mr. gbagbo he -- they would use force if he doesn't leave power himself. >> by his intrance igence, mr. agbo risks exposing our country to new violence. i would like to ask him a last time to accept the choice of the people by leaving power immediately. >> gbagbo has repeated that the country's sovereignty wasn't negotiable. one of his cabinet members said from his reaction the preliminary stalemate remains. >> here's a roundup of other stories from around the globe. from ecuador more than 30 people have been killed after a bus they were on plunged off a mountain in soggy conditions. more than 20 people were also injured after a 350-meter mumet down the side of a ravine. heavy rain has brought further devastates in parts -- devastation in parts of colombia. at least 1 people have been killed in a southwestern town of la cruz. colombia sl enduring its rainiest season in 40 years. the lower house of the russian government, the dump. ma, has ratified the -- parts of the start treaty but officials decided two more readings were necessary. the leader of byelorusse has been declared the winive

mr. gbagbo his time is up. unless he goes, this key country in west africa, one of the economic powerhouses, could descend back into war. all of the main observers of last month's elections say that laurent gbagbo lost, that he is no longer the the president of ivory coast. they say that the opposition leader, this man, alassane ouattara, was the winner. the leaders were clear. they have told mr. gbagbo that he has to leave. this could be a long, drawn-out affair. the world is watching to see how africa deals with this crisis, but the on voice of the democratic nations, who have come to the ivory coast, say they are determined and able to sort this out -- but the envoys of the democratic nations say they are determined. for now, the talks are on. it has been said in no uncertain terms that one way or another, there will be a democratic outcome here, and that may take more than just talk. mark doyle, bbc news, ivory coast. >> a peacekeeper in the ivory coast was wounded in one neighborhood. the convoy was transp

mr. outtara is internationally recognized as having won last month's election, but the incumbent, laurent gbagbo refusing to step down. mr. bamba speaking after presenting his credentials at the united nations, held a press conference on how to end the tug -- dangerousing it of war between the faxes -- factions. >> the main concern is the violation of the human rights. as you know there is a massive violation of human rights. 172 people were killed only because they want top demonstrate, they want to speak out, they want to defend the will of the people. we think it's not acceptable. that's one of the messages i try to get across during the conversations i have conducted so far, to tell that we are on the brink of genocide and something should be done. >> meanwhile, the first attempts by the neighbors of ivory coast to attempt to end the power struggle have failed but the leaders of benin and sierra leone have vowed to try again. >> tensions are high. even united nations peacekeepers got into trouble when their vehicle took a wrong turn. laurent gbagbo is in office now for 10 years, but he has r

mr. gbagbo is ready to make a coalition government. you know, he has been elected by his people, then the other group so, he has already proved, he has already shown that he is willing his country to get back to peace and to development to reconciliation between the people. >> ifill: the u.n., the u.s. and others have rejected any power- sharing proposal as anti- democratic. they say opposition candidate alassane ouattara was clearly the victor in the november 28th election. the regional leaders who visited ivory coast yesterday had also threatened military intervention to force gbagbo to step down. but today, after consulting in nigeria, they said they will continue talks with him next week. in a statement, nigerian president goodluck jonathan said, "it is dialogue that will solve issues. the dialogue is on." for ivory coast, the political crisis is the latest in a long series of problems, including a recent civil war. and, there are fears the former french colony-- also known as cote d'ivoire-- will again be engulfed in violence. at

mr. gbagbo,. >> more to come. on the streets of baghdad, find out what the new political reality might look like. 160 people described as members of the tamil tiger have appeared in court. they were arrested after the country's victory over the tigers in 2009. a police spokesman denied any one was brought to court. >> 300,000 fled and there were allegations that some were taken away from -- by security forces. some said their relatives were seen when the war ended but went missing. there are 160 young men who appeared in a colombo court room. they are described as hard-core tamil tigers who were arrested by the security forces and held until now by the terrorist investigation division. they appeared in court without lawyers, although their names were read out. there have not been charges as yet. the magistrate ordered the y be remanded in custody pending instruction to me attorney general. the lawyer who represented tamil tigers said even though it has taken a year and a half to get to this situation, it was to be

