Rumors of a possible coup or large-scale uprising in Abidjan were silenced as President, who couldn't be located, appeared in public; hours before gunfire was heard, internet had been cut off and news from the ground suggested a fast-unfolding crisis

Heavy rainfall provoked a nighttime landslide in the Abidjan city area, with casualties and damage to houses; despite efforts at all levels, dangers posed by unregulated development and extreme weather in urban centres are still high

Tidjane Thiam, a former Credit Suisse CEO, is not eligible to run for president because of his dual Ivorian-French nationality, a IC court ruled; he won his party’s primary in a smooth vote and was seen as the main challenger to President Ouattara

Cocoa farmers worry that they might not be able to sell enough of their produce, or at too low a price because of the 21% tariffs on Ivory Coast exports to the US recently imposed by US Cocoa is Ivory Coast's main export to the United States

33 West Africans have been rescued from a human trafficking ring in Ivory Coast that lured people into paying up to $9.000 by promising them jobs in Canada, Interpol said, instead trafficked them to Abidjan, held under physical and psychological coercion