A selection of the best photos from the African continent and beyond.
Hats off to the students of Kenya’s University of Nairobi as they celebrate their graduation on Friday.
Logistical and technical delays in the Democratic Republic of Congo mean voting carries on late into the night on Wednesday at many polling stations.
Madagascar President Andry Rajoelina’s inauguration ceremony at the start of his second term is packed out in Antananarivo on Saturday after he won last month’s opposition-boycotted election.
Motorcyclists kick up sand at a desert rally north-east of the Senegalese capital, Dakar, on Sunday.
In western Kenya, crowds gather for traditional bullfights in Kakamega on Saturday.
On the same day in Zimbabwe, game ranger Simba Marozva removes the tusk from the corpse of an elephant that died because of drought conditions.
Fire fighters battle the flames after an oil terminal exploded in the Guinean capital, Conakry, on Monday killing at least 18 people.
Members of Somalia’s police force march on Wednesday in celebration of the 80th anniversary of its founding.
Graffiti artists create murals in the Senegalese capital, Dakar, as part of an arts festival on Saturday.
On the same day in South Africa, contestants take part in the Mr and Mrs Albinism Pageant in Johannesburg, which aims to reduce stigma associated with the condition.
It is a holiday in the country, known as the Day of Reconciliation, and these women are getting ready to take part in a cultural festival near Durban.
Traders in the Ugandan capital, Kampala, are trying to cash in on Christmas on Sunday, selling tinsel and inflatable Father Christmases.
In the same vein, a market vendor in the Nigerian city of Ibadan is trying to encourage shoppers to buy festive hats on Monday.