Former Mali PM will candidate for president

Former Malian prime minister Cheick Modibo Diarra said on Tuesday he was standing for president in the July elections.

Diarra spent just eight months at the head of the deeply-divided west African nation last year before being forced to step down.

“I am running because a great many Malian people have requested that I carry their hopes for the future of Mali,” he said.

“I cannot remain indifferent to their desire. The debate will be very interesting and I don’t want to run from it.”