BBC News with Fiona MacDonald
The political crisis in Ivory Coast is deepening amid disagreements about who won Sunday's presidential election run-off. The long-term President Laurent Gbagbo has refused to accept provisional results giving victory to the opposition candidate Alassane Ouattara. Mr Ouattara has declared himself the new head of state, and he's been backed by the UN secretary general, as Barbara Plett reports.
Ban Ki-moon issued a statement congratulating Alassane Ouattara on his election. He also called on President Gbagbo to cooperate in a smooth political transition. The secretary general was endorsing the position of his representative in the country, who has rejected final voting results declaring Mr Gbagbo's re-election and upheld provisional results supporting the opposition candidate. The UN has closely monitored the poll and is mandated to certify the outcome. Mr Ouattara has now declared himself the country's new leader amid high tensions. The presidential election was meant to restore stability after a civil war in 2002, but there are now fears it may lead to a return of violence.
Latest reports say a close aide to Mr Gbagbo has called for the expulsion of the main UN representative.
President Obama has warned of difficult days ahead in Afghanistan, despite significant progress being made in the fight against the Taliban, but he vowed that America would be victorious. Mr Obama was speaking to US troops during an unannounced visit to Afghanistan.