a January 15 election in which President Yoweri Museveni, 81, was re-elected for a seventh term, a result the opposition leader denounced as “blatant theft”. (Photo by Badru Katumba / AFP)
Regional Highlights
Tyla, winner of the Best African Music Performance for “PUSH 2 START”, poses in the press room during the 68th GRAMMY Awards at Crypto.com Arena on February 01, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. Leon Bennett/Getty Images for The Recording Academy/AFP (Photo by Leon Bennett / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)Mourners pay tribute to well known MultiChoice sercurity guard and cyclist David Sejobe, 2 February 2026, outside the MultiChoice offices in Randburg. Forty-nine-year-old Sejobe was fatally struck by a car on his commute to work on Friday. He was beloved for his daily jovial and encouraging antics outside the MultiChoice building on Bram Fischer Drive, and for a video that went viral of him explaining how he cycles to work everyday from Orange Farm to Randburg. Picture: Michel Bega/The Citizen
International News
An aerial view of Nallihan Bird Paradise, one of the important wetlands, as the water level has dropped due to drought in Ankara, Turkiye, on February 1, 2026. Ecosystems dependent on water have been negatively affected by low rainfall throughout the year. Water-dependent habitats in the area have shrunk. (Photo by Muhammed Abdullah Kurtar/Anadolu via Getty Images)A picture of US President Donald Trump is set on fire by protesters during an anti-USA demonstration in front of the US consulate in Istanbul on February 1, 2026. (Photo by Yasin AKGUL / AFP)A 100-meter-long cargo ship flying the Comoros flag runs aground near Kisirkaya in the Sariyer district of Istanbul, Turkiye, on February 02, 2026. (Photo by Arife Karakum/Anadolu via Getty Images)Relatives mourn the death of the 3-year-old Palestinian baby Iyad Ahmed el-Rabayia, in Khan Yunis, Gaza on February 2, 2026. The Israeli forces bombed the tents of displaced Palestinians, violating the ceasefire in the al-Mawasi area of Khan Yunis from the sea. The baby’s body was brought to Nasser Hospital for funeral procedures. (Photo by Abed Rahim Khatib/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Fluent in English and Spanish, Natalie Ortiz guides Archyworldys’ global desk through elections, disasters, and UN climate summits. Her bilingual live blogs and data visualizations rank across Google Images, Video, and Top Stories. A Knight Science Journalism fellow and Tableau power user, Natalie trains reporters to transform raw data into highly shareable interactives that extend on-page time and social reach.
