Mali coup leader begins transition

Under intense pressure from the nations bordering Mali, the junior officer who seized control of the country in a coup last month has signed an accord agreeing to return the nation to constitutional rule.

The announcement came only hours after separatist rebels in Mali’s distant north declared their independence, a move that further complicates a crisis that began 16 days ago when a group of disgruntled soldiers stormed the presidential palace, reversing two decades of democratic rule in the space of a day.