Mali's rebel alliance signs peace deal with government

BAMAKO – An alliance of Tuareg-led rebels and the Malian government signed a peace deal on Saturday which is meant to draw a line under a 2012 uprising and allow the authorities to focus on tackling an Islamist militant threat. The Algerian-brokered deal, signed by a representative of the rebel Coordination of Movements of Azawad (CMA) in the Malian capital Bamako, hands greater autonomy to the sparsely populated northern region of Mali in a bid to put an end to a cycle of four uprisings since independence from France in 1960. –Reuters