---
title: "Giant pumpkins, Oktoberfest, The Addams Family musical, and more from around the world"
description: "Moving, tragic, surprising, inspiring, terrifying, shocking... This is a selection of images from our planet over the past seven days."
type: "NewsArticle"
publisher: "Daily Maverick"
site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za"
section: "IN PICTURES"
author: "Daily Maverick Photo Team"
author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/photo-team/"
canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-09-23-giant-pumpkins-oktoberfest-the-addams-family-musical-and-more-from-around-the-world/"
published: "2026-09-23T20:54:29"
lang: "en-ZA"
word_count: 901
---

# Giant pumpkins, Oktoberfest, The Addams Family musical, and more from around the world

> Moving, tragic, surprising, inspiring, terrifying, shocking... This is a selection of images from our planet over the past seven days.

By Daily Maverick Photo Team · Published 23 September 2026, 22:54 SAST

## Content

![Marine One Lifts Off From New White House Helipad For First Time](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/lVjEi-K25l3iSBfjY1V0xUZ0Gi4=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/attachments/orphans/PhotoEssay-InPictures30k_549759.jpg)

*US President Donald Trump greets attendees before a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new helipad at the White House on 21 September 2026 in Washington, DC. The new helipad was built by Sikorsky Aircraft, a subsidiary of Lockheed Martin, and is one of several renovation and construction projects ordered by President Trump. (Photo: Finn Gomez / Getty Images)*

![World Leaders Gather For United Nations General Assembly](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/Q5fsEzVSLYhh9yXa8dgDeg48pBQ=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/attachments/orphans/PhotoEssay-InPictures30q_919345.jpg)

*US President Donald Trump is seen speaking on monitors during the 81st session of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly at UN Headquarters on 22 September 2026 in New York City. World leaders have gathered in New York for the annual session of the UN General Assembly, with this year’s global issues ranging from the threat of artificial intelligence to the continued wars in Ukraine and Gaza. (Photo: Alexi J. Rosenfeld / Getty Images)*

![General Debate of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly - Day 2](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/HPLdGTPy1Nevbu5YP4BvOGU1lbg=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/attachments/orphans/PhotoEssay-InPictures30p_656884.jpg)

*President of Iran Masoud Pezeshkian shows visual aids as he speaks during the General Debate of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly at United Nations Headquarters in New York, New York, USA, 23 September 2026. (Photo: EPA / SARAH YENESEL)*

![ICC proceedings in Mahamat Said case](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/eTJwFlq2VG0e8JNjrf9HEKgSW4w=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/attachments/orphans/PhotoEssay-InPictures30k_803738.jpg)

*Mahamat Said Abdel Kani attends the delivery of the verdict in his case at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, the Netherlands, 23 September 2026. Mahamat faces charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity allegedly committed in Bangui in 2013. (Photo: EPA / REMKO DE WAAL / POOL)*

![Mass shooting in KwaMakhutha, South Africa](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/HGfoQmVGohMB9fK8WVMHDbBysnY=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/attachments/orphans/PhotoEssay-InPictures30n_122600.jpg)

*Staff from the Health Department load a body into a van at the site of a mass shooting in KwaMakhutha, south of Durban, South Africa, 23 September 2026. At least 11 people died after gunmen stormed a house late on 22 September and opened fire on 14 people. Authorities have not yet determined the motive for the shooting, and investigations are ongoing, according to the South African Police Service (SAPS). (Photo: EPA / STRINGER)*

![Migrant Crossings In Small Boats Down To Lowest Numbers Since 2020](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/t3uPeBrw-hRbaewy4khGYKE5RWc=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/attachments/orphans/PhotoEssay-InPictures30b_640117.jpg)

*A woman and children leave a migrant dinghy that was eventually abandoned because of engine failure on 21 September 2026 in Gravelines, France. Anti-migrant sentiment in the UK remains high and politically potent. French enforcement officers stopped 61% of all small boat events between 27 April and 2 August, which translates to the UK-funded units preventing 185 small boats and stopping 4,300 individual crossing attempts from the shores of northern France. July and August figures are the lowest year-on-year since their peak in 2020. (Photo: Carl Court / Getty Images)*

![Druids celebrate autumn equinox in London's Primrose Hill](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/rafEX6dkLlAgzrEZfabsFwkTdyY=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/attachments/orphans/PhotoEssay-InPictures30o_741543.jpg)

*A member of The Druid Order performs a ceremony to celebrate the autumn equinox on Primrose Hill in London, Britain, 23 September 2026. The autumnal equinox is when day and night are approximately equal in length and marks the beginning of autumn. Modern Druids represent a contemporary spiritual movement that honours nature and the physical landscape. (Photo: EPA / NEIL HALL)*

