Maoists will join Nepal government

KATMANDU, Nepal – The leader of Nepal’s Maoist rebels announced a landmark agreement Friday to make his followers part of the Himalayan kingdom’s government for the first time.

The long-elusive rebel leader known as Prachanda emerged from a daylong meeting with top government leaders and said an interim administration would be formed within a month.

The interim government, which will create a new constitution, will replace the current national parliament as well as the Maoists’ “people’s government.”