[ad_1] A selection of the best photos from across the African continent this year:Short presentational grey linePriest light incense in the city of Gondor in January during Timket - the Ethiopian Orthodox feast which commemorates the baptism of Jesus in the River Jordan.Also in January, final rites are performed for the former president of Ghana, Jerry Rawlings, who died at the age of 73 in November 2020...While in Liberia, the New Year brings gifts and smiles as community leader Janet Sharty hands out popcorn, lollipops and biscuits to children.Short presentational grey lineFebruary sees Mayar Sherif make history by becoming the first Egyptian woman to win a main-draw match at a tennis Grand Slam thanks to her performance at the Australian Open.Also in February, feeding flamingos are reflected in the waters of Lake Magadi in Kenya's Rift Valley.Short presentational grey lineFiguig, a brightly painted oasis town in the Atlas Mountains, brings colour to March...And days later in Spain, Yassine Balbzioui poses next to his work which is part of an exhibition exploring Moroccan art since 1950.Short presentational grey lineEthiopian Orthodox Christians in Israel celebrate on Palm Sunday...Meanwhile Francis Ngannou returns home to Cameroon to a hero's welcome, after becoming the new world champion of heavyweight mixed martial arts after his UFC bout in Las Vegas.Short presentational grey lineIn May as Egypt's temperatures soar, children in the outskirts of Cairo cool off by jumping into the River Nile.Meanwhile in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo hundreds of thousands of people are forced from their homes when Mount Nyiragongo erupts - and weeks later volcanologists and rangers pass ash-coated trees as they scale its slopes.Short presentational grey lineJune sees more power cuts in South Africa, where Cecilia Nkosi talks with her great-grandson Smangaliso at home in Soweto.Kitted out in traditional Harari clothes from eastern Ethiopia, these women attend the reopening ceremony of Addis Ababa's famous, and remodelled, Meskel Square.And this diamond, described as the third-largest of its kind ever found, is unearthed in Botswana.Short presentational grey lineIn July the Chadian actresses Rihane Khalil Alio and Achouackh Abakar Souleymane - who star in Lingui, The Sacred Bonds - take to the red carpet at Cannes Film Festival in France.Naledi Manyoni throws her daughter, Melokuhle, to strangers from a burning building following mass riots in South Africa against ex-President Jacob Zuma's imprisonment. Both mother and daughter emerged safely.Short presentational grey lineIn August, Egyptian diver Mohab Ishak takes to the springboard at the delayed Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.And in Nigeria, Prince Tsola Emiko is crowned the new olu, or king, of Warri.Short presentational grey lineSeptember marks the end of Niger's rainy season and the start of the Cure Salée festival - where 15-year-old Nobe Nobe from Ago, 17-year-old Djanje Haiballa from Fouduk and 28-year-old Veli Rabeo also of Fouduk - pose for individual portraits.Meanwhile, in Egypt, the cotton harvest gets going.Also in September, a lucky fan is serenaded on stage by Vegedream at the Anoumabo Festival of Urban Music (Femua) in Ivory Coast.After 10 years in power including a controversial third term, Guinean President Alpha Condé is detained and the military announces it is seizing power - releasing this photo to show who is in charge.Short presentational grey lineIn October Kenya's Diana Kipyogei triumphs in the Boston Marathon, in the US.The months was also marked the 90th birthday of South Africa's Archbishop Desmond Tutu, when artist Brian Rolfe restored a mural of the cleric in Cape Town after it was defaced by a racist slur. The Nobel laureate later died in December.Short presentational grey lineNovember sees huge protests continue in Sudan demanding full civilian rule following the coup in October...While Guinea-Bissau's main stadium is the scene for the country's independence day celebrations.Short presentational grey lineIn December, a man and his cow queue for a ferry in The Gambia after presidential elections in which Adama Barrow won a second term...And Wizkid and Burna Boy bring the year to a close with an electrifying performance at London's O2 Arena.Images from AFP, Getty Images, Reuters and BBC [ad_2] Source link