The Observer's 20 photographs of the week

A man is treated for wounds after a Syrian military jet attacked the Karm al-Aser neighbourhood of Aleppo. Analysts say that the surge in air strikes carried out by Syrian forces this week is a desperate attempt by President Bashar al-Assad's regime to reverse recent gains by rebel fighters Photograph: Javier Manzano/AFP

Independiente fans cheer during a Copa Sudamericana football match against Chile's Universidad Catolica in Buenos Aires Photograph: Victor R Caivano/AP

Taxis in a flooded lot in Hoboken, New Jersey, after superstorm Sandy. The storm caused massive flooding across much of the US Atlantic seaboard Photograph: Michael Bocchieri/Getty

Afghan border policemen patrol in Walli Was, near the border with Pakistan Photograph: Goran Tomasevic/REUTERS

Barack Obama gives a speech aided by teleprompters at a campaign event at Cheyenne Sports Complex, in Las Vegas Photograph: Larry Downing/Reuters

Big horn sheep captured in Nevada await transport to Utah, where they are being sent in an attempt to help repopulate the state with the animal Photograph: Julie Jacobson/AP

Port police officers light flares and shout slogans during an anti-austerity demonstration in Athens as the government unveiled a tough new budget Photograph: Aris Messinis/AFP

A cadet lies on the grass after collapsing during an annual ceremony for graduating cadets at the police school in Bogota Photograph: Jose Miguel Gomez/Reuters

The beachfront neighbourhood of Breezy Point burned down as it was inundated by floodwaters caused by superstorm Sandy Photograph: Mike Groll/AP

A soap bubble, made by a man who performs for money, floats in Madrid. One in four Spaniards are now unemployed as the economic crisis tightens its grip Photograph: Daniel Ochoa de Olza/AP

A rebel fighter belonging to the Qatebee Sokor al-Islam group fires a gun at an army jet in Aleppo Photograph: Narciso Contreras/AP

A street vendor waits for customers in front of graves during Day of the Dead activities at Los Rosales cemetery in Mexico Photograph: Alfredo Estrella/AFP

A two-year-old macaque is trained to ride a bicycle in a village of Suzhou, China. Thousands of animals are raised and trained by circus groups, an officially acknowledged local cultural tradition Photograph: Jianan Yu/Reuters

Mitt Romney gets ready to greet the crowd at a rally at Land O'Lake high school in Florida Photograph: Emmanuel Dunand/AFP

A boatman feeds birds on the Yamuna river in New Delhi Photograph: Kevin Frayer/AP

Children are reflected in a mirror at the Owntaw refugee camp for Muslims near Sittwe, Burma. The UN has said 22,587 people have been displaced after unrest between Muslim Rohingyas and Buddhist Rakhines in Pauktaw Photograph: Soe Zeya Tun/Reuters

Jia Jia, one of two giant pandas from China, in its enclosure in Singapore Photograph: Wong Maye-E/AP

Muslim Rohingyas seek treatment at a clinic run by three volunteer doctors from Rangoon. Burma views the 800,000 Rohingya who are confined to Rakhine state as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh, and denies them citizenship Photograph: Christophe Archambault/AFP

The shadow of Air Force One is seen as it approaches Atlantic City airport in New Jersey, where Barack Obama surveyed the damage caused by superstorm Sandy Photograph: Larry Downing/Reuters

People cross the Suchiate river from Guatemala to Mexico in Frontera El Carmen. The Suchiate river is a natural border line between Mexico and Guatemala and it is used for illegal transportation of people and goods Photograph: Jorge Dan Lopez/Reuters