NATURE’S WONDER: A aerial view shows the Mount Hombori from a Chinook helicopter during the start of the French Barkhane Force operation in Mali’s Gourma region. Troops will begin operating near the Burkina border from a new French military base in east-central Mali. The base will be the newest outpost of Operation Barkhane, France’s 4,500-strong antimilitant force which is headquartered in Chad but also operates in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger.— AFP