Blue skies and bitter tears: Africa's top shots

25 October 2024

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

A man in brown robes stands at the entrance to an ancient Egyptian temple. — Image caption,
Temple guardian Abdel Karim greets visitors who have come to witness the sun's rays light up the statue of Pharaoh Ramses II in Egypt on Tuesday. The solar alignment only happens twice a year.

Supporters of the ruling CPDM party cheer as they wait for President Paul Biya to drive past them. — Image caption,
The day before in Cameroon, supporters of the governing party welcome home the country's 91-year-old president whose health has long been the cause of speculation.

Participants practice traditional basketry during the Ghadames Festival. — Image caption,
Women weave baskets during a cultural festival in the Libyan city of Ghadames on Wednesday...

Musicians dressed in traditional attire play during the Ghadames Festival celebrating the cultural and artistic heritage of the Libyan city. — Image caption,
Music is also a part of the celebrations...

Girls dressed in traditional attire pose for a picture during the Ghadames Festival celebrating the cultural and artistic heritage of the Libyan city. — Image caption,
And these girls dress in finery for the occasion.

Dial-up landline telephones of various colours are mounted on a sky-blue wall. — Image caption,
A curious collection of phones on a wall are part of the guided tour at Morocco's Atlas Studios in the city of Ouarzazate on Monday.

Ugandan novice monks dressed in shades of red and brown are queuing up to receive an offering from the community after meditation celebrating Kathina, a significant event on the Buddhist calendar in Entebbe, on 20 October. Bhante Buddharakkhita, formerly known as Steven Jemba Kabogozza, brought Buddhism to Uganda 20 years ago after returning from India. Since 2005, he has been teaching mindfulness meditation across Africa. His ambitious goal is to train at least 54 monks and send each one to a different African country to teach and spread the message of Buddhism within the context of the African culture. — Image caption,
Young Buddhist monks line up to a receive an offering from the community as part of Kathina festivities on Sunday in Entebbe, Uganda.

Journalists photograph kites during a practice run at Dolphin Beach ahead of this weekend's 30th Cape Town International Kite Festival, an awareness campaign for World Mental Health Day where kite enthusiasts gather to fly colourful kites to raise funds for mental health support, in Cape Town, South Africa, October 22. — Image caption,
It's time for a quick practice on Tuesday ahead of the Cape Town International Kite Festival...

Tunisia's Afef Sebti and Amelia Amira prepare their kite at Dolphin Beach ahead of this weekend's 30th Cape Town International Kite Festival, an awareness campaign for World Mental Health Day where kite enthusiasts gather to fly colourful kites to raise funds for mental health support, in Cape Town, South Africa. — Image caption,
These women have travelled from Tunisia to take part in the annual event in South Africa, which raises money for mental health services.

Ivorian artists perform during The 2nd edition of Abidjan Border Forum (ABF), at the exhibition center in Abidjan 23 October 2024. The second edition of the Abidjan Border Forum (ABF) themed 'Green borders: between shared natural resources and security challenges' is co-organized with the African Union Commission and aims at discussing the challenges and opportunities inherent to border governance in Africa. — Image caption,
Artists perform during the Abidjan Border Forum in Ivory Coast on Wednesday.

A man leads his camels along the shores of Yasmina lake, a seasonal lake in the village of Merzouga in the Sahara desert in southeastern Morocco on October 20, 2024. Last month's unusual torrential rains triggered floods that killed at least 18 people in areas of southern Morocco that straddle the Sahara Desert. Morocco is one of the world's most water-stressed nations, with frequent droughts affecting a third of the population employed in agriculture. — Image caption,
Evidence of last month's floods linger in a corner of the Sahara Desert in south-eastern Morocco on Sunday...

Teacher Suleyman Ba stands in a classroom of the Ecole de Diogel with water marks from flooding less then a week before and water still ankle deep in class rooms and waste deep in the court yard in Dioguel on October 22, 2024. Floods along the Senegal river have affected over 55,000 people after heavy rain in the Senegal River Basin leaving many villages underwater and over 1,000 hectares of farm land submerged. — Image caption,
This school in Senegal flooded last week and the water is still ankle-deep as of Tuesday...

Residents sit in a pirogue as they move between submerged houses in the flooded area of Adankolo in Lokoja, Kogi state, Nigeria. — Image caption,
Many Nigerians have also suffered heavy flooding, including these people in Kogi state using a canoe to get around town on Monday.

Players of Zambia arrives at the stadium prior to the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup Dominican Republic 2024 Group D match between Zambia and Japan at Felix Sanchez Stadium on October 23, 2024 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Repubic. ( — Image caption,
Zambia's Under-17 women's World Cup football team arrive in good spirits ahead of their match against Japan in the Dominican Republic on Wednesday.

Amanuel Ghebreigzabhier of Eritrea and Team Lidl - Trek, Xianjing Lyu of China and Team China and a general view of the peloton competing during the 5th Gree-Tour Of Guangxi 2024, Stage 5 a 165.8km stage from Yizhou to Nongla 641m. — Image caption,
On Saturday, Eritrean cyclist Amanuel Ghebreigzabhier competes in China's Tour Of Guangxi.

An image is held of Paulo Guambe (L) and advisor and lawyer Elvino Dias (R) both working with Mozambique's leading opposition candidate for the 'Obtimist party for the development of Mozambique' (PODEMOS), is held during a vigil the day after they were shot dead in Maputo October 19, 2024. The lawyer Elvino Dias for Mozambique's leading opposition candidate Venancio Mondlane, who ran for president in October 9 elections, was gunned down in Maputo on October 19. Dias, was killed along with Paulo Guambe after gunmen shot up their car while it was immobile on a road in the centre of the capital, witnesses said. Mozambique is awaiting official nationwide results from the elections. They are due to be published on October 24. — Image caption,
Mourners in Mozambique hold this photo of top opposition aides Paulo Guambe and Elvino Dias, who were gunned down last week following a disputed general election...

Esmerada Gonsalves, widow of murdered Podemos lawyer Elvino Dias , cries during his funeral at the Paroquia Nossa Senhora do Rosario church, in Laulane township, in Maputo. — Image caption,
Esmerada Gonsalves, the widow of Elvino Dias, attends his funeral on Wednesday in Maputo.

Nairobi County emergency responders inspect the rubble of a collapsed residential building at Kahawa West residential area in Nairobi on October 20, 2024. Response teams were responding to a building collapse in Nairobi, where people are feared trapped despite a vacation notice. (Photo by LUIS TATO / AFP) — Image caption,
A catastrophic building collapse on Sunday in Kenya's capital, Nairobi, leaves two people trapped.

African women who came to work and became unemployed due to the Israeli attacks are pictured in the shelter where they are placed, in Beirut, Lebanon on October 20, 2024. In Beirut, the capital of Lebanon, which is under intense Israeli attacks, African women who came to Lebanon to work and became unemployed due to the war are waiting for a helping hand to reach out to them. 172 women and 3 babies from Sierra Leone were placed in a shelter in Beirut by Lebanese volunteers. — Image caption,
Sierra Leonean women and children who have been kicked out and abandoned by their Lebanese employers following Israeli attacks seek shelter in Beirut on Sunday. Their plight is shared by many African domestic workers who have gone to the country.

A runner jogs under Jacaranda trees in bloom in the Melville suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa. This species is not indigenous to South Africa and was introduced from Brazil in 1829. The flowering trees are seen as the sign of the beginning of summer. — Image caption,
And on Thursday, Jacaranda trees bloom in South Africa's biggest city of Johannesburg.

From the BBC in Africa this week:

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