Ivory Coast

ReutersCopyright: Reuters

At least four people have died and 30 injured when a four-storey building collapsed in the district of Cocody in Abidjan, Ivory Coast's biggest city.

The incident took place around half-past midnight on Monday, the fire department said.

A search operation is ongoing within the security perimeter established at the site.

Despite rescuers' efforts, witnesses say some people are still trapped in the rubble.

The 28-apartment building was inaugurated only two years ago but some of its tenants say big cracks were visible in the construction.

Authorities say an investigation will be opened.

The Minister of Construction, Housing and Urban Planning, Bruno Nabagne Kone, has visited the site.

After expressing his condolences, he commented on Twitter that these accidents were preventable if people were more responsible.

He added his ministry will continue to demolish dangerous constructions.

Another building collapsed a week ago in another Abidjan district, Treichville, killing seven people.

A year ago, the minister deplored that most of the constructions carried out in Abidjan did not have a building permit.

Read more: Six reasons why so many buildings collapse

AFPCopyright: AFP

Ivory Coast's former parliament Speaker, Guillaume Soro, has denied the discovery of weapons at his residence in Bouake city in the north.

Mr Soro has been in exile in Europe since 2019.

His communication director, Toure Moussa, said the former speaker had not stayed in this residence for several years.

The latest discovery comes after that of 2017, when a cache of weapons was found at the home of his chief of protocol Souleymane Kamarate Kone.

According to Guillaume Soro's camp, the news is part of a strategy to manipulate the Ivorian citizens.

Mr Soro was sentenced to life imprisonment in absentia in June 2021, on charges of plotting a coup against President Alassane Ouattara.

Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images

A campaign group says a pregnancy centre in Ivory Coast is misinforming women about their right to an abortion.

The British-based openDemocracy has accused Étoile du Matin, which is linked to a radical Christian group from the US, of telling women abortion was illegal under all circumstances.

Ivory Coast permits women to terminate their pregnancies if they have been raped, or if their life is at risk.

An Ivorian senator, Mamadou Kano, said the government should investigate Étoile du Matin and its pregnancy centre.

The group has not commented on the allegations.

AFPCopyright: AFP

US troops have joined several hundred soldiers from 10 African countries for an annual military exercise in Ivory Coast.

The two-week exercise, known as Flintlock, is designed to strengthen co-ordination against Islamist militant groups in West Africa and the Sahel.

It opens just before French President Emmanuel Macron hosts a summit in Paris this week on the future of the French-led multinational force based in Mali.

Following the coups there and in neighbouring Burkina Faso - as well as the growing influence of the Russian mercenary force known as the Wagner Group - France and its European allies have said they are prepared to withdraw security assistance unless the military regimes pledge to restore democratic government.

AFPCopyright: AFP

Ivorian ministers were prevented from attending a cabinet meeting on Wednesday after they failed to present Covid-19 test certificates.

Health officials announced on 31 December the mandatory presentation of Covid-19 tests before being allowed to large gatherings.

Wednesday’s cabinet meeting was the first of the year, and the absence of eight members of the government was noted.

According to Ivorian media, absentees included the minister of communication, Amadou Coulibaly, due to illness, and other government members who did not submit their Covid test results to have access to the council room.

At the beginning of the meeting, President Alassane Ouattara expressed concern over the rising number of Covid cases.

Ivory Coast has registered more than 75,000 Covid cases and 727 related deaths since the beginning pandemic two years ago.

GetCopyright: Get

The government in Ivory Coast has resumed talks with opposition parties in a bid to boost unity and democracy.

The political dialogue had stopped after the sudden death of Prime Minister Hamed Bakayoko in March last year.

On Thursday, about 21 major political parties joined in the dialogue.

Prime Minister Patrick Achi, who was leading the talks, said this was a sign of the strength of Ivorian democracy.

He insisted that different political party leaders should understand the benefits of peace and encouraged them to work for national cohesion and the stability of the country.

Pascal Affi N’guessan, the head of the opposition Ivorian Popular Front (FPI), said his party was welcoming the dialogue with hope.

