A selection of the best photos from the African continent and beyond.
Seyllou/AFP
Swimmers take part in a 5km (3 mile) race between Senegal's capital, Dakar, and the former slave island of Gorée on Sunday.
Miguel Medina/AFP
A performer from Guinea shows off his balancing skills on Friday on the streets of Montmartre in the French capital, Paris.
Shaun Botterill/Getty Images
The next day at Paris's Stade de France, a South African rugby fan awaits the start of a World Cup game with the Springboks taking on Ireland.
Tiksa Negeri/Reuters
A drummer in a choir takes part in Orthodox Christian celebrations in Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa, to mark Meskel...
Amanuel Sileshi/AFP
According to Orthodox tradition, the national holiday marks the finding in the 4th Century of the cross that Jesus was crucified on…
Amanuel Sileshi/AFP
The celebrations culminate in the lighting of a giant bonfire - and much is read into the way the wood falls as it burns: to the east is a good sign; to the west is a bad omen.
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On Friday, a man walks through a palace in the Moroccan village of Tamazirt that was damaged in the earthquake earlier this month.
Nic Bothma/Reuters
A storm swell breaks over a harbour in South Africa's coastal city of Cape Town on Monday as heavy rain and winds hit the country.
Rajesh Jantilal/AFP
Members of a South African male voice choir, known as an isicathamiya group, prepare for their performance in a theatre in Durban on Friday…
Rogan Ward/Reuters
They are competing with other groups to be crowned isicathamiya champions. Their harmonised singing style has its roots in the Zulu community.
Marco Longari/AFP
Supporters of an opposition parliamentary candidate in Eswatini, one of the world's last remaining absolute monarchies, dance during a gathering on Wednesday in Siphofaneni…
Marco Longari/AFP
The rally is for Nomalungelo Simelane, pictured here ahead of Friday's vote. Political parties are banned in the kingdom, but she is one of the few candidates calling for democracy.
Luis Tato/AFP
Spectators gather at a polo club in Kenya's capital, Nairobi, before a match on Sunday...
Luis Tato/AFP
The Nairobi Polo Club is hosting the Casino Cup - a three-day tournament that has stable hands and grooms engrossed...
Luis Tato/AFP
It is the oldest polo club in East Africa and several prominent tournaments are held there every year.
Yassine Gaidi/Getty Images
On Tuesday evening, people in the Tunisian city of Kairouan gather at a mosque to mark the birth of Prophet Muhammad, an event known as Mawlid al-Nabawi...
Amr Abdallah Dalsh/Reuters
The next day, Sufi Muslims in Egypt's capital, Cairo, celebrate too - this man and his son wear headbands reading: "Prophet my love".
Francis Kokoroko/Reuters
Ghanaians gather on Saturday for a third day of anti-government protests in the capital, Accra, which the police had sought to ban….
Francis Kokoroko/Reuters
The demonstration is about the high cost of living and alleged mismanagement of the economy by the government.
James Wakibia/Getty Images
A volunteer hands out condoms in the Kenyan town of Nakuru on Tuesday - World Contraception Day.
Gerald Anderson/Getty Images
And a man poses in his car on Sunday during a vintage and classic car contest at Kenya's Nairobi racecourse, which has entrants from across the continent.
Seyllou/AFP
Miguel Medina/AFP
Shaun Botterill/Getty Images
Tiksa Negeri/Reuters
Amanuel Sileshi/AFP
Amanuel Sileshi/AFP
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Nic Bothma/Reuters
Rajesh Jantilal/AFP
Rogan Ward/Reuters
Marco Longari/AFP
Marco Longari/AFP
Luis Tato/AFP
Luis Tato/AFP
Luis Tato/AFP
Yassine Gaidi/Getty Images
Amr Abdallah Dalsh/Reuters
Francis Kokoroko/Reuters
Francis Kokoroko/Reuters
James Wakibia/Getty Images
Gerald Anderson/Getty Images