Abidjan

IVORY Coast has received authorisation from the United States to start direct flights between the two countries, officials said, boosting the West African nation's hopes of becoming a regional transport hub.

The world's top cocoa producer, Ivory Coast is emerging from a decade-long political crisis that ended in a brief civil war in 2011, and is now attracting investors again. The African Development Bank moved its headquarters back to the commercial capital Abidjan last year, after an 11-year hiatus.