This daily press review is compiled by the Information Section of the Public Affairs Office of the American Embassy in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire.

Reports on the meeting of the CPC - a committee overseeing the implementation of the Ouagadougou agreement - yesterday in Ouagadougou, the upcoming presidential election, and rumors of the coup d'etat dominate today's Ivorian newspapers.

1. Fraternite Matin (a state-owned daily): The paper reported that the meeting of the CPC yesterday in Ouagadougou was designed to evaluate the Ouagadougou Agreement. President Laurent Gbagbo and Prime Minister Soro Guillaume attended the meeting. The Ivorian former President Henri Konan Bedie and Alassane Dramane Ouattara, an Ivorian opposition figure, were also in attendance. According to the paper, all the parties agreed to reduce the deadlines of several operations such as the publication of the voters' rolls from three months to one month and to begin, as soon as possible, the identification and the registration of prospective voters on the electoral lists, so that elections can take place in June.

2. The paper also reported on the visit of Ambassador Mark Lagon, Director of the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (TIP) and Senior Advisor to the Secretary of State, to Cote d'Ivoire to evaluate progress made in the fight against child labor and sexual exploitation. Talking about his meeting with Ivorian authorities, the paper reported that Ambassador Lagon had fruitful talks with the Ministers of Justice and Social Affairs. Ambassador Lagon later told the press that "my wish is that the Ivorian government works closely with the U.S. government," reported the paper.

3. The paper also reported that Cote d'Ivoire's new Ambassador to the United States, Charles Koffi, recently presented his credentials to President Bush. In his address, the new ambassador thanked the U.S. government for its support of Cote d'Ivoire during these past five years of crisis. He also called on the Bush administration to support post-conflict programs in Cote d'Ivoire.

4. Nord-Sud Quotidien (a daily close to the opposition): The paper reported that after a meeting with visiting Ambassador Lagon, the Ivorian Minister of Labor indicated that 3,150 billions CFA are needed to combat the scourge of child labor in Cote d'Ivoire. The money, explained the minister, will be used to reinforce the judiciary system, to finance studies on child labor, and to train children.

5. "Presidential election: all the leaders will be candidates; the electoral list will be on internet; the deadline for the voters' list will be reduced", read a front-page story in Le Patriote (a daily close to the opposition RDR party). According to the paper, the main objective of yesterday's Ouagadougou conclave was to speed-up the electoral process and to consolidate the peace process and national reconciliation in Cote d'Ivoire.

6. In a separate story, Le Patriote accused Gbagbo of trying "to control" the state-owned media. Commenting on the recent nomination of the new board of directors of the RTI -- the national television -- the paper alleged that "the board is dominated by Gbagbo's henchmen."

7. Nord-Sud Quotidien (a daily close to the opposition), According to the paper, members of the CPC urged national and international media to support the peace process by refraining from anything that could inflame the situation and compromise the organization of the forthcoming presidential election.

8. L'inter (a privately-owned daily): A front-page story in this paper told readers about the ordeal of the wives of the three Ivorian nationals who were arrested in connection with a recent coup attempt allegedly planned by former army sergeant Ibrahim Coulibaly, aka IB. The paper quoted sources as saying that the Ivorian authorities are to launch an international warrant arrest against IB and his accomplices.

9. Notre Voie (a daily close to the ruling FPI): The paper expressed concerns about the fact that the former Ivorian Chief of Defense, Gen. Mathias Doue, is still living in exile. The paper asserted that Doue refused to come back home because he betrayed the nation, when he led "Operation Dignité," which was designed by the Ivorian regime in November 2004 to liberate Cote d'Ivoire.