The local elections scheduled for 2023, as well as a reform of the national electoral commission, are some of the major points to be discussed in the forum.

The civil society will also be taking a major role in the dialogue.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has been honoured with the status of a traditional chief in Ivory Coast.

He was given a symbolic key to the autonomous district of Abidjan and robed in Ivorian traditional clothes by local leaders during the ceremony on Thursday.

The key to the city is an honour bestowed upon esteemed residents and visitors.

The South African leader was also given the name of Chief Dwasaho – meaning the great warrior – as well as an honorary citizenship of the city.

“I am truly humbled by this honour, it is impressive in many ways, because it is a demonstration of the rituals of our African people and ancestors,” Mr Ramaphosa said.

The presidency shared a video of the event:

The South African president was later bestowed with an Ivory Coast's distinguished state title by President Allasane Ouattara during a state banquet.

The South African leader is on a state visit to the country.

Mous Lamrabat/Loft Art GalleryCopyright: Mous Lamrabat/Loft Art Gallery

West Africa's biggest annual art fair is once again opening its doors to visitors, having made last year's event online-only to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

Highlights include textile pieces by Marie-Claire Messouma Manlanbien, portraiture from Nigeria's Juwon Aderemi and the photography of Moroccan-born Mous Lamrabat.

Art X Lagos is also showcasing digital works, known as Non Fungible Tokens (NFTs), by a number of African artists.

This year's event, which began on Thursday, will run in-person until Sunday and will continue online until 21 November.

Marie-Claire Messouma Manlanbien/Galerie Cécile FakhouryCopyright: Marie-Claire Messouma Manlanbien/Galerie Cécile Fakhoury

Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images

Burkina Faso's exiled former President Blaise Compaoré has said he won't attend a long-awaited trial over the 1987 assassination of his predecessor, Thomas Sankara, which is due to start on Monday.

His lawyers said they would also boycott the proceedings, which they described as "staged" and "political".

Mr Compaoré has been living in Ivory Coast since 2014, when he was ousted following mass protests.

It was announced in April that he would face charges of complicity in the murder of Mr Sankara.

In 2016 the Burkinabé authorities issued an international warrant for Blaise Compaoré’s arrest.

However he now has Ivorian citizenship and his extradition is for now unlikely to happen.

AFPCopyright: AFP

People entering Ivory Coast will from Monday be required to present a "health pass" showing that they have been vaccinated, or taken a Covid-19 test in the last 72 hours.

President Alassane Ouattara made the announcement as part of the country's measures to limit the spread of the virus.

Mr Ouattara also said that the validity of coronavirus PCR tests would be reduced from five to three days for travellers arriving to Ivory Coast by air.

Ivorian authorities recently warned that they might ban unvaccinated people from accessing public places.

Charles Konan Banny, who served as Ivory Coast's prime minister from 2005 to 2007, has died in a hospital in Paris after he had contracted coronavirus, the AFP news agency quotes aides as saying.

President Alassane Ouattara paid tribute to Mr Konan Banny, who was 78, saying on Twitter that his "friend and brother" was "a great servant of the state" who made an important contribution to national reconciliation.

As well as serving as prime minister, Mr Konan Banny also headed the Commission for Dialogue, Truth and Reconciliation that was set up after the violence that followed the disputed 2010 election, AFP says.

"He changed my perception of Ivorian politics and of some of its actors," another former prime minister, Guillaume Soro, who is now in exile, is quoted as saying.

NCICopyright: NCI

An Ivorian TV programme presenter has been given a 12-month suspended prison sentence by an Abidjan court for "condoning rape".

He was also fined 2m CFA francs ($3,600 £2,600).

Yves de M'Bella hosted a show in which a man described as a convicted ex-rapist, Kader Traoré, demonstrated on a mannequin how he assaulted women.

De M'Bella laughed and joked as he helped the man lay the dummy on the floor and pretend to rape it.

Nearly 50,000 people signed a petition in protest.

On Wednesday the court also sentenced Traoré to 24 months in jail and fined him 500,000 CFA francs for the same offences.