Security Council
Calls for Credible Ivorian Polls at the Earliest, Newsedge, 7 December 2009-
The Security
Council today called for the holding of credible presidential elections in
Cote d'Ivoire at the earliest date possible,
after the much-delayed polls were recently postponed again. Ambassador Michel
Kafando of Burkina Faso, which holds the Council's rotating presidency for this
month, told reporters that the 15-member body noted the postponement of the
first round of presidential elections - which had been scheduled for 29 November
- due to technical and financial constraints, as well as important remaining
tasks. "The members of the
Council call on the Ivorian stakeholders to pursue their efforts in order to
hold credible elections at the earliest possible date," he added. The elections,
originally scheduled for as far back as 2005 and repeatedly postponed,
constitute a major step in restoring stability after civil war split the West
African nation seven years ago into a Government-held south and a northern area
dominated by the rebel Forces Nouvelles. The statement followed the Council's
closed-door meeting with Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Alain Le Roy,
who briefed members on the conclusion of the sixth meeting of the permanent
consultative framework of the Ouagadougou Agreement, the 2007 blueprint for
political reconciliation in Cote d'Ivoire.

Renforcement du dispositif anti-grippal à l'aéroport d'Abidjan, Panapress, 7
décembre 2009-
Les autorités ivoiriennes ont renforcé le dispositifs destiné à déceler
d'éventuels cas de grippe AH1N1, notamment avec le retour des pèlerins musulmans
de La Mecque qui a débuté samedi (...)