I. Coast's Gbagbo faces transfer to war crimes court

Ivory Coast will transfer ousted leader Laurent Gbagbo to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague within hours, one of his lawyers said on Tuesday. "The prosecutor has served an international arrest warrant on ... Laurent Gbagbo," lawyer Jean Gbougnon told AFP. "This concerns his transfer to The Hague; I don't know when, maybe today, at the latest tomorrow." Gbagbo was informed of the imminent transfer earlier Tuesday -- less than two weeks before legislative elections. Last month, ICC judges gave prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo the green light to probe post-election war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by forces loyal to both Gbagbo and new Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara. Gbagbo has been appearing before an investigating magistrate in the northern Ivorian town of Korhogo since Monday, Gbougnon said. The former leader faces charges on home soil for "economic crimes" allegedly committed during the political crisis, which left 3,000 people dead after his refusal to accept defeat in November 2010 elections. Gbagbo was arrested on April 11. His wife Simone is detained at Odienne in the northwest, while dozens of Gbagbo followers and close military and civilian aides are being held for assault, "violating the authority of the state", or economic crimes.