France rescues Japanese ambassador in Ivory Coast

ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast (AP) - French forces wearing night vision goggles rappelled from a helicopter to rescue the Japanese ambassador and seven others, France’s foreign minister said today, as Ivory Coast’s strongman leader remained in an underground bunker amid the fighting. Forces allied with Ivory Coast’s internationally recognized president Alassane Ouattara have stormed the gates of Laurent Gbagbo’s home but are fearful of killing the entrenched leader and stoking the rage of his supporters. Some 46 percent of Ivorians voted for Gbagbo in the November election that unleashed political chaos.