Skip to content

Finery and frailty: Africa's top shots

Natasha Booty

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

ESA ALEXANDER / REUTERS Large, colourful kites shaped like fish fly in the sky at Dolphin Beach. In the distance a large tanker can be seen at sea.ESA ALEXANDER / REUTERS
The Cape Town International Kite Festival draws enthusiasts to this beach in South Africa on Tuesday.
EMMANUEL ADEGBOYE / EPA Models wear outfits made of plastic bags in bright colours.EMMANUEL ADEGBOYE / EPA
The next day in Nigeria, models take part in a so-called Trashion Show...
EMMANUEL ADEGBOYE / EPA A women wearing a shredded denim stetson hat and a matching denim dress. EMMANUEL ADEGBOYE / EPA
The showcase in Lagos is run by an environmental group.
BILLEL BENSALEM / NURPHOTO / GETTY IMAGES A woman wear chunky silver rings, bracelets and an elaborate necklace.BILLEL BENSALEM / NURPHOTO / GETTY IMAGES
On Tuesday, an Algerian Sahrawi woman proudly showcases her jewellery at the National Cultural Festival of Women's Creativity in Algiers.
EMIN YOGURTCUOGLU / GETTY IMAGES A bird holds a tiny, shrieking lizard in its beak.EMIN YOGURTCUOGLU / GETTY IMAGES
In Madagascar on Friday this endangered native bird - known as the short-legged ground roller - feasts on a pimple-nose chameleon and lives to see another day.
ROBERTO PUDYANTO / GETTY IMAGES A man leaps into the air during a vault routine.ROBERTO PUDYANTO / GETTY IMAGES
Cameroon's Ruben Sodea vaults into the air at the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Indonesia on Monday.
CARMEN ABD ALI / AFP / GETTY IMAGES Men paddle in a large, wooden fishing canoe in Ngor on 18 October.CARMEN ABD ALI / AFP / GETTY IMAGES
Senegal's fiercely competitive canoe races off the coast of Dakar are a yearly attraction. Saturday's regatta once again attracted cheering crowds.
OLYMPIA DE MAISMONT / AFP / GETTY IMAGES A patron uses a phone to take a photo inside a multicoloured restroom.OLYMPIA DE MAISMONT / AFP / GETTY IMAGES
Later that day in Nigeria, clubbers enjoy Lagos' buzzing nightlife...
OLYMPIA DE MAISMONT / AFP / GETTY IMAGES A woman dances on a stage with red strobes lights fanning out behind her. OLYMPIA DE MAISMONT / AFP / GETTY IMAGES
This club in the Ikoyi neighbourhood features cabaret.
SIA KAMBOU / AFP / GETTY IMAGES Men wearing matching blue outfits stand in a line and dance in unison.SIA KAMBOU / AFP / GETTY IMAGES
Grand-Bassam in Ivory Coast once again plays host to the Abissa festival on Saturday...
SIA KAMBOU / AFP / GETTY IMAGES A man wearing robes, a gold crown, and large, bulbous gold jewellery is carried by porters.SIA KAMBOU / AFP / GETTY IMAGES
Making a grand entrance was Nanan Awoulae Desire Amon Tanoe. He is king of the N'Zima people of Grand Bassam, and president of Ivory Coast's chamber of kings and traditional chiefs.
FABIO FRUSTACI / EPA A woman wearing a black dress stands on the red carpet and poses for cameras. FABIO FRUSTACI / EPA
Model-turned-actress Anyier Anei smiles at the premier of her debut film, Couture, in Italy on Friday. The South Sudanese newcomer stars alongside Angelina Jolie.
LEGNAN KOULA / EPA A supporter holds a poster of former Ivory Coast first lady, Simone Ehivet Gbagbo, the presidential candidate of the Movement of Capable Generations (MGC) during campaign season in Abidjan.LEGNAN KOULA / EPA
Campaign billboards for former-First Lady Simone Ehivet Gbagbo are posted around Abidjan ahead of Saturday's presidential election in Ivory Coast.
MOHAMED KHALIL / AFP / GETTY IMAGES Women and men march down a narrow road. One holds a sign with a drawing of a congested pair of lungs, with a mis-spelled slogan saying "We can't brethe".MOHAMED KHALIL / AFP / GETTY IMAGES
Protesters in Gabes, southern Tunisia, say a local chemical factory is causing them health issues and must be shut down.
AFP via Getty Images Members of the Cameroonian police are seen near a burning barricade that is burning in the middle of the road.AFP via Getty Images
On Tuesday, opposition protesters barricade roads in the northern Cameroonian city of Garoua, accusing the ruling party of rigging elections to keep 92-year-old President Biya in power. It has denied any wrongdoing. Official results are to be announced on Monday.
EREN BOZKURT / ANADOLU / GETTY IMAGES Three boys sit at a small table at the side of a road and play with a mobile phone.EREN BOZKURT / ANADOLU / GETTY IMAGES
And on Friday, boys play with a mobile phone in Madagascar's coastal city of Toliara.

From the BBC in Africa this week:

Getty 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