Mali Strongman Goita Reaches Out Amid International Pressure

BAMAKO, MALI - Malian Colonel Assimi Goita on Friday said a new prime minister will be appointed within days, in his first remarks since seizing power this week.  

The army officer made the announcement during a meeting with political and civil-society figures in Bamako, according to an AFP journalist, as international pressure rises on the country's ruling military administration.   Soldiers detained President Bah Ndaw and Prime Minister Moctar Ouane on Monday, before releasing them Thursday after they resigned.   But the twin arrests triggered a diplomatic uproar — and marked the second apparent coup within a year in the unstable country.