The Observer's 20 photographs of the week

Photographer Jerome Delay was in Mali this week, covering the internal conflict. The national football team were still competing in the Africa Cup of Nations, having reached the semi finals. Here, a Malian man sits on a window ledge, in Gao, to watch the crucial match between Nigeria and Mali Photograph: Jerome Delay/AP

And here, again in Gao, a Malian donkey sports a skull chain Photograph: Jerome Delay/AP

Singer Beyonce performs during half time at Super Bowl XLVII at the Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana Photograph: Ezra Shaw/Getty

The lights went out at the stadium in the third quarter of the NFL Super Bowl XLVII game in New Orleans Photograph: Mike Segar/Reuters

The skeleton of King Richard III, which was found at the Greyfriars Church excavation site in Leicester. Researchers from the University of Leicester said that DNA from the 500-year-old skeleton, which has battle wounds and a curved spine, matched a 17th generation descendant of the king's sister, Canadian-born carpenter Michael Ibsen. The image was released by the University of Leicester
Photograph: AFP

A sheep looks out from its snow covered shed in Penistone, South Yorkshire. Snow and gale force winds returned this week to parts of Britain Photograph: Anna Gowthorpe/PA

Gale-force winds battered the seafront at Seaham harbour in County Durham this week, as winter returned with a vengeance Photograph: Owen Humphreys/PA

Photographer Goran Tomasevic was in Syria with the Free Syrian Army, which is fighting the government of Bashar al-Assad. Here he photographs fighters taking cover as they enter a Syrian Army base during heavy fighting in the Arabeen neighbourhood of Damascus Photograph: Goran Tomasevic/Reuters

In Surabaya, Indonesia, horses are hoisted into the air by a crane as they are being transferred from a cargo ship onto a truck Photograph: Trisnadi/AP

Cambodian mourners cry and pray outside a crematorium as the late King Norodom Sihanouk is cremated in Phnom Penh, Cambodia Photograph: David Guttenfelder/AP

Muhammed Muheisein, a regular to this gallery, photographed Afghan refugees in Islamabad. Pakistan has been hosting hundreds of thousands of Afghan refugees, some since the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan more than three decades ago. Many live without electricity, running water and other basic services Photograph: Muhammed Muheisen/AP

An activist from the animal rights group AnimaNaturalis holds a placard that reads “Stop! no more bullfighting” as protesters lie covered in fake blood during a demonstration in Mexico City Photograph: Tomas Bravo/Reuters

Sri Lankan navy personnel in Colombo fire a 21-gun salute on the seafront in Galle to mark the island nation's 65th independence day Photograph: Ishara S Kodikara/AFP

A Palestinian child cries after his family's home was demolished in Beit Hanina, Jerusalem. The building was said to have been constructed without proper permits. Members of the 33-member family said that they had been waiting to receive permits Photograph: Bernat Armangue/AP

Back in Gao, Mali, students hold up their chalk boards in a classroom where tables and benches were taken by Islamists. Schools reopened after the town was secured by French and Malian forces Photograph: Sia Kambou/AFP

Cosmic clouds and stellar winds seen in an image provided by Nasa of LL Orionis and the Orion Nebula Photograph: NASA/ESA/Hubble Heritage Team/HA/EPA

Thousands of dead herring in Kolgrafafjordur, a small fjord on the northern part of Snaefellsnes peninsula, in Iceland. The fish died from a lack of oxygen in the fjord, thought to have been caused by a landfill and bridge built across the fjord in December 2004 Photograph: Brynjar Gauti/AP

Raphael Slawinski hangs upside down as he climbs the Heimcken Falls in British Columbia, Canada. They have been dubbed the world's hardest climb and are 450ft (140 metres) tall Photograph: Wiktor Skupinski/Barcroft Media

A model is seen backstage before the Wildfox Autumn/Winter 2013 collection during New York Fashion Week Photograph: Eric Thayer/Reuters

Hindu holy men of the Juna Akhara sect participate in a ritual to rid them of all ties in this life and dedicate themselves to serving God as a “Naga” or naked holy man, at Sangam in India Photograph: Manish Swarup/AP