Madagascar

President, Andry Rajoelina, addresses supporters at an election rally in Antananarivo, Sunday Nov. 12, 2023. Rajoelina is pushing ahead with a presidential election, Thursday, Nov. 16, that could give him a third term, even as opposition protests roil the country and the majority of candidates have announced a boycott. (AP Photo/Alexander Joe)

Madagascar president on course for reelection as supporters claim they were promised money to vote

Madagascar President Andry Rajoelina is on course for reelection in a vote boycotted by most opposition candidates.

Madagascar’s incumbent President Rajoelina takes early lead in vote marked by boycott, low turnout

A man casts his vote in the presidential election in Antananarivo, Madagascar Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023. Madagascar's President Andry Rajoelina is pushing ahead with a presidential election Thursday, that could give him a third term, even as opposition protests roil the country and the majority of candidates have announced a boycott. (AP Photo/Alexander Joe)

Vote counting starts in Madagascar election marked by low turnout and boycotted by most candidates

Ruling party supporters of President, Andry Rajoelina, attend an election rally in Antananarivo, Sunday Nov. 12, 2023. Madagascar's Andry Rajoelina is pushing ahead with a presidential election, Thursday, Nov. 16, that could give him a third term, even as opposition protests roil the country and the majority of candidates have announced a boycott. (AP Photo/Alexander Joe)

Madagascar police impose curfew on eve of presidential election, after polling stations torched

People gather outside the HJRA hospital, in Antananarivo. Madagascar, Friday Aug.25, 2023, to find out situation of loved ones after a crush at a local stadium. Local media in Madagascar report that at least 12 people have died in a crush at the stadium as sports fans gathered for the opening ceremony of the Indian Ocean Island Games.(AP Photo Laetitia Bezain)

Crush of people at opening ceremony of the Indian Ocean Island Games in Madagascar kills at least 12

Mother Iavosoa, who only gave her first name, and her 10-month-old daughter Soaravo, who is suffering with acute malnutrition, at a hospital in Mananjary, Madagascar, Wednesday, March 8, 2023. Southeastern Madagascar has been battered by three intense cyclones in the space of a year and humanitarian groups say it is now facing a hunger emergency because of those climatic disasters. (AP Photo/Sarah Tetaud)

Madagascar faces ‘catastrophic’ hunger after 3 cyclones

Humanitarian groups say children in remote areas of southeast Madagascar are experiencing “catastrophic” levels of hunger after three cyclones battered the region in the space of a year.

Boat carrying migrants from Madagascar sinks; 34 drown

Officials in Madagascar have recovered 34 bodies from the Indian Ocean after the sinking of a boat carrying migrants hoping to get to Mayotte.

FILE - The damaged roof of a school lies in the playground in Vilanculos, Mozambique, on Feb. 24. 2023. Still recovering from the effects of the first battering, the southwestern African nation of Mozambique is bracing for a rare second hit by long-living Tropical Cyclone Freddy late on Friday night, a regional weather center said Tuesday, March 7, 2023. (AP Photo, File)

Cyclone Freddy to slam Mozambique Friday in rare second hit

Still recovering from the effects of the first battering, the southeastern African nation of Mozambique is bracing for a rare second hit by long-living Tropical Cyclone Freddy late on Friday night, a regional weather center said Tuesday.

WHO urges assistance to African nations facing cholera

A World Health Organization official in Africa is urging more support to countries facing cholera outbreaks, saying the disease has the potential to “quickly explode” as rainfall persists in some areas.

This image from Meteosat-9 satellite shows Tropical Cyclone Freddy, center right, and Mozambique on Friday, Feb. 24, 2023. The damaging tropical cyclone dumped “dangerous and exceptional rainfall levels” over Mozambique as the long-lasting weather system continues to wreak havoc across southern Africa, the United Nations weather agency said. (NOAA via AP)

Cyclone Freddy slams Mozambique with ‘dangerous’ rainfall

A damaging tropical cyclone dumped “dangerous and exceptional rainfall levels” over Mozambique Friday as the long-lasting weather system continued to wreak havoc across southern Africa.

People work on a damaged building, in Mananjary district, Madagascar, Wednesday Feb. 22, 2023 after cyclone Freddy reached Madagascar. A slightly weakened Cyclone Freddy has made landfall in Madagascar, where schools, businesses and public transportation were shut down ahead of its arrival. Freddy was packing winds gusting to 180 kilometers per hour, or about 111 miles per hour, as it came ashore in a nation already hit in January by a tropical storm that killed at least 30 people. (AP Photo/Solofo Rasolofomanana)

Weakened Cyclone Freddy batters Madagascar, killing 4

A weakened Cyclone Freddy which pummeled Madagascar Tuesday night with heavy rains and strong destructive winds has killed four people and is continuing to wreak havoc in the southwest of the Indian Ocean nation.