![Kashmiri farmers begin paddy harvest ahead of winter](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/WBqeoS5Avxexm0BTfyE1VU27KEU=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/attachments/orphans/PhotoEssay-InPictures30m_315271.jpg)

*A woman farmer carries a bundle of grass as she walks across a cement pole used as a makeshift bridge in Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian Kashmir, 23 September 2026. Autumn brings a familiar rhythm to the valley as farmers and agricultural families gather paddy, grass and fodder ahead of the approaching winter, continuing seasonal traditions that remain closely tied to rural life in Kashmir. (Photo: EPA / FAROOQ KHAN)*

![New Protest Group 'Silence Elbit's Drones' Blocks Roads Into UAV Engines](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/49wmdVB95iHHO52z7opItPJ8MQU=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/attachments/orphans/PhotoEssay-InPictures30c_351771.jpg)

*Protesters from Silence Elbit Drones (SED) hold flares as they block all access roads to UAV Engines with lock-ons for six hours on 21 September 2026 in Shenstone, England. New pro-Palestinian protest group 'Silence Elbit's Drones' launches with a nine-person blockade of roads leading to Elbit Systems company, UAV Engines. They say they are determined to cause the Israeli drone company disruption in an effort to close down the facility. (Photo: Martin Pope / Getty Images)*

![Ross Fire Becomes Texas's Second-Largest Wildfire As Drought Conditions Persist](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/IooS0YH33BYpQ_3jwTY9YJchoUU=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/attachments/orphans/PhotoEssay-InPictures30f_659268.jpg)

*Trees are seen scorched in a field on 18 September 2026 in Palo Pinto, Texas. The Ross Fire was declared fully extinguished on 17 September after burning for 23 days and scorching more than 90,000 acres across Palo Pinto and Jack Counties, making it the second-largest fire in the region's history. (Photo: Brandon Bell / Getty Images)*

![Berlin Holds State Elections](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/BkF8BfH1gVHTD3sRWYrb9TWSCUc=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/attachments/orphans/PhotoEssay-InPictures30i_727832.jpg)

*Executive Board of The Left (L-R) Ines Schwerdtner, Kerstin Wolter, Elif Eralp, lead candidate of the leftist Die Linke, and Maximilian Schirmer, react at the announcement of the preliminary election results for the far-right fraction AfD following the closure of polling stations in Berlin state elections on 20 September 2026 in Berlin, Germany. The election is a close race between Die Linke, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD). (Photo: Nadja Wohlleben / Getty Images)*

!["From Monet To Van Gogh To Kandinsky" Exhibition Preview](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/SAa2YCJ4VTkW-BZT7msjP0MYw1Q=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/attachments/orphans/PhotoEssay-InPictures30e_173559.jpg)

*A visitor views a masterpiece by French artist Claude Monet (R) during the exhibition preview of "From Monet To Van Gogh To Kandinsky" at Palazzo dei Diamanti on 18 September 2026 in Ferrara, Italy. (Photo: Roberto Serra - Iguana Press / Getty Images)*

![Munich Oktoberfest 2026](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/KhdsDei84p-UFprtTw1DFL8YfAE=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/attachments/orphans/PhotoEssay-InPictures30h_550673.jpg)

*Members of the traditional Morisken dancers costume group participates in the annual riflemen's parade following the opening day of the 2026 Munich Oktoberfest on 20 September 2026 in Munich, Germany. This year's Oktoberfest runs through 4 October. (Photo: Johannes Simon /Getty Images)*

![The Addams Family Musical Presentation](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/giVC3r9x5fibDFaDtioncD5ZCVM=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/attachments/orphans/PhotoEssay-InPictures30d_242293.jpg)

*Natalia Millán as Morticia and Javier Navares as Gomez perform during the presentation of 'The Addams Family Musical' at the Teatro Calderón on 18 September 2026 in Various Cities, Spain. (Photo: David Benito / Getty Images)*

![Artistic Gymnastics - 20th Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/86wpHNoertwcKhUyD0qwSTss3BU=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/attachments/orphans/PhotoEssay-InPictures30j_779864.jpg)

*Usukhbayar Erkhembayar of Mongolia competes on the still rings during the Artistic Gymnastics Men's qualification on day two of the 20th Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya at Nagoya City General Gymnasium Rainbow Hall on 21 September 2026 in Nagoya, Aichi, Japan. (Photo: Yong Teck Lim / Getty Images)*