A former French colony, Mali once enjoyed a reputation as one of West Africa’s most stable democracies with the majority of its 15.8 million people practicing a moderate form of Islam. That changed last March, following a coup in the capital which created the disarray that allowed Islamist extremists to take over the main cities in the distant north.
• Associated Press writer Rukmini Callimachi in Bamako, Mali, and John Heilprin in Geneva contributed to this report.
By Douglas Holtz-Eakin
The young drop coverage to avoid higher premiums
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