The Observer's 20 photographs of the week

Tristram Kenton photographed the English National Ballet performing the Derek Deane production of Swan Lake at the Royal Albert Hall Photograph: Tristram Kenton

Afghan refugees are caught in a sandstorm on the outskirts of Islamabad, Pakistan, in this image by the excellent photographer Muhammed Muheisen, a regular to this gallery. Over 1.6 million registered Afghans live in Pakistan, the largest and most protracted refugee population in the world Photograph: Muhammed Muheisen/AP

Scott Turpin walks the fine line between the Needles of California, in Sequoia National Forest, 76 metres (250ft) above a spectacular landscape Photograph: Jeremiah Watt/Barcroft India

The best of this week's photojournalism came from the protests in Turkey. In this dramatic overhead shot of Istanbul's Taksim Square taken by Osman Orsal, protesters run from teargas fired by riot police. Two weeks ago, Orsal took the now celebrated photograph of a young protester in a red dress being sprayed with teargas by a riot policeman Photograph: Osman Orsal/Reuters

A protester is hit by water from a water cannon during the clashes in another photograph from Taksim Square. The authorities eventually used bulldozers to clear the makeshift barriers erected by the demonstrators Photograph: Kerim Okten/EPA

A man sleeps in the wreckage of a car outside Gezi park in Istanbul's Taksim square. The Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan appealed to the protesters to evacuate the Istanbul park after promising to suspend the site's redevelopment Photograph: Marco Longari/AFP/Getty

However the protest organisers called for a demonstration on Sunday to keep up pressure on the government to sack those responsible for the violent police crackdown and to abandon plans to redevelop a central Istanbul square. In this photograph by Yannis Behrakis, a protester talks on the phone in front of a window spray-painted with anti-government graffiti Photograph: Yannis Behrakis/Reuters

Cosmo Sarson's mural of Jesus breakdancing is reflected in a window in Stokes Croft. The artist was commissioned by The Canteen Bar to paint the wall, which is directly opposite Banksy's Mild Mild West Photograph: Matt Cardy/Getty Images

Fishermen haul shrimp baskets out of the North Sea in Oostduinkerk, Belgium. Oostduinkerke is the only place in the world where you can still see the 500-year-old tradition of fishermen trawling for shrimp on horseback Photograph: Laurent Dubrule/EPA

A world war two Dornier 17 aircraft, used during the 'Battle of Britain' in 1940, is transported onto a barge near Ramsgate, England. The salvage operation successfully raised the only remaining German bomber Dornier 17 from the sea Photograph: Peter Macdiarmid/Getty

Fire officers burn off natural ground fuel preparing the area for the encroachment of the wildfire in the Black Forest area of Colorado Springs Photograph: Brennan Linsley/AP

But more than 350 homes were eventually destroyed in the most destructive wildfire in Colorado history. Here, in the densely wooded Black Forest, burnt trees and destroyed homes are left in the wake of the wildfire Photograph: John Wark/AP

Female Palestinian militants from the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine arrive for a training session in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip Photograph: Suhaib Salem/Reuters

A horsewoman leads thousands of sheep during a simulation of a transhumance, the seasonal movement of people and their livestock between fixed summer and winter pastures. The ceremony was part of festivities to mark Marseille-Provence being named the 2013 European Capital of Culture Photograph: Jean-Paul Pelissier/Reuters

Visitors look at five artworks, 'Taxidermied Horses', by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan in the Fondation Beyeler in Riehen, Switzerland Photograph: Georgios Kefalas/EPA

Tens of thousands of Germans, Hungarians and Czechs were evacuated from their homes this week in the region's worst floods in a decade. In this graphic aerial shot by Thomas Peter, a garden with a swimming pool is surrounded by water from the Elbe river in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany Photograph: Thomas Peter/Reuters

Australian swimmer Chloe McCardel prepares to jump into the water at Hemingway Marina to start her swim from Havana to Florida. She was forced to abandon the attempt after being stung by jellyfish after only 11 hours into the expected 60-hour swim Photograph: Ramon Espinosa/AP

Thai police said that they confiscated more than 1,000 wild animals after a raid on the outskirts of Bangkok. Fourteen white lions, 17 marmosets and many other wild animals were found in cages Photograph: Chaiwat Subprasom/Reuters

Munduruku Indians from the Amazon Basin demonstrate in front of the Ministry of Mines and Energy in Brasilia. The Indians are protesting against violations of indigenous rights and are calling for the suspension of the construction of the Belo Monte hydroelectric plant on the Xingu, Teles Pires and Tapajos rivers, a huge project aimed at feeding Brazil's fast-growing demand for electricity Photograph: Lunae Parracho/Reuters

In downtown Johannesburg, people gather near a statue of former President Nelson Mandela. South Africa's presidency said that Nelson Mandela remained in 'a serious, but stable condition' whilst he remained in intensive care at a Pretoria hospital Photograph: Mujahid Safodien/AFP