ICOAST-POLITICS-UNREST

Simone Gbagbo, wife of Ivory Coast strongman Laurent Gbagbo, dances at a rally at the Culture Palace of Abidjan where 5.000 pro-Gbagbo Ivorians gathered to pray for victory and peace, on March 27, 2011. Hopes for a negotiated solution to Ivory Coast's bloody post-election crisis took a hit today as rival Alassane Ouattara, internationally recognised as the winner of November 2010 presidential elections, failed to agree on the African Union's choice for a mediator. Ouattara rejected Cape Verde ex-foreign minister Jose Brito, pointing to his close ties to Ivorian strongman Laurent Gbagbo. AFP PHOTO/ JEAN-PHILIPPE KSIAZEK (Photo by JEAN-PHILIPPE KSIAZEK / AFP) (Photo by JEAN-PHILIPPE KSIAZEK/AFP via Getty Images)