Shades, sparks and snow: Africa's top shots

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

Jan 24, 2025 - 12:54
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ANDREA SOLERO / EPA A woman dressed in red skiiing gear skis down a steep, snow-covered slope.ANDREA SOLERO / EPA
The next day, Kenya's Sabrina Simader slaloms down the slopes at the FIS Alpine Skiing World Cup in Italy.
CEM OZDEL / GETTY IMAGES Two muscular men dressed in shorts attempt to pull each other to the ground to win the game.CEM OZDEL / GETTY IMAGES
In Senegal's capital Dakar the following day, wrestlers compete in the country's specific form of the sport - known as laamb.
YUICHI YAMAZAKI / AFP Tunisia's Ons Jabeur throws her racket as she reaches for a shot against USA's Emma Navarro during their women's singles match.YUICHI YAMAZAKI / AFP
Tunisian tennis ace Ons Jabeur is bested by this shot from her American opponent Emma Navarro at the Australian Open on Saturday.
DOAA ADEL / GETTY IMAGES A boy stands next to lanterns and smiles. Either side of him are curtains printed with colourful cartoons.DOAA ADEL / GETTY IMAGES
On the same day in Cairo, Egypt, lanterns go on sale ahead of Ramadan.
AMANUEL SILESHI / AFP Clergy wear embroidered robes and carry large, ornate crucifixes.AMANUEL SILESHI / AFP
On Sunday in Addis Ababa, high priests gather to pray during the celebration of Ethiopian Orthodox Epiphany, called Timkat...
AMID FARAHI / AFP People smile as they are doused with water by clergy at an Ethiopian Orthodox Cathedral.AMID FARAHI / AFP
Timkat marks the baptism of Jesus in the River Jordan and is one of the most important religious festivals for Christians in the East African country. Here, Ethiopians living in the US city of Washington DC relish the festivities.
GERALD ANDERSON / GETTY IMAGES A young woman sits with a child and an infant at a table, reading from a school exercise book.GERALD ANDERSON / GETTY IMAGES
Children read by candlelight on Friday in Mathare, an informal settlement in Kenya's capital, Nairobi.
FRANCO ORIGLIA / GETTY IMAGES Young men and women sit informally at an outside table with beers.FRANCO ORIGLIA / GETTY IMAGES
Also on Friday, Congolese models pose for a photoshoot in the southern city of Lubumbashi.
TAIWO ARIFAYAN / REUTERS A woman walks near a wall mural that reads 'creative'. The word 'chaotic' is written above it but has been crossed out.TAIWO ARIFAYAN / REUTERS
Also on Friday, a woman walks past this mural in Nigeria's biggest city, Lagos.
JOHAN RYNNERS / GETTY IMAGES A bird stands on a rock, holding an insect in its bill.JOHAN RYNNERS / GETTY IMAGES
A hornbill enjoys a grub in Bela Bela, South Africa, on Thursday.
MARCO LONGARI / AFP Women dressed in matching blue clothing stand close to a stone statue.MARCO LONGARI / AFP
Days earlier in the South African town of Magaliesburg, members of the Immaculate Conception Guild pose next to a statue of the Virgin Mary at the Mother of Mercy Shrine...
MARCO LONGARI / AFP Men dressed in matching dark suits and red tie wait in seats. Above them are depictions of the stations of the cross.MARCO LONGARI / AFP
People are gathered there on Saturday for the blessing of the statue and to perform the Stations of the Cross - a series of prayers following in the footsteps of Jesus.
SAMEER AL-DOUMY / AFP South Sudanese migrants gather around a fire to warm up under a tent at a makeshift camp.SAMEER AL-DOUMY / AFP
On Wednesday, men who have migrated from South Sudan huddle around a fire during cold temperatures in northern France.
JEROME FAVRE / EPA A grieving woman holds up a smartphone, showing a photo of her daughter smiling and dressed in pink.JEROME FAVRE / EPA
In Senegal on Friday, Bineta Dieng shows a photo of her 19-year-old daughter Maimouna, who left for Spain on a boat with dozens of other people two years ago, which later disappeared. "Nobody has been recovered," she says.
ISABEL INFANTES / REUTERS "Hands off Congo" reads the sign being waved by a protester.ISABEL INFANTES / REUTERS
On Saturday in the British capital, London, a woman draws attention to the plight of people in the Democratic Republic of Congo, during a protest against Israel's war in Gaza.
MOHAMED MESSARA / EPA A pair of Nike trainers are seen with a depiction of the Last Supper.MOHAMED MESSARA / EPA
An artist reimagines the Last Supper on a pair of Nike trainers in Tunisia on Thursday. Kenenti workshop in the capital, Tunis, restores old shoes and handbags to create something new.
MEHMET ASLAN / GETTY IMAGES A man dressed in patterned blue clothing lights kindling and blows on it to accelerate the flame.MEHMET ASLAN / GETTY IMAGES
A Masai man lights kindling for a fire in Arusha, Tanzania, on Thursday.
ABDEL MAJID BZIOUAT / AFP People take a stroll in the snow by Lake Sidi Ali. All of the landscape is covered in snow.ABDEL MAJID BZIOUAT / AFP
People take a stroll in Morocco's Atlas Mountains on Sunday.