Two explosions were heard near Madagascar’s presidential palace on Monday, but there was no indication they represented an attack by the opposition.
Embattled Madagascar President Marc Ravalomanana said on Sunday he would submit to a ”referendum” to settle a deadly stand-off.
The Madagascar opposition said on Saturday it had toppled the government of President Marc Ravalomanana and promised fresh elections.
The Madagascar opposition said on Friday it was close to toppling the government which called on the population to protect the presidential palace.
Hundreds of protesters demonstrated on Thursday outside the offices of Madagascar’s president, a day after peace talks were scrapped.
Madagascar’s army chief was sacked and replaced on Wednesday, the military said, a day after he warned leaders that his troops would take power.
Madagascar opposition leader Andry Rajoelina, in conflict with the president since the start of the year, will boycott talks to resolve the crisis.
Madagascar’s army chief warned on Tuesday his troops would take control if leaders failed to resolve the political crisis within 72 hours.
The United Nations is guarding Madagascar’s opposition leader and the country’s defence minister quit on Tuesday after just a month in the job.
The wooden canoes stacked on the putrid beach tell not one story, but two. Once these locally made pirogues shipped out thousands of young men.
Madagascar’s government said on Monday it would take action against soldiers whose mutiny has deepened the political crisis on the island.
Madagascan security forces attempted to arrest opposition leader Andry Rajoelina on Friday, heightening tensions between police and protesters.
Security forces blocked roads in the Madagascan capital on Thursday to thwart a second day of attempts by opposition supporters to hold protests.
Riot police fired tear gas on Wednesday to disperse protesters as the island’s president vowed tougher measures to counter a drive to unseat him.
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/ 26 February 2009
Madagascar opposition leader Andry Rajoelina announced on Wednesday he was breaking off talks with President Marc Ravalomanana.
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/ 18 February 2009
Madagascar’s political unrest has left the once-booming tourist industry facing ruin as tour operators turn their backs on the Indian Ocean paradise.
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/ 16 February 2009
Police in Madagascar fired warning shots on Monday to disperse thousands of anti-government demonstrators taking part in a rally in the capital.
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/ 9 February 2009
Madagascar’s defence minister quit on Monday after security forces gunned down at least 28 anti-government demonstrators at the weekend.
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/ 8 February 2009
Twenty-eight people were killed in Madagascar on Saturday in protests violently put down by the security forces, police in said on Sunday.
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/ 7 February 2009
Security forces killed up to 25 people in Madagascar on Saturday when they opened fire on an anti-government protest, a police officer said.
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/ 6 February 2009
Madagascar’s latest crisis has been driven more by economic concerns than political grievances, unlike past protest movements, analysts say.
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/ 4 February 2009
About 8 000 demonstrators marched through the capital of Madagascar on Wednesday in support of Antananarivo ex-mayor Andry Rajoelina.
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/ 3 February 2009
Madagascar fired Andry Rajoelina on Tuesday after he said he would establish an interim government if the island’s president did not step down.
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/ 3 February 2009
Madagascar’s maverick opposition leader said on Tuesday he would establish an interim government this weekend if the president refused to step down.
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/ 2 February 2009
Mayor Andry Rajoelina on Monday sought the removal of President Marc Ravalomanana in the wake of violent protests that left dozens dead.
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/ 31 January 2009
Peretty Miriama ekes out a living selling handmade greeting cards to tourists on this Indian Ocean island paradise where buildings went up in flames.
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/ 29 January 2009
Antananarivo was deserted on Thursday as residents heeded a call by the city’s mayor to turn it into a ghost town following anti-government protests.
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/ 29 January 2009
At least 68 people died in a wave of rioting in Madagascar this week, as President Marc Ravalomanana accused his main rival of stoking unrest.
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/ 28 January 2009
Up to 37 charred corpses of suspected looters have now been found in a store burned during unrest in Madagascar this week.
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/ 27 January 2009
Anti-government protest leader said on Tuesday he would not talk with the president until those who killed one of his supporters were held to account.
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/ 23 January 2009
Antananarivo’s mayor upped his challenge to the Madagascan regime on Friday, charging it had imposed an iron-fisted dictatorship on the island.
The Indian Ocean island of Madagascar has reduced the destruction of its protected forests eight-fold as it tries to preserve its unique wildlife and earn more from tourists, conservation officials say. The world’s fourth largest island aims to keep six million hectares, or about 10% of its surface area, as nature reserves.