The United Nations has warned that Ivory Coast is
on the brink of
a new civil war as the post-election violence
trigger
ed by a power struggle between rival presidential contenders spreads from Abidjan to other areas. In an address to the UN Security Council, Mr Ban said he was
gravely
concerned about civilian fatalities.
"I'm very concerned that Cote d'Ivoire is on the brink of sliding back into civil war. Time is slipping away. If the African Union High-Level Panel does not move
decisively
to find a solution, all of their work could be
overtake
n by events."
In the west of Ivory Coast, former rebels who've sided with Alassane Ouattara, widely recognised as the winner of the presidential election in November, captured a town from government troops still loyal to the
incumbent
President Laurent Gbagbo.
Reports from France say the Foreign Minister Michele Alliot-Marie will resign in the next few days as criticism over her handling of events in Tunisia continues. Unnamed ministers are quoted as saying she'd be replaced by the Defence Minister Alain Juppe. It recently emerged that she accepted flights on a jet owned by a businessman close to the ousted Tunisian president.
The French fashion house Dior has suspended its star designer John Galliano after he was arrested at a Paris bar and accused of making anti-Semitic and racist remarks to a nearby couple. Mr Galliano has strongly denied any wrongdoing. His