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Africa's week in pictures: 19-25 May 2023

A selection of the best photos from across Africa and beyond this week:

News imageISSOUF SANOGO/ AFP A woman carrying plastic bottles on her head whilst walking down the street.ISSOUF SANOGO/ AFP
A woman in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, carries an impressive number of water bottles on her head on Tuesday.
News imageMICHELE SPATARI/ AFP A man holding a yellow pipe walking on top of a municipal tank truck.MICHELE SPATARI/ AFP
Over in Hammanskraal in South Africa, a man is pictured walking on top of a tank to fill it with water on Tuesday, as residents have been warned not to drink tap water after a cholera outbreak.
News imageJ. Countess/ Getty Images Woman dressed in the colours of the Eritrean flag holding the Eritrean flag.J. Countess/ Getty Images
There are high spirits in Eritrea on Wednesday as a woman celebrates the country's independence day, which marks the end of the country's 30-year war with Ethiopia...
News imageJ. Countess/ Getty Images Eritrean president Isaias Afewerki surrounded by people holding red umbrellas. He is smiling.J. Countess/ Getty Images
President Isaias Afewerki is all smiles on Eritrea's big day. The country was annexed by Ethiopia in 1962, but its forces regained the capital in 1991 and eventually voted for independence in 1993.
News imageBENOIT DOPPAGNE/ AFP Woman wearing a blue headdress.BENOIT DOPPAGNE/ AFP
This Senegalese woman is photographed at the opening of a limestone plant in Dakar.
News imageSAMUEL ALABI/ AFP The Sultan of Kano and the Ooni of Ife dressed in white traditional clothes.SAMUEL ALABI/ AFP
The Sultan of Kano (left) and the Ooni of Ife attend a ceremony in Lagos along with Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari at the launch of an oil refinery on Monday, described as Africa's largest.
News imageMUHAMADOU BITTAYE/ AFP Protesters sitting on sandbag barricades under Senegalese flags.MUHAMADOU BITTAYE/ AFP
Back in Senegal, there are protests as demonstrators block the road leading to the home of opposition leader Ousmane Sonko, in order to prevent his arrest on Monday. He is accused of rape, which he denies.
News imageHector Vivas/ Getty Images Senegalese fan cheering on wearing the colours of the Senegalese flag.Hector Vivas/ Getty Images
Excited Senegalese football fans in Argentina cheer their team during Sunday's Fifa U-20 World Cup 2023 group match against Japan - which Japan won 1-0.
News imageBrian Lawless/PA Wire Tina Sekete (left) and Jane Dlamini smiling. They are wearing bright colours and have white make up on their face.Brian Lawless/PA Wire
South Africans Tina Sekete and Jane Dlamini are all smiles as they pose for a picture during Africa Day Dublin on Thursday. Ireland's Department of Foreign Affairs organises events each year on 25 May to celebrate the people and cultures of the continent.
News imageGetty Images Sahrawi women wearing black headscarves with what appears to be blue wrappers.Getty Images
A group of women attend a parade on Saturday in Algeria's capital Algiers to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Polisario Front. The movement is fighting for the independence of Western Sahara. Morocco currently controls around 80% of the territory and the rest is held by Polisario.
News imageJEKESAI NJIKIZANA/ AFP Prison guards standing by a white door at Harare Central Prison.JEKESAI NJIKIZANA/ AFP
Jail guards in Zimbabwe on duty in Harare Central Prison on Friday, when authorities released about a fifth of all prisoners under a presidential amnesty order meant to decongest the country’s overcrowded jails.
News imageFADEL SENNA/ AFP Purple lights in the skies of RabatFADEL SENNA/ AFP
Rabat's skies are lit up in Morocco as the year-long event Rabat, African Capital of Culture comes to an end.
News imageReuters Migrants wait in a boat, one of whom holds a face mask below his chinReuters
Men from Sub-Saharan Africa wait to disembark from a ship in the Canary Islands - after a group of 138 migrants in inflatable boats were picked up by the Spanish coastguard on Tuesday.

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