The World in Photos This Week

French boots hit Malian soil; smog covers Beijing; and a nonchalant horse trots through a bonfire.

JANUARY 18, 2013

French President François Hollande announced on Jan. 12 that French military intervention in Mali had halted the advance of Islamist rebels trying to push south from their northern stronghold. In this Jan. 12 photo, Malian people in Bamako wave a French national flag in support of the French intervention. For more on the politics behind the French decision to intervene in Mali, see Robert Zaretsky's recent FP piece "A More Sacred Union."

HABIBOU KOUYATE/AFP/Getty Images