The Ivory Coast's army chief General Doue has stated that there will be no military coup like that in the Central African Republic. Some Ivorian newspapers earlier accused Doue of plotting a coup in January to coincide with peace talks in France. Meanwhile, the rebel factions were meeting in Bouake, trying to agree a common position ahead of a second attempt to unite all of the country's factions in a power-sharing government.
An even deadlier problem in the Ivory Coast is also being addressed. About one million of the Ivory Coast's 16 million residents are HIV-positive, so the United Nations has slated $155 million for the country over the next five years to fight the AIDS pandemic. - Adam Geibel