Mali President Resigns; West Africa Sighs With Relief

A military coup in Mali is becoming a more orderly transfer of power and drawing support from the nation's rather nervous West African neighbors, Al Jazeera reports. About two weeks after a military coup, President Amadou Toumani Toure has agreed to step aside for parliament speaker Diouncounda Traore to take his place and help organize elections. In return, regional countries have agreed to end sanctions and, if needed, help fight a rebel insurgency in northeastern Mali.

But Mali's army leader seemed to bristle at the notion of receiving military help from his neighbors. "We have to sit and talk," he said. "If they want to help us it should be according to our needs." (More Mali stories.)