A man walks through a flooded road in the coast of the Indian Ocean Island of Mauritius Monday Feb. 20, 2023. Forecasts say Tropical Cyclone Freddy is increasing in intensity and is expected to pass north of the Indian Ocean island nation of Mauritius and make landfall in central Madagascar Tuesday evening.It's feared that up to 2.2 million people, mostly in Madagascar, will be impacted by storm surges and flooding, according to the Global Disaster Alert and Coordination System.(AP Photo/L'express Maurice)

Madagascar, Mozambique set for “dangerous” Cyclone Freddy

A cyclone which is intensifying as it approaches the southeastern African coast has been labeled as “dangerous” by the United Nation’s weather agency on Monday as nations brace for landfall.

This image from Meteosat-9 satellite shows Tropical Cyclone Freddy, right, and Madagascar on Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023. Schools, businesses and public transportation shut down before Freddy made landfall Tuesday evening, battering the island with strong winds and rain. (NOAA via AP)

Cyclone Freddy’s battering winds make landfall in Madagascar

A slightly weakened Cyclone Freddy has made landfall in Madagascar, where schools, businesses and public transportation were shut down ahead of its arrival.

This image from Meteosat-9 satellite shows Cyclone Freddy, right, in the Indian Ocean near Madagascar, Friday, Feb. 17, 2023. Two weeks after Tropical Cyclone Cheneso devastated Madagascar, the Indian Ocean island nation and its neighbors are bracing for a more powerful Cyclone Freddy. (NOAA via AP)

Battered by Cheneso, Madagascar braces for Cyclone Freddy

Two weeks after Tropical Cyclone Cheneso devastated Madagascar, leaving 30 dead, the Indian Ocean island nation and its neighbors are bracing for a more powerful Cyclone Freddy.

A man steers his boat that is used by residents to move around the street flooded with rain water in Antananarivo, Madagascar, Saturday, Jan. 28, 2023. A tropical storm Cheneso made landfall across north-eastern Madagascar on January 19, brought strong winds to coastal regions, while heavy rain brought significant flooding to northern parts of the country. (AP Photo/Alexander Joe)

Tropical storm leaves 30 dead, 20 missing in Madagascar

Authorities in Madagascar say flooding and landslides caused by the passage of tropical storm Cheneso across the island nation over the last few days have caused 30 deaths, left 20 missing and affected tens of thousands.

Storm Cheneso picks up in Madagascar, more flooding to come

A severe tropical storm which devastated parts of Madagascar this week is set to continue to wreak havoc on the country as it strengthens over the weekend, the United Nations regional weather monitoring service said.

FILE - Pope Benedict XVI greets the crowd from the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican on April 19, 2005, soon after his election. Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, the German theologian who will be remembered as the first pope in 600 years to resign, has died, the Vatican announced Saturday. He was 95. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini, File)

Vatican: Benedict XVI lucid, stable, but condition ‘serious’

The Vatican says Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI is lucid, conscious and stable, but his condition remains serious.

Madagascar police fire on mob attacking station; 11 killed

Madagascar police say that at least 11 people were killed when police opened fire on a mob demanding that officials turn over to them four suspects held for allegedly kidnapping a child with albinism and killing the mother.

Sex offender gets 40 years for assaulting African minor

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A Mandan man with a record of child sex crimes will spend the next 40 years in a federal prison after he traveled to Madagascar to solicit sex from minors.

FILE - A man caries belongings from his house destroyed by tropical storm Ana in Antananarivo, Madagascar, Jan. 26, 2022. Extreme rainfall in Africa's southeast has become heavier and more likely to occur during cyclones because of climate change, according to a new analysis released Monday, April 11, 2022 by an international team of weather scientists. (AP Photo/Alexander Joe, file)

Study: Africa cyclones exacerbated by climate change

Extreme rainfall in southeast Africa has become heavier and more likely to occur during cyclones because of climate change, according to a new analysis released Monday by an international team of weather scientists.

Pope Francis touches his right knee during his weekly general audience at the Vatican, Wednesday, March 2, 2022. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Pope Francis plans to visit Congo and South Sudan in July

The Vatican says Pope Francis is planning to visit Congo and South Sudan in July. Francis is scheduled to visit Congo’s capital, Kinshasa, and the city of Goma on July 2-5.

