Madagascar's new government was optimistic that it would rejoin the African Union (AU) after talks between President Marc Ravalomanana and southern African leaders in Pretoria, South Africa. Ravalomanana met with the AU troika on Tuesday to review the progress made by the government of Madagascar following the recent political crisis.

Madagascar dissolved its parliament last Wednesday ahead of parliamentary elections set for 15 December, almost exactly a year after a disputed presidential election which plunged the country into a violent power struggle.

Health officials in Madagascar said last Thursday a flu outbreak that had claimed the lives of hundreds of people, was now under control.

Doctors in Madagascar were on Monday still baffled by a mysterious flu-like illness that has killed more than 150 people in the past two weeks.

In a show of support for the country's new administration, international donors at the weekend pledged US $2.3 billion in aid to Madagascar over four years.

In a show of support for the country's new administration, international donors at the weekend pledged US $2.3 billion in aid to Madagascar over four years.

Government ministers in Madagascar are to receive ten-fold pay increases in what the new president says is a move to curb corruption. President Marc Ravalomanana, who has just won a violent power struggle on the island, said that if officials were paid properly, they would not need to abuse positions.

After an eight-month long power struggle that divided the island nation, Madagascar's President Marc Ravalomanana has called for national reconciliation.

The political crisis in Madagascar appears to finally be at an end. Saying the incoming President seems to be "a chap who can actually deliver on things," Richard Cromwell of the Institute of Security Studies in Johannesburg discusses how the crisis was resolved and what lies ahead for the impoverished island nation.

Facing imminent military defeat, former Madagascan president Didier Ratsiraka on Tuesday called for an internationally guaranteed ceasefire, sparking speculation that the reign of one of Africa's longest rulers has finally come to an end.

At least 13 people have been killed in northern Madagascar as troops loyal to President Marc Ravalomanana pushed ahead with an offensive into one of the last remaining bastions of the country's former ruler, Didier Ratsiraka, a military official said.

In a surprise move, the United States became the first major world power to formally recognize the government of Marc Ravalomanana in Madagascar. A letter to that effect from President George Bush was presented by American ambassador Wanda Nesbitt in Madagascar on Wednesday.

Talks on the political crisis in Madagascar must address the deteriorating human rights situation, Amnesty International says. "The leaders of Madagascar and the international community must condemn the ongoing human rights abuses and take a firm stance on holding those responsible to account," the organization said.

Madagascar's Marc Ravalomanana formed a new government on Tuesday but excluded allies of his arch rival only days after saying he planned a national unity administration. There was no immediate explanation for the apparent about-turn and Ravalomanana's officials gave reporters in the capital Antananarivo the new list of ministers without comment.

Madagascan politician Marc Ravalomanana said on Tuesday he was considering a plan to end his power struggle with the Indian Ocean island's veteran ruler despite the failure of weekend peace talks. Ravalomanana held face-to-face discussions on Sunday with rival presidential claimant Didier Ratsiraka in Dakar, where five African presidents had hoped to broker an end to the crisis dividing the giant island.

Up to 12 people are reported to have died in fighting in Madagascar's north-eastern, vanilla-producing region of Diego Suarez. Seven soldiers and three civilians were killed on Monday, reports the French news agency, AFP, quoting hospital and military sources.

In the middle of a deepening crisis, Madagascar is a country with a new currency - fuel. Hundreds of thousands of litres are being moved around the island in everything from huge metal drums to plastic soft drinks bottles - by boat, by hand, by truck or by plane. Roadblocks placed by politicians and run by factions of the deeply divided military have set in motion a massive black-market machine that is driving the country steadily towards lawlessness.

There was a steady build-up of soldiers in two of Madagascar's provincial towns on Thursday as president Marc Ravalomanana reiterated his intention to take military action if the blockade of the capital, Antananarivo, was not dismantled within four days. Aid agencies told IRIN that the southern town of Tulear, and Mahajanga in the north were "extremely tense" as armed forces seem to prepare for what is expected to be a crucial showdown between Ravalomanana's men and backers of former president Didier Ratsiraka.

In just five months the relatively calm Indian Ocean island of Madgascar has been riven by a political row that has seen almost 60 people killed since January and more than 65,000 jobs lost. The World Bank on Tuesday said the economic fallout from the protracted crisis could spell disaster for the poorest of the poor in the country. The leadership wrangle began in January when Marc Ravalomanana, the charismatic mayor of the capital, organised mass protests accusing incumbent president Didier Ratsiraka of rigging the December polls in an effort to prolong his 23-year rule. The crisis recently turned uglier with incidents of clashes between two of the country's largest ethnic groups. IRIN asked Madagascar specialist Stephen Ellis at the African Studies Institute in Leiden, Netherlands, how a country known more for its vanilla exports and sandy beaches became one of Africa's hotspots.

Analysts and NGOs on Monday warned of a wider and more vicious confrontation in Madagascar if no political solution is found soon. Six people were killed and many others injured over the weekend in a fresh outbreak of violence in the north-western town of Mahajanga. Local news reports said the civil strife erupted after supporters of ex-president Didier Ratsiraka attacked members of ethnic groups they accused of favouring new president Marc Ravalomanana.