Fancy fascinators and prickly pears: Africa's top shots

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

Jul 12, 2024 - 13:21
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HELLE ARENSBAK/AFP A woman holds the microphone stand and looks out tot he audience. She is wearing a red, fur-trimmed outfit. The background is a Space-like blue colour.HELLE ARENSBAK/AFP
Nigerian singer-songwriter Tems takes to the stage at Denmark's Roskilde music festival on Saturday.
RAJESH JANTILAL/AFP Women wear dresses and bold hats in bright colours. Their backs are to the camera, but one of them has turned to look over her shoulder towards the camera.RAJESH JANTILAL/AFP
On the same day in Durban, South Africa, flamboyant fashion reigns at the races...
RAJESH JANTILAL/AFP A woman wears denim-blue clothing in front of a blue stage set. She is smiling.RAJESH JANTILAL/AFP
The city hosts a yearly horse racing event that also features local designers...
ROGAN WARD/REUTERS A man and a woman wear brightly dressed clothing.ROGAN WARD/REUTERS
Many outfits this year featured a clash of colours...
RAJESH JANTILAL/AFP A woman wears a large circular headpiece. The underside is a burnt orange colour.RAJESH JANTILAL/AFP
And large headgear was de rigeur.
AHMAD HASABALLAH/GETTY IMAGES Men in matching white robes wrap yellow fabric around one another.AHMAD HASABALLAH/GETTY IMAGES
In the Egyptian capital, Cairo, Sufi Muslims celebrate the Islamic New Year on Sunday.
KHALED DESOUKI/AFP A man shapes felt over a mould to make a fez - also known as a tarboosh.KHALED DESOUKI/AFP
In the same city on Wednesday, a craftsman shapes a fez - or tarboosh - using a mould.
MICHELE CATTANI/AFP A man sits in front of Mercedes spare parts piled high in a garage. The Mercedes 190 is one of the most imported cars in Mauritania because of its easy-to-repair mechanics and its resistance to high temperatures, according to the AFP news agency.MICHELE CATTANI/AFP
A seller of second-hand car parts sits in his workshop in Nouakchott, Mauritania, on Monday.
HAMZA ZAIT/GETTY IMAGES Men holding old-fashioned rifles ride at speed in formation. They are wearing matching robes, and the the horses they are riding have matching elaborate bridles.HAMZA ZAIT/GETTY IMAGES
On Saturday, riders charge and fire muskets at an independence day event in Algeria's capital, Algiers.
VINCENT THIAN/GETTY IMAGES Umaro Sissoco Embalo, the president of Guinea-Bissay, inspects troops at the Great Hall of People in Beijing. Walking next to him is China's President Xi Jinping.VINCENT THIAN/GETTY IMAGES
Umaro Sissoco Embalo, the president of Guinea-Bissau, inspects troops on a visit to China on Wednesday.
GEOFFROY VAN DER HASSELT/AFP Kenya's Faith Kipyegon reacts after winning and beating the world record in the women's 1500m during the "Meeting de Paris" Diamond League athletics meeting at the Charlety Stadium in Paris on July 7, 2024. Kipyegon clocked 3min 49.04sec, improving by 0.07sec her previous best set in Florence in June 2023. (Photo by Geoffroy VAN DER HASSELT / AFPGEOFFROY VAN DER HASSELT/AFP
Kenyan runner Faith Kipyegon breaks her own world record in the women's 1,500m race at a Diamond League event in France on Sunday.
PEERAPON BOONYAKIAT/GETTY IMAGES A man focuses intently on a table tennis ball in the air just above his head.PEERAPON BOONYAKIAT/GETTY IMAGES
The same day in Thailand, Nigeria's Quadri Aruna competes at the World Table Tennis Star Contender Bangkok 2024.
TIM DE WAELE/GETTY IMAGES Biniam Girmay of Eritrea and Team Intermarche - Wanty - Green Sprint Jersey prior to the 111th Tour de France 2024, Stage 9 a 199km stage from Troyes to Troyes / #UCIWT / on July 07, 2024 in Troyes, France. (Photo by Tim de Waele/TIM DE WAELE/GETTY IMAGES
Biniam Girmay is back in the saddle on Sunday after winning stage eight of the Tour de France the previous day. The Eritrean cyclist said of an earlier stage win, "I never cry, but inside I am - I just have no words."
KHALED DESOUKI/AFP A man picks prickly pear fruits from cactii.KHALED DESOUKI/AFP
Farmers pick prickly pears in northern Egypt on Friday.
GUILLEM SARTORIO/AFP A woman standing in a sombre room looks out a window.GUILLEM SARTORIO/AFP
Diane Rwigara poses for a portrait at her home in Kigali. The staunch critic of President Paul Kagame is barred from running in Monday's election, and was imprisoned for over a year on insurrection charges before being acquitted.
MAHMUD TURKIA/AFP People sit in boats in the artificial Saraya Museum Lake by the Martyrs' Square. The sun is setting behind them.MAHMUD TURKIA/AFP
And on Friday, people paddle boats on an artificial lake in the Libyan capital, Tripoli.




-bbc