Families of refugee athletes who come from Kenya's Kakuma settlement have been sending them prayers and messages of hope, before they compete at the Olympic Games. They are among 29 athletes and refugees scheduled to compete in Tokyo in 12 sports, under the banner of the Olympic flag, according to the UNHCR. This is only the second appearance of the IOC Refugee Olympic Team. The first was in Rio de Janeiro in 2016.

Hundreds of people wait to have their picture taken with the famous Olympic rings outside the Olympic stadium as Japan extends a state of emergency, a week after the start of the Games.

Japan's Hiromu Inada is watching the Tokyo Olympics hoping to pick up some tips from the athletes before he competes in next year's Ironman world championship, at the age of 90. Inada, who turns 89 in November, already holds the Guinness World Record for the oldest person to complete an Ironman competition -- a gruelling format involving swimming 3.86 kilometres, biking 180.25 kilometres and running a 42.19 kilometre marathon. A three-time winner of the competition in his age group, his commitment to sport is so deep that he records footage of athletes at the Games and watches it to analyse leg movements and posture.

Tokyo 2020 mascot's Miraitowa tours the main press centre, greeting and posing for photos with media from around the world.

In the lush green fields of Egypt's fertile Delta Valley, farmers and artisans are struggling to make a living as they keep alive the Pharaonic-era tradition of making papyrus.

Senegalese children dream of being famous football players

Burkina Faso’s Hugues Fabrice Zango, a bronze medallist in the triple jump at the Tokyo Games, comes home to cheering fans and celebratory dances after winning the first Olympic medal for the country.

As the Tokyo Olympics draws to a close, a flypast above the French capital and a party in front of the landmark Trocadero building marks the handover of the Games to Paris.

The star of Italy's Olympic team, Lamont Marcell Jacobs, returned home as a national hero on Monday after the country's best performance in the Games' history capped an unforgettable summer of sport for the Mediterranean nation. Jacobs produced arguably the shock result of the Olympics -– and one of the biggest shocks in Olympic history -- when he claimed victory in the 100m, storming out of athletics obscurity to take gold in a time of 9.80sec.

One year after singer Akon laid the first stone of the $6 billion futuristic city he plans to build in his native Senegal, the site remains grassland. Construction of "Akon City," a project due to feature ultramodern twisting skyscrapers, was already meant to have begun near the Atlantic Ocean village of Mbodiene. But building work is yet to start, prompting residents who were hoping for jobs to wonder about its future.

A new religious decree in Egypt allows hymen repair for more women than before. While it has been welcomed by rights activists and women's organizations, some critics fear that it might lure women into premarital sex.

Israeli premier Bennett said Egypt could help restart the peace process with the Palestinians, while Egyptian President Al-Sisi said he wants to "strengthen regional security."