ABIDJAN (Reuters) – Most workers in Ivory Coast’s main city of Abidjan ignored a call by presidential claimant Alassane Ouattara for a strike on Monday to force Laurent Gbagbo out of power, saying they must work in order to survive.

Operations at the ports of Abidjan and San Pedro, through which much of Ivory Coast’s cocoa exports are shipped, were normal on Monday morning. Abidjan’s downtown Plateaux business district was bustling, with shops and offices open.

ABIDJAN (Reuters) – Ivory Coast presidential claimant Alassane Ouattara has called for a nationwide general strike from Monday to paralyze the country until internationally isolated incumbent Laurent Gbagbo cedes power.

The world’s top cocoa producing country has faced a violent political impasse since a presidential election last month, which was intended to heal the scars of a 2002-2003 civil war but has instead triggered bloodshed between the rival camps.

ABIDJAN (Reuters) – Three West African presidents will fly to Ivory Coast Tuesday to tell incumbent leader Laurent Gbagbo to quit or face force, Benin said Saturday, a sign of mounting regional determination to force him out.

Gbagbo has so far resisted calls to cede power to rival presidential candidate Alassane Ouattara after a November 28 election which African neighbors, the United Nations, the United States and the European Union all say Ouattara won.

ABIDJAN/ABUJA (Reuters) – West African heads of state threatened on Friday to use force to oust incumbent Ivory Coast leader Laurent Gbagbo unless he cedes power to a rival widely credited with having won a presidential election.

A violent stand-off over the result of the vote has killed nearly 200 people and threatens to tip the west African state, the world’s top cocoa producer, back into civil war.

ABIDJAN/ABUJA, Dec 24 (Reuters) – West African leaders met
in Nigeria on Friday to discuss options for Ivory Coast, where
an election standoff has killed up to 200 and threatens to tip
the country back into civil war.

World powers and African states have heaped political and
financial pressure on incumbent leader Laurent Gbagbo to step
down after the Nov. 28 poll, in which electoral commission
results showed he lost by 8 points to rival Alassane Ouattara.

ABIDJAN (Reuters) – Incumbent Ivory Coast leader Laurent Gbagbo faces a cash crunch that could make it hard for him to continue paying the wages of soldiers who back him, after the West African regional central bank cut his access to funds.

The United Nations General Assembly, adding to international pressure on Gbagbo to concede defeat in a November 28 election, recognised challenger Alassane Ouattara as Ivory Coast’s legitimate president.

ABIDJAN, Dec 24 (Reuters) – Incumbent Ivory Coast leader
Laurent Gbagbo faced a cash crunch that could make it tough for
him to continue paying public salaries, after the West African
regional central bank cut his access to funds.

World powers and African states have heaped pressure on
Gbagbo to concede defeat in a Nov. 28 poll to his rival Alassane
Ouattara in a standoff that has killed nearly 200 people and
threatens to tip the country back into civil war.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Setting up a power-sharing government to end the post-election dispute in Ivory Coast would set a bad example to other African countries, Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai said on Monday.

Elections in Ivory Coast were meant to unify the West African country after a 2002-2003 civil war, but have resulted in deadlock as presidential challenger Alassane Ouattara and incumbent Laurent Gbagbo both claimed victory.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – AstraZeneca(AZN.L: Quote, Profile, Research), which makes the best-selling heartburn drug Nexium, has been raided by EU antitrust regulators investigating suspected collusion to block the sale of cheaper generic medicines.

Company officials said the $5 billion-a-year heartburn and stomach ulcer drug was a key focus of the raids — the latest in a series targeting improper activities in the sector.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – EU antitrust regulators have raided the offices of some pharmaceutical companies, including AstraZeneca, suspected of colluding to block the market entry of cheaper generic drugs.

The European Commission, which acts as the competition watchdog of the 27-nation European Union, said on Friday the raids — the latest in a series targeting improper activities in the sector — took place on November 30 in several EU countries.