The UN Security Council has welcomed the power-sharing agreement reached by Madagascar’s current and former leaders, and urged the political forces to end months of internal strife with the establishment of a new Government.

Red Card is a component of a health communication campaign led by C-Change in Madagascar that was designed to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS and to curb associated risky behaviours by "letting girls call the shots" and sparking conversation between parents and adolescents. The campaign appropriated the signal soccer referees use to kick aggressive players out of a game; paper Red Cards were distributed to 1.5 million young women across Madagascar.

Madagascar's leader stormed out of internationally mediated power-sharing talks in the early hours of Friday, threatening to derail attempts to form a national unity government and end months of turmoil. Andry Rajoelina, who seized power in a March coup, insisted his leadership of the Indian Ocean island, increasingly eyed by investors for its oil and minerals, was not up for negotiation.

AU Chairperson Jean Ping Tuesday called on the four Malagasy political leaders here to put the interest of the people before every agenda of their crisis talks to resolve the political crisis in the country.

A new online collection of testimonies reveal that while communities in Anosy, southern Madagascar have been living with the challenges of increasing drought for some time, it is the impact of an ilmenite mining operation that has exacerbated their feelings of powerlessness and fears for the future.

A deal on who should hold the top posts in Madagascar's power-sharing government faced collapse on Thursday after ousted leader Marc Ravalomanana refused to endorse his rival as president. Ravalomanana had agreed in principle to an agreement struck on Tuesday by the Indian Ocean island's feuding political parties which saw Andry Rajoelina, 35, retain the presidency on the condition he does not contest the next presidential ballot.

Political instability in Madagascar is having a serious effect on the already fragile and highly endangered ecology of this island nation. This is of profound concern as Madagascar contains many unique species that are already severely threatened.

Poverty has increased dramatically in Madagascar since January, when a national protest movement to end the regime of former president Marc Ravalomanana plunged the country into a socio-economic crisis. Since then, the number of child labourers has risen by a whopping 25 percent.

Millions of years ago, Madagascar separated from the other continents and evolved separately. Today it has about 12,000 plants most of which can be found nowhere else in the world. Many of these plants have medicinal properties, but their habitat is under threat. In the town of Tolear, people rely on herbs as the nearest hospital is far away. Traditional healers combine plants and a little bit of magic to cure patients.

Security forces in Madagascar fired tear gas on Friday to try and disperse hundreds of opposition supporters gathering for a rally in the capital of the Indian Ocean island. Backers of ousted President Marc Ravalomanana massed in a park near a central square, but security forces moved in saying the demonstration had not been authorised.

The African Union condemned Madagascar's Andry Rajoelina's decision to appoint a new government and said it may impose sanctions on the authorities and their supporters. The country has been rocked by turmoil since Rajoelina toppled former President Marc Ravalomanana from power in March this year.

Madagascar's opposition said on Thursday the military should take the top three posts in a power-sharing government after they failed to reach an agreement with the current leader on who should have control. Andry Rajoelina, a 35-year-old former DJ who ousted former leader Marc Ravalomanana with the aid a dissident army faction in a March coup, has until now remained steadfast in demanding his party retains the presidency and post of prime minister.

Access to food for the people of Madagascar remains unreliable because of the impact of natural disasters, which routinely strike the island State, and continuing political tensions, a United Nations report has warned. The joint Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) and World Food Programme (WFP) mission tasked with assessing crop and food security in Madagascar underscored the effect a run of cyclones on the east coast in 2008-2009 and several years of drought in the south has had on the country’s crops.

Madagascar's army-backed leader is in Mozambique for emergency talks with three of his predecessors. The Indian Ocean island has been in a state of crisis since Andry Rajoelina forced the elected president, Marc Ravalomanana, to flee in March. The African Union called the takeover a coup and foreign aid has been frozen.

The President of Madagascar, Andry Rajoelina has reportedly boycotted the consultative meeting with SADC mediators. The meeting convened by the Special envoys from SADC), the United Nations and the African Union amongst others, is to seek a lasting solution in the Madagascar political crisis.

Eight Malagasy women die per day while giving birth, either due to complications during the pregnancy or during delivery, according to a recently-published national Demographic and Health Survey (DHS).

Reporters Without Borders is very concerned about the still fraught political situation in Madagascar and its constant impact on the media. Several journalists have been harassed in recent weeks, a website was mysteriously blocked and a radio journalist was held for two weeks after being the victim of a heavy-handed arrest.

Madagascar's foreign minister has said that the Indian Ocean island's army-backed government was ready to hold elections before the end of 2009 if the "means" were available. Madagascar has been rocked by political instability since Andry Rajoelina took power in March from then president Marc Ravalomanana with the help of dissident soldiers -- a move that was labelled a coup by many countries and regional blocs.

Where many have tried and failed, now the Southern African Development Community (SADC) has called on Madagascar’s political rivals to consider peaceful dialogue to end months of political crisis. Heads of State of the 15-nation regional body met in South Africa on 20 June to consider the political and security situation in the Indian Ocean Island after the last mediation attempt by the African Union (AU) collapsed on 16 June.

Madagascar's armed forces are on maximum alert, days after African economic bloc COMESA declared military intervention to end the island's political crisis remained an option, the government said on Friday. Armed Forces Minister Noel Rakotonandrasana told Reuters that COMESA's stance, which has drawn criticism from both France and the United Nations, had to be taken seriously.