Finery and frailty: Africa's top shots

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

Large, colourful kites shaped like fish fly in the sky at Dolphin Beach. In the distance a large tanker can be seen at sea.Image source, ESA ALEXANDER / REUTERS
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The Cape Town International Kite Festival draws enthusiasts to this beach in South Africa on Tuesday.

Models wear outfits made of plastic bags in bright colours.Image source, EMMANUEL ADEGBOYE / EPA
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The next day in Nigeria, models take part in a so-called Trashion Show...

A women wearing a shredded denim stetson hat and a matching denim dress.
Image source, EMMANUEL ADEGBOYE / EPA
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The showcase in Lagos is run by an environmental group.

A woman wear chunky silver rings, bracelets and an elaborate necklace.Image source, BILLEL BENSALEM / NURPHOTO / GETTY IMAGES
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On Tuesday, an Algerian Sahrawi woman proudly showcases her jewellery at the National Cultural Festival of Women's Creativity in Algiers.

A bird holds a tiny, shrieking lizard in its beak.Image source, EMIN YOGURTCUOGLU / GETTY IMAGES
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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.

A man leaps into the air during a vault routine.Image source, ROBERTO PUDYANTO / GETTY IMAGES
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Cameroon's Ruben Sodea vaults into the air at the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Indonesia on Monday.

Men paddle in a large, wooden fishing canoe in Ngor on 18 October.Image source, CARMEN ABD ALI / AFP / GETTY IMAGES
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Senegal's fiercely competitive canoe races off the coast of Dakar are a yearly attraction. Saturday's regatta once again attracted cheering crowds.

A patron uses a phone to take a photo inside a multicoloured restroom.Image source, OLYMPIA DE MAISMONT / AFP / GETTY IMAGES
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Later that day in Nigeria, clubbers enjoy Lagos' buzzing nightlife...

A woman dances on a stage with red strobes lights fanning out behind her. Image source, OLYMPIA DE MAISMONT / AFP / GETTY IMAGES
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This club in the Ikoyi neighbourhood features cabaret.

Men wearing matching blue outfits stand in a line and dance in unison.Image source, SIA KAMBOU / AFP / GETTY IMAGES
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Grand-Bassam in Ivory Coast once again plays host to the Abissa festival on Saturday...

A man wearing robes, a gold crown, and large, bulbous gold jewellery is carried by porters.Image source, SIA KAMBOU / AFP / GETTY IMAGES
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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.

A woman wearing a black dress stands on the red carpet and poses for cameras.
Image source, FABIO FRUSTACI / EPA
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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.

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.Image source, LEGNAN KOULA / EPA
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Campaign billboards for former-First Lady Simone Ehivet Gbagbo are posted around Abidjan ahead of Saturday's presidential election in Ivory Coast.

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".Image source, MOHAMED KHALIL / AFP / GETTY IMAGES
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Protesters in Gabes, southern Tunisia, say a local chemical factory is causing them health issues and must be shut down.

Members of the Cameroonian police are seen near a burning barricade that is burning in the middle of the road.Image source, AFP via Getty Images
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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.

Three boys sit at a small table at the side of  a road and play with a mobile phone.Image source, EREN BOZKURT / ANADOLU / GETTY IMAGES
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And on Friday, boys play with a mobile phone in Madagascar's coastal city of Toliara.

From the BBC in Africa this week:

A woman looking at her mobile phone and the graphic BBC News AfricaImage source, Getty Images/BBC

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