Mali’s PM Diarra speaks during a meeting with political figures from northern Mali in Bamako

Mali’s Prime Minister Cheick Modibo Diarra (C), a former NASA astrophysicist, speaks during a meeting with political figures from northern Mali in Bamako, August 10, 2012. The meeting was held as the start of dialogue and negotiations with the Islamists in control of the country’s north. REUTERS/Adama Diarra (MALI – Tags: POLITICS)