Ivory Coast’s presidential vote being pushed back again; constitutional court to reset date

October 29th, 2009 NEW YORK - The UN Security Council renewed Thursday for another year its arms embargo and financial and travel sanctions against Ivory Coast, citing the persistence in human rights violations. The Ivory Coast's UN Ambassador Alcide Djedje called the decision by the 15-nation council "anachronistic" because it failed to reflect the changes that have taken place.

October 13th, 2009 Gabon court upholds Bongo's victory after protestLIBREVILLE, Gabon — Gabon's constitutional court says the son of the country's longtime dictator won the Aug. 30 presidential elections that opposition candidates said were fraudulent.

September 23rd, 2009 UK court OKs deal on Ivory Coast toxic waste claimLONDON — A British court approved Wednesday the settlement of thousands of claims against oil-trading company Trafigura Beheer BV related to the dumping of toxic waste around the Ivory Coast's main city of Abidjan. As part of the settlement, Leigh Day & Co., the law firm that represented some 30,000 Ivorians, withdrew allegations that a number of deaths and miscarriages had resulted from the incident three years ago.

September 17th, 2009 Gabon's opposition challenges election resultsLIBREVILLE, Gabon — Opposition candidates defeated in last month's disputed presidential election say they are challenging the results in court. Over two dozen opposition candidates issued a statement Thursday saying their experts had reviewed the results and found "grave irregularities and fraud" in the vote tallies issued by two-thirds of the country's polling stations.

September 10th, 2009 Czech constitutional court cancels early electionsPRAGUE — The Czech Constitutional Court ruled Thursday that early national elections scheduled for Oct. 9-10 will not take place because the law that allowed them to occur suspended the constitution.

September 8th, 2009 Colombia's president signs re-election proposalBOGOTA — President Alvaro Uribe signed legislation Tuesday calling for a national referendum on amending the constitution to allow him to seek re-election for a second time. With Uribe's signature following passage by both houses of congress, the measure goes to the Constitutional Court for review.

August 12th, 2009 Top court rejects Indonesian electoral fraud claimJAKARTA, Indonesia — Indonesia's Constitutional Court has unanimously rejected claims of electoral fraud filed by the losers of last month's presidential poll. Presiding Judge Mohammad Mahfud said Wednesday the nine justices found "no massive violation in the registration of eligible voters." President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was re-elected July 8 with 61 percent of the popular vote — more than twice that of his closest rival.

July 31st, 2009 UN calls for Ivory Coast elections on Nov. 29UNITED NATIONS — The U.N.

July 20th, 2009 Biden to support Ukraine despite Russian resetKIEV, Ukraine — U.S. Vice President Joe Biden is due in Kiev for a three-day visit to pledge continued support for Ukraine's westward drive, despite Washington's efforts to improve relations with Russia.

June 19th, 2009 House postpones vote on judge's impeachmentWASHINGTON — The House on Thursday postponed a vote on the impeachment of a federal judge now in prison for lying about the sexual assaults of two female workers. The House had planned to vote on four articles of impeachment against U.S.

June 12th, 2009 At least 16 killed in Ivory Coast mudslideABIDJAN, Ivory Coast — At least 16 people have been killed in a poor neighborhood of Abidjan when a mudslide buried their rickety homes. An Associated Press reporter at the scene has counted 16 bodies that have been removed from the rubble.

June 10th, 2009 Gabon government swears in Bongo replacementLIBREVILLE, Gabon — The head of Gabon's senate was sworn in Wednesday as the Central African nation's interim president, the first time in more than four decades that anyone except the late leader Omar Bongo has held power. Bongo died Monday at the age of 73 after suffering cardiac arrest at a Spanish hospital where he had been treated for weeks.

May 14th, 2009 Ivory Coast sets long-awaited election for Nov. 29ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast — Ivory Coast's Prime Minister Guillaume Soro announced on Thursday that the long-postponed presidential election will take place Nov.

April 27th, 2009 2 men plead guilty in Kenya to possessing ivoryNAIROBI, Kenya — Two men pleaded guilty in a Kenyan court Monday to illegally possessing 1,500 pounds (700 kilograms) of elephant tusks in what was believed to be the largest seizure of illegal ivory in recent years, a Kenyan official said. The two were charged with illegal possession of ivory and failure to report their ivory stock, said George Osuri, the senior warden of Amboseli National Park in southern Kenya, where the seizure was made.

March 30th, 2009 ABIDJAN - At least 22 people were killed and 132 were injured when a wall came down on them before a football match between the Ivory Coast and Malawi in a World Cup qualifier on Sunday. According to The Sun, many of the victims were trampled as they attempted to flee the crush which happened as fans tried to get into the stadium.