24 hours in pictures, 29 July 2026

We bring you a visual snapshot of the day’s news events, featuring the aftermath of a powerful earthquake in southwestern Japan that left part of a bridge collapsed in Kumamoto Prefecture, members of the South African Municipal Workers’ Union (SAMWU) marching through Johannesburg over unpaid salaries and wage disputes, and demonstrators gathering outside Peru’s Palace of Justice ahead of President-elect Keiko Fujimori’s inauguration to protest alleged state crimes and the country’s political direction. These are some of the compelling images from around the world. Residents walk by debris and a damaged home a day after a tornado ripped through Menasha, Wisconsin, on July 28, 2026.

(Photo by Octavio JONES / AFP) Cars drive on the partially colapsed Ueyanagi Bridge in Yatsushiro, Kumamoto Prefecture, on July 29, 2026, after an earthquake struck southwestern Japan the previous day. (Photo by JIJI PRESS / AFP) A unionist wrapped in a Venezuelan national flag, signs another Venezuelan national flag during a protest march in demand of elections in Caracas on July 28, 2026. (Photo by Federico PARRA / AFP) Aimee Canny of Team South Africa competes during the Women’s 200m Breaststroke – Heats on day six of the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games at Tollcross International Swimming Centre on July 29, 2026 in Glasgow, Scotland.

(Photo by Adam Pretty/Getty Images) Israeli settlers try to extinguish a wildfire near the Ein Samiya spring in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on July 29, 2026. (Photo by ilia YEFIMOVICH / AFP) Ngizwe Mchunu and his followers wait outside Hillbrow police station in Johannesburg yesterday to meet police over drugs and illegal immigration. Picture: Nigel Sibanda This aerial photo shows people cooling off at a water park amid hot weather in Nanjing, in eastern China’s Jiangsu province on July 28, 2026.

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(Photo by CN-STR / AFP) Alan Winde, Premier of the Western Cape, Acting National Commissioner of the South African Police Service (SAPS) Lieutenant General Puleng Dimpane, and newly appointed Western Cape Provincial Commissioner Lieutenant General Sizakhele William Dyantyi attend the announcement of the appointment of the new Provincial Commissioner at SAPS Provincial Headquarters on July 29, 2026, in Cape Town, South Africa. The appointment forms part of ongoing efforts to strengthen leadership within the South African Police Service as part of its organisational renewal programme, reinforcing the organisation’s commitment to professional, ethical, accountable and effective policing in support of the SAPS Reset Agenda. (Photo by Gallo Images/Brenton Geach) Guests at the official opening of the Gautrain Sandton Station Smart Driver’s Licensing Centre (DLTC) on July 29, 2026 in Sandton, South Africa. The Smart Licensing Centre offers a comprehensive range of licensing services, including vehicle licence renewals, driving licence applications, driving licence renewals and other related services.

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