News

The leaders of Fatah and Hamas, the main Palestinian factions, have signed a deal in Egypt's capital Cairo aimed at ending their four-year rift.

Palestinian Authority president and Fatah party leader Mahmoud Abbas said Palestinians had decided to "turn the black page of division for ever".

Mr Abbas and Hamas's Khaled Meshaal had not met since the expulsion of Fatah from Gaza in 2007.

That expulsion followed a surprise Hamas election victory a year earlier.

Correspondents say the recent Arab uprisings have given fresh momentum to reconciliation.

The agreement paves the way for a joint interim government ahead of national elections next year.