mr. ouattara's supporters accuse president laurent gbagbo of trying to block the electrode process.ocess.torlal p they attacked some people at his headquarters and killed four people. >> we heard gunfire for 30 minutes. after having killed people, they mounted the wall to get in here. they threw tear gas so that we would not see what was going on. when they finished killing people, they left they came to pick up the bodies and they took the injured with them. >> the un security council has welcomed the publication of results and called on all sides to respect the democratic process. john james, bbc news, ivory coast. >> a forest fire has been burning out of control in killing 40s a rael, people. many of those who died were on their way to evacuate inmates from prison. >> firefighters say the country has not seen ablaze like this for over a decade. >> the fire is enormous. if we did not have the firefighters it would be difficult to take control of the fire. >> it is believed many of those who died were traveling on abbas. there were prison guards helping jailacuate inmates form rom

mr. ouattara. now it will be extremely difficult to pay civil servant salaries, including government soldiers. laurent gbagbo still has the public backing of the army, but the moment he cannot pay their salaries, he will be weakened. december is the busiest month for cocoa exports which will provide the incumbent with much- needed revenue. but the harvest is coming to an end. the economy has come to almost a complete halt over the last few weeks. many foreign businesses like france telecom have it sent expatriate staff overseas. of course, the people worst hit will not be the politicians, but the ordinary citizens. when it becomes apparent laurent gbagbo's administration lacks the financial power to govern, many hope a political settlement can be reached. bbc news, ivory coast. >> after making an unprecedented appearance on british airways, the pope is facing more outcry as he opposed mass. we have this. >> they say is the largest turnout in a decade. thousands converged in bethlehem. jerusalem's latin patriarch will be holding a mass at the church of the nativity, where jesus is believed to have been born.

mr. ouattara. now it will be extremely difficult to pay civil servant salaries, including government soldiers. laurent gbagbo still has the public backing of the army. if he cannot pay their salaries, he will be severely weakened. december is the biggest month for cocoa imports. the main harvest is coming to an end. the economy in general has come to an almost complete halt over the past few weeks. many foreign businesses like france telecom have spent -- have said expatriate staff overseas. the people worst hit by the slowdown will not be the politicians. however, when it becomes apparent lashkar-e-taiba -- laurent gbagbo'administrations is impossible to govern, many hope for a diplomatic solution. bbc news. >> the middle east senior catholic cleric has arrived in bethlehem. jerusalem's latin patriarch is to offer a christmas message of peace and reconciliation at midnight mass. he is also expected to speak on the plight of iraqi christians. an attack on a church in baghdad killed 50. bethlehem is the town where jesus is said to have been born. unless urgent repairs are carried out at the centuries- old cha

mr. the people outside are threatened by militiamen. >> -- most of the people outside are threatened by militiamen. >> this is as much about form and substance in the government in waiting cabinet meeting. laurent gbagbo still holds most of the power in ivory coast. the situation has been going on for weeks now. almost the entire international community, and crucially most african countries, recognize the president and the government are working in an air-conditioned tent in a hotel. the united nations says it will continue to supply and protect itself and guard the government in waiting of alassane ouattara. but so far, the international pressure on laurent gbagbo has failed to convince him to leave power. this test case for african democracy is still in the balance. mark doyle, bbc news. >> a court in an glut has sentenced a congolese man to 15 years -- in angola has sentenced a congolese man to 15 years. the government opened fire in a northern province, killing two people. attack was claimed by separatist rebels. four chinese nationals and a south african are due to stand trial in south africa for the seizure of the exotic shellfish. ed this trade result in millions of dollars every year. it has b

gbagbo is to, refusing to stand down. the central african bank has now blocked his access to ivory coast funds, and the u.s. secretary of state has repeated her call to mr. gbagbp to step down. >> the violence in ivory coast is stirring serious international concern. it has spread since the week after the presidential election, which appeared to hand power to alassane ouattara. since then, he has found himself protected by u.n. peacekeepers and unable to take power because of this man's reluctance to leave office. he is laurent gbagbo. he was sworn in by those loyal to him just after the election, but is increasingly isolated internationally. thursday, the u.n. general assembly recognized alassane ouattara as the winner, adding to pressure on laurent gbagbo to hand over power. sources close to him have been accused of atrocities. in geneva, the human rights board says it has concerns over more than 170 killings in recent days and fears more. >> unfortunately, it is impossible to investigate all the allegations of serious human-rights violations, including reports of mass graves, due to restrictions on movement by u.n. personnel. >> on top of political p