24 hours in pictures: Thomas van Tonder’s Bloukrans Bridge stunt, M1 blocked by workers and more

We bring you a visual snapshot of the day’s news events, featuring South African obstacle course racing world champion Thomas van Tonder crossing 600 suspended monkey bars beneath the Bloukrans Bridge arch in a world-first stunt, SAMWU members blocking Johannesburg’s M1 highway during a wage-related protest, supporters celebrating an election victory in Serbia, and lion cubs playing at a zoo in Germany. These are some of the compelling images from South Africa and around the world.

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Thomas Van Tonder crosses the Bloukrans Bridge using monkey bars, 26 October 2026. Picture: Michel Bega/The Citizen

Thomas Van Tonder celebrates after crossing the Bloukrans Bridge using monkey bars, 26 October 2026. Picture: Michel Bega/The Citizen

Supporters of the Students’ List gather at the National assembly building as they celebrate their victory in the Serbian parliamentary elections, in Belgrade in the early hours of October 26, 2026. Voters cast ballots in record numbers on October 25, 2026, with the country recording its highest parliamentary election turnout in more than three decades. Celebrations erupted on the streets of the capital; passing cars honked their horns as crowds began to party at the news that Serbia’s ruling party had lost parliamentary snap elections. (Photo by Milos Milanovic / AFP)

South African Municipal Workers’ Union (SAMWU) members block the M1 highway in Johannesburg, 26 October 2026, demanding payment of Political Facilitated Agreements (PFA) benefits agreed upon in 2016. Picture: Nigel Sibanda/The Citizen

A protester is seen at the back of a police vehicle during a demonstration against increased fuel prices in Nairobi, Kenya, on October 26, 2026. (Photo by Lucas Mukasa/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Former apartheid police commander Eugene de Kock, known as “Prime Evil”, testifies before the TRC Cases Inquiry in Johannesburg, 26 October 2026, as part of an investigation into alleged political interference in the prosecution of apartheid-era crimes. Picture: Nigel Sibanda/The Citizen

Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, daughter of former president Jacob Zuma, arrives at the Durban High Court for the continuation of her trial linked to the July 2021 unrest, 26 October 2026. The proceedings are scheduled to continue until 6 November. Picture: Rajesh Jantilal

People use umbrellas and raincoats to protect themselves from the rain in Izmir, Turkiye, on October 26, 2026. (Photo by Mahmut Serdar Alakus/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Roelf Meyer, South Africa’s Ambassador to the United States, listens to a question from the media following his address at the Cape Town Press Club in Cape Town, on October 26, 2026. South Africa’s ambassador to the United States Roelf Meyer said on October 26 negotiations on the country’s inclusion in the United States trade program, African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) remained ongoing. The program provides duty- free access for over 1 800 products for several eligible sub-saharan African countries to the U.S market. (Photo by RODGER BOSCH / AFP)

A woman dressed as a Catrina takes part in the Catrinas Parade, ahead of the Day of the Dead in Mexico City on October 25, 2026. (Photo by Carl de Souza / AFP)

A full moon rises behind a statue on the top of a column at Piazza Venezia in Rome on October 26, 2026. (Photo by Tiziana FABI / AFP)

An aerial view shows a boat sailing past murky waters off the coast of Banda Aceh on October 26, 2026, as monsoon conditions affect the coastal area. (Photo by CHAIDEER MAHYUDDIN / AFP)

Lion cubs play in their enclosure at the zoo of Dortmund, western Germany, on October 26, 2026. Five-year-old lionesses Zuri and Saba gave birth to five and seven cubs on July 28 and 31 at Dortmund Zoo and are raising all twelve youngsters together, the father is six-year-old Boeti. (Photo by Ina FASSBENDER / AFP)

Security personnel forcibly remove an activist from the Union of French Jewish Students (UEJF) during the launch rally for Marine Le Pen’s presidential campaign as part of the Congress of the Far-right party Rassemblement National (RN) in Orleans, central France on October 25, 2026. (Photo by Alain JOCARD / AFP)

A supporter of Brazil’s President and presidential candidate Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva wears a mask of right-wing presidential candidate Flavio Bolsonaro inside a cage after the results of the presidential runoff election in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on October 25, 2026. Lula da Silva pulled off a dramatic comeback on October 25, 2026, as he clinched election victory against right-wing senator Flavio Bolsonaro, who trounced him in the first round. (Photo by NELSON ALMEIDA / AFP)

Women plant flowers after cleaning some of the debris left behind a pro-government encampment in Pionirski Park (Pioneer’s Park) on October 26, 2026 in Belgrade, Serbia. The encampment, that left the park closed to visitors, had become a symbol of Vucic’s grip on power. Longtime Serbian leader Aleksandar Vucic conceded defeat after his right-wing SNS alliance secured only 39.2% of the vote, yielding control of parliament to the opposition Student List movement, which won a 52.7% majority. Triggered by widespread public anger over corruption following a tragic infrastructure failure at a train station in Novi Sad in 2024 that killed 16 people, Vucic’s gamble to resign the presidency and run for Prime Minister failed, marking the end of his 14-year dominance in Serbian politics. (Photo by Andrej Ivanov/Getty Images)

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