Red carpets, cars and cowries: Africa's top shots

A selection of the week's best photos from across the African continent:

News imageMICHAEL TRAN/AFP A young, smiling woman with cropped hair and a black outfit stands in front of a red background posing for photos.MICHAEL TRAN/AFP
South African actress Thuso Mbedu attends the Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project party on Saturday in Hollywood, the US.
News imageESA ALEXANDER/REUTERS A woman walks past a mural depicting Nelson Mandela.ESA ALEXANDER/REUTERS
A woman walks past this mural of Nelson Mandela in Cape Town on Thursday, on what would have been the late South African president's 106th birthday.
News imageJEROME FAVRE/EPA A signpost by the sea in Dakar, Senegal.JEROME FAVRE/EPA
Seen on Wednesday, this sign in Senegal's capital city of Dakar marks the westernmost tip of mainland Africa - which has been earmarked for construction by two US hotel chains.
News imageLUIS TATO/AFP a man decorates this polling station in Kigali with green, yellow and blue.LUIS TATO/AFP
Ahead of the presidential election in Rwanda, a man decorates this polling station in Kigali with the colours of the national flag. Paul Kagame was declared the winner with just over 99% of the vote, in a poll that rights groups have heavily criticised.
News imageDANIEL KOPATSCH/GETTY IMAGES Yui Kamiji of Japan and Kgothatso Montjane of South Africa pose with the Ladies' Wheelchair Doubles Trophy following victory against Diede de Groot of the Netherlands and Jiske Griffioen of the Netherlands in the Ladies' Wheelchair Doubles Final during day fourteen of The Championships Wimbledon 2024 at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 14, 2024 in London, England. (Photo by Daniel Kopatsch/Getty Images)DANIEL KOPATSCH/GETTY IMAGES
On Sunday, tennis stars Kgothatso Montjane of South Africa and Japan's Yui Kamiji of Japan win the Ladies' Wheelchair Doubles final at Wimbledon in the UK.
News imageHAZEM GOUDA/AFP Boys swim at the sea, on of them is diving in.HAZEM GOUDA/AFP
Swimmers dive into the sea in the Egyptian city of Alexandria on Friday.
News imageZHANG HENGWEI/GETTY IMAGES A statue of King Tutankhamun.ZHANG HENGWEI/GETTY IMAGES
This statue of King Tutankhamun is among ancient Egyptian artefacts on show at a museum in Beijing, China, on Wednesday.
News imageOUPA BOPAPE/GETTY IMAGES Two women smile and frown in a cinema.OUPA BOPAPE/GETTY IMAGES
The stars of South African historical drama Queen Modjadji - Makoma Komie Mohale (L) and Masutang Resekele (R), who plays her mother - watch the season premiere in Johannesburg on Friday.
News imageGUERINAULT LOUIS/GETTY IMAGES Kenyan police officers line up and march off a plane.GUERINAULT LOUIS/GETTY IMAGES
Another 200 Kenyan police officers join the 200 already in post in Haiti, where they have been deployed to tackle rampant gang violence. Their mission comes at a time when the force is under scrutiny for alleged abuses and extra-judicial killings on home soil.
News imageJOSH HEDGES/AFP Opponents Abdul Razak Alhassan of Ghana and Cody Brundage face off during the UFC weigh-in at the Sheraton Downtown Denver Hotel on July 12, 2024 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)JOSH HEDGES/AFP
Ghanaian UFC fighter Abdul Razak Alhassan (L) squares up to his opponent Cody Brundage at their weigh-in, in the US on Saturday.
News imageSEBASTIEN SALOM-GOMIS/AFP French-Cameroonian musician Yame performs on stage.SEBASTIEN SALOM-GOMIS/AFP
On Friday, French-Cameroonian singer Yamê performs at the Vieilles Charrues music festival in western France.
News imageGEOFFROY VAN DER HASSELT/AFP A woman holds the Olympic torch and smiles.GEOFFROY VAN DER HASSELT/AFP
On Monday in Paris, French-Ivorian actress Claudia Tagbo takes part in the Olympic torch relay.
News imageFEISAL OMAR/REUTERS A boy rides a bicycle on a beach.FEISAL OMAR/REUTERS
This man enjoys a ride on Lido beach, in Somalia's capital city Mogadishu, on Saturday.
News imageHAKAN NURAL/GETTY IMAGES A car drives down a street that is sheltered by large and verdant trees.HAKAN NURAL/GETTY IMAGES
And on Tuesday, cars drive down a tree-lined street in Harare, Zimbabwe.
News imageGetty Images/BBC A woman looking at her mobile phone and the graphic BBC News AfricaGetty Images/BBC

Go to BBCAfrica.com for more news from the African continent.

Follow us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica

BBC Africa podcasts