MAKE YOU VISIT THE BEAUTY OF IVORY COAST AND HIS PEOPLE/ GET TO KNOW THE CULTURE AND HELP YOU UNDERSTAND WHERE WE COME FROM.<br />BIO: LA COTE D' IVOIRE<br /><br /><br />Côte d'Ivoire , officially the République de Côte d'Ivoire, also known as Ivory Coast,is a country in West Africa. It borders Liberia and Guinea to the west, Mali and Burkina Faso to the north, Ghana to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south.<br />The country's early history is virtually unknown, although a Neolithic culture is thought to have existed. In the 19th century it was invaded by two Akan groups. In 1843-1844, a treaty made it a protectorate of France and in 1893 Côte d'Ivoire became a French colony. The country became independent in 1960. Until 1993 it was led by Félix Houphouët-Boigny and was closely associated economically and politically with its West African neighbors, for example forming the Council of the Entente. At the same time the country maintained close ties to the West, which helped its economic development and political stability. Since the end of Houphouët-Boigny's rule, this stability has been destroyed by two coups (1999 and 2001) and a civil war since 2002, which has hampered its economic development.<br />Côte d'Ivoire is a republic with a strong executive power personified in the President. Its de jure capital is Yamoussoukro and the official language is French. The country is divided into 19 regions and 58 departments. Côte d'Ivoire's economy is largely market-based and relies heavily on agriculture, with smallholder cash crop production being dominant.<br /><br /><br /><br />Early in November 2004, after the peace agreement had effectively collapsed following the rebels' refusal to disarm, Gbagbo ordered airstrikes against the rebels. During one of these airstrikes in Bouaké, French soldiers were hit and nine of them were killed; the Ivorian government has said it was a mistake, but the French have claimed it was deliberate. They responded by destroying most Ivoirian military aircraft (2 Su-25 planes and 5 helicopters), and violent retaliatory riots against the French broke out in Abidjan.<br />Gbagbo's original mandate as president expired on October 30, 2005, but due to the lack of disarmament it was deemed impossible to hold an election, and therefore his term in office was extended for a maximum of one year, according to a plan worked out by the African Union; this plan was endorsed by the United Nations Security Council. With the late October deadline approaching in 2006, it was regarded as very unlikely that the election would be held by that point, and the opposition and the rebels rejected the possibility of another term extension for Gbagbo.The U. N. Security Council endorsed another one-year extension of Gbagbo's term on November 1, 2006; however, the resolution provided for the strengthening of Prime Minister Charles Konan Banny's powers. Gbagbo said the next day that elements of the resolution deemed to be constitutional violations would not be applied.<br />A peace deal between the government and the rebels, or New Forces, was signed on March 4, 2007, and subsequently Guillaume Soro, leader of the New Forces, became prime minister. These events have been seen by some observers as substantially strengthening Gbagbo's position. http://www.imeem.com/groups/wlh9K_t1,lebonheur_de_la_cote_divoire/ Delta 0 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss KING <a href="http://www.imeem.com/groups/wlh9K_t1/photo/AuQsLVAidZ/"><img src="http://srv0110-04.oak1.imeem.com/g/p/203c8ce11700155ebb3bd15dafe49726_thumb.jpg" /></a><br /><p></p> http://www.imeem.com/groups/wlh9K_t1/photo/AuQsLVAidZ/ Wed, 15 Oct 2008 19:05:15 -0000 AuQsLVAidZ <a href="http://www.imeem.com/groups/wlh9K_t1/photo/YVvjuVr69H/"><img src="http://srv0204-06.sjc3.imeem.com/g/p/86c899d9fbeda504f4e25da77892aca5_thumb.jpg" /></a><br /><p></p> http://www.imeem.com/groups/wlh9K_t1/photo/YVvjuVr69H/ Wed, 15 Oct 2008 19:05:01 -0000 YVvjuVr69H <a href="http://www.imeem.com/groups/wlh9K_t1/photo/JhAbfZoB5d/"><img src="http://srv0204-05.sjc3.imeem.com/g/p/a2d09f4c54fd113e4e47c5ca29eb24b0_thumb.jpg" /></a><br /><p></p> http://www.imeem.com/groups/wlh9K_t1/photo/JhAbfZoB5d/ Wed, 15 Oct 2008 19:04:48 -0000 JhAbfZoB5d <a href="http://www.imeem.com/groups/wlh9K_t1/photo/i5IGdangbe/"><img src="http://srv0204-05.sjc3.imeem.com/g/p/0593653835bcee5014f28fb31b5ff76e_thumb.jpg" /></a><br /><p></p> http://www.imeem.com/groups/wlh9K_t1/photo/i5IGdangbe/ Wed, 15 Oct 2008 19:04:14 -0000 i5IGdangbe <a href="http://www.imeem.com/groups/wlh9K_t1/photo/vKspM765us/"><img src="http://srv0110-04.oak1.imeem.com/g/p/b88aa0e6b9d59d3f6b26aecf1833243a_thumb.jpg" /></a><br /><p></p> http://www.imeem.com/groups/wlh9K_t1/photo/vKspM765us/ Wed, 15 Oct 2008 19:03:54 -0000 vKspM765us <a href="http://www.imeem.com/groups/wlh9K_t1/photo/tid8mzzyjp/"><img src="http://srv0110-06.oak1.imeem.com/g/p/62ccbc79b6abf8980aec1bdd8e89c56e_thumb.jpg" /></a><br /><p></p> http://www.imeem.com/groups/wlh9K_t1/photo/tid8mzzyjp/ Wed, 15 Oct 2008 19:03:35 -0000 tid8mzzyjp <a href="http://www.imeem.com/groups/wlh9K_t1/photo/tFrMsYo7UK/"><img src="http://srv0204-05.sjc3.imeem.com/g/p/0a62f174354f7c13eca0694cb7dff690_thumb.jpg" /></a><br /><p></p> http://www.imeem.com/groups/wlh9K_t1/photo/tFrMsYo7UK/ Wed, 15 Oct 2008 19:03:15 -0000 tFrMsYo7UK <a href="http://www.imeem.com/groups/wlh9K_t1/photo/-uiihGf8JI/"><img src="http://srv0204-05.sjc3.imeem.com/g/p/c6d0c324dfb874a9c5e20d4aa3c8b317_thumb.jpg" /></a><br /><p></p> http://www.imeem.com/groups/wlh9K_t1/photo/-uiihGf8JI/ Wed, 15 Oct 2008 19:03:01 -0000 -uiihGf8JI <a href="http://www.imeem.com/groups/wlh9K_t1/photo/ebHm0v36Lc/"><img src="http://srv0204-06.sjc3.imeem.com/g/p/f4f752b2ed910d4694cd5b9554fb9540_thumb.jpg" /></a><br /><p></p> http://www.imeem.com/groups/wlh9K_t1/photo/ebHm0v36Lc/ Wed, 15 Oct 2008 19:02:38 -0000 ebHm0v36Lc <a href="http://www.imeem.com/groups/wlh9K_t1/photo/Kivv0FFOV5/"><img src="http://srv0204-04.sjc3.imeem.com/g/p/9c6ec865e43f022704d0cfd5b73f11ed_thumb.jpg" /></a><br /><p></p> http://www.imeem.com/groups/wlh9K_t1/photo/Kivv0FFOV5/ Wed, 15 Oct 2008 19:02:14 -0000 Kivv0FFOV5