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31 Mar 2011 10:43

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World: Ivory Coast: Opposition takes administrative capital, Gbagbo’s forces “crumbling”

  • yes under the leadership of Alassane Ouattara, opposition forces in Ivory Coast now control the country’s administrative capital
  • “hours” resignation deadline given to Laurent Gbagbo, who has so far refused to step down as President, by Ouattara’s Prime Minister source
  • » Quick recap: Gbagbo lost November’s presidential elections, but has refused to cede power to Ouattara, the victor. The taking of the administrative capital, Yamoussoukro, has symbolic significance, as it was the birthplace of the area’s first President and ultra-popular reformer, Félix Houphouët-Boigny. It’s not a done-deal yet; Abidjan, the city from which the country’s government is actually run, is still controlled by Gbagbo forces, and will present a much more difficult challenge to the opposition.
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

30 Mar 2011 13:06

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World: Obama speaks out on Ivory Coast’s Gbagbo

  • He’s now using his thugs to try to stay in power and intimidate the opposition and the duly elected president.
  • President Barack Obama • On the continued grip on power by Laurent Gbagbo, the Ivory Coast strongman who was electorally defeated by Alassane Ouattara last November. As power-hungry, unscrupulous leaders are prone to do, Gbagbo didn’t relinquish power to Ouattara, instead orchestrating a campaign of intimidation and violence against the citizenry. Some 400 people have been killed as a result, and it’s estimated more than a million have been displaced, fleeing their homes and seeking peaceful refuge elsewhere. It’s nice to hear the President talk about this, because frankly, the people of the Ivory Coast have gotten short shrift with all the upheaval in the Middle East. He emphasized that a diplomatic effort with surrounding African nations is the crux of the U.S. effort to isolate and pressure Gbagbo out of power, downplaying military options. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

28 Feb 2011 21:15

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World: Did the Ivory Coast break a UN embargo to buy helicopters?

  • three the number of attack helicopters the Ivory Coast’s president, Laurent Gbagbo, may have received from Belarus recently
  • zero the number of helicopters Gbagbo’s government is supposed to be able to get, according to the UN’s 2004 arms embargo on the country; oops source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

24 Jan 2011 10:28

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Biz, World: Ivory Coast leaders fighting with chocolate, in non-funny way

  • cause Internationally-recognized Ivory Coast leader Alassane Ouattara, in an effort to starve still-clinging loser Laurent Gbagbo of cash, has decided to block all exports of cocoa from the country for a month. Ivory Coast is the world’s largest producer, by the way.
  • reaction An immediate effect of the export ban? Cocoa prices have gone way up on the commodities market – a 3.4 percent leap in just a day. Many are afraid of a potential market disruption. Some experts, however, suggest that the market is just overreacting to the news. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

02 Jan 2011 12:15

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World: Did mob attack on Ivory Coast’s Alassane Ouattara fizzle out?

  • Everything is calm at the hotel, we’re very serene.
  • Alassane Ouattara spokesperson Patrick Achi • Expressing relief that the planned mob attack of the Golf Hotel in Abidjan, where the Ivory Coast’s should-be leader is staying, seems to have fizzled out. We’re glad it did too, because it could’ve led to fresh civil war in the country. Fingers crossed it doesn’t happen. In other news, current leader Laurent Gbagbo unsurprisingly ignored a deadline to quit on New Year’s Eve. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

31 Dec 2010 17:19

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World: Ivory Coast’s Laurent Gbagbo blames his problems on the West

  • The man of the hour: Here’s an interview Euronews got with Laurent Gbagbo, the Ivory Coast leader fighting for his political life and consequently pushing a civil war. Warning: The interview is in French (with translation). Key thing to take from this: “It’s not open to debate. What the West is arguing for is not legal. It’s imposing the will of the powerful on somebody else. I don’t agree with it.” So in other words, because the West (i.e. the United Nations) noticed that your electoral results are questionable, it’s all of a sudden invalid? Yeah, right. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

30 Dec 2010 13:35

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World: Ivory Coast could celebrate new year by falling further into abyss

  • A few things happen on January 1st, guys. First of all, it’s the new year, which is always sort of a big deal. Secondly, it’s the site’s second anniversary, which means we expect cake, but probably won’t get it because nobody cares enough about this site to make a cake. But third, and most importantly, some really crazy stuff could go down in the Ivory Coast. See, supporters of opposition leader Alassane Ouattara are holed up in the Golf Hotel in Abidjan, but supporters of Laurent Gbagbo are talking about plans to “liberate” the hotel on the first of the year, leading the UN’s new envoy to the country to say things like “on the brink of genocide.” This could be extremely bad, and we’d rather have a crappy anniversary that everyone ignores than to see a country like the Ivory Coast, which has been through hell and civil war, fall into that trap again thanks to the current unrest being caused by Gbagbo’s controversial hold on power. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

28 Dec 2010 20:52

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World: Not even peer pressure enough to get Laurent Gbagbo to resign

See this guy in the middle here? Well, he (along with two other African leaders) went to the Ivory Coast today to see if he could get Laurent Gbagbo to resign. Not so much. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

28 Dec 2010 09:39

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World: The Ivory Coast nearly couped yesterday – in Paris, that is

These dudes are blocking off the Ivory Coast’s French embassy. Why? Supporters of should-be-winner Alassane Ouattara took it over for a bit yesterday. Uh-oh. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

25 Dec 2010 21:59

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World: Ivory Coast’s presidential instability leading to mass exodus

  • 14,000 people headed for Liberia, stat source
  • » To emphasize: This is not a trip one takes lightly. The people evacuating the country have been walking for hours and days to reach a river dividing the two countries. At that point, they have to make an arduous journey on a barge to reach Liberia. The level of work they’re putting in to leave the country suggests that something bad’s about to go down.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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