FILE — People outside ruined homes in Mananjary, Madagascar, Feb. 10, 2022. The island of Madagascar off the east coast of Africa is bracing for yet another cyclone having already been hit by three major tropical storms in the last month. Cyclone Emnati is expected to make landfall on the eastern coast of Madagascar late Tuesday Feb. 22, 2022, amid fears it will be a stronger storm than the three that have left nearly 200 people dead this cyclone season. (AP Photo/Viviane Rakotoarivony, File)

‘We need help': Another cyclone batters Madagascar

Cyclone Emnati has crashed into the southeastern coast of Madagascar and ripped roofs off houses and raised fears of flooding and food shortages.

A house lays in ruins in Mananjary, Madagascar, Thursday, Feb. 10, 2022. The toll of Cyclone Batsirai in Madagascar has risen to 92 deaths and more than 112,000 people displaced by the tropical storm which rampaged across the island earlier this week, the national disaster management office announced Wednesday. (AP Photo/Viviene Rakotoarivony)

Cyclone-hit Madagascar braces for another ‘big one’

The island of Madagascar off the east coast of Africa is bracing for yet another cyclone having already been hit by three major tropical storms in the last month.

Tropical storm Dumako hits northern Madagascar; 2 missing

Two people are missing and 885 have been displaced in northeastern Madagascar by tropical storm Dumako.

FILE — People stand outside a ruined home in Mananjary, Madagascar Thursday, Feb. 10, 2022. Even as southern African nations assess the devastation caused earlier this month by Cyclone Batsirai, a new tropical storm is approaching as the Indian Ocean region is confronted by an intense cyclone season. (AP Photo/Viviene Rakotoarivony.File)

Madagascar, southern Africa brace for more tropical storms

Even as southern African nations assess the devastation caused earlier this month by Cyclone Batsirai, a new tropical storm is approaching as the Indian Ocean region is confronted by an intense cyclone season.

This satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies shows overview of Mananjary, Madagascar after Cyclone Batsirai, on Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2022. (Satellite image ©2022 Maxar Technologies via AP)

Madagascar’s death toll from Cyclone Batsirai rises to 92

Officials on Madagascar say the toll of Cyclone Batsirai has risen to 92 deaths and more than 112,000 people displaced by the tropical storm which rampaged across the island earlier this week.

People make their way home during bad weather in Tamatave, Madagascar, Saturday, Feb. 5, 2022. Weather officials forecast that the full force of Cyclone Batsirai is to hit Madagascar Saturday evening. (AP Photo)

Cyclone kills 20 in Madagascar but quickly weakens on land

Officials in Madagascar say that Cyclone Batsirai has caused the deaths of 20 people and made more than 55,000 others homeless after slamming into the island’s eastern coast.

Cyclone pounds Madagascar with torrential winds and rain

Cyclone Batsirai’s torrential winds and rain are hammering Madagascar, after landing on the island’s east coast.

A man weighs down the roof of his home with bricks to stop it from flying away during bad weather in Antananarivo, Madagascar, Saturday, Feb. 5, 2022. Weather officials forecast that the full force of Cyclone Batsirai is to hit Madagascar Saturday evening. (AP Photo/Alexander Joe)

Cyclone Batsirai’s high winds and rain pound Madagascar

The full force of Cyclone Batsirai pounded Madagascar’s eastern coast with torrential winds and rain Saturday night.

A woman fights Gale force winds in the Indian Ocean Island of Mauritius Wednesday Feb. 2, 2022. Forecasts say Tropical Cyclone Batsirai is increasing in intensity and is expected to pass north of the Indian Ocean island nation of Mauritius on Wednesday evening and make landfall in central Madagascar on Saturday afternoon.The Global Disaster Alert and Coordination System says Batsirai has been upgraded and classified as Category 4.(Beekash Roopun/L'express Maurice via AP)

Madagascar on high alert for Cyclone Batsirai’s winds, rain

Madagascar has put six of its regions on high alert as tropical Cyclone Batsirai is forecast to hit the Indian Ocean island’s east coast Saturday with intense winds of 195 kilometers (121 miles) per hour.

In this image supplied by EUMETSAT from satellite Meteosat 8 taken at 09.15 UTC on Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2022, Cyclone Batsirai is seen to the east of Madagascar. Forecasts say Tropical Cyclone Batsirai is increasing in intensity and is expected to pass north of the Indian Ocean island nation of Mauritius on Wednesday evening and make landfall in central Madagascar on Saturday afternoon. (EUMETSAT via AP)

Madagascar braces for cyclone blowing in from Indian Ocean

Madagascar is bracing for a new cyclone even as the Indian Ocean island recovers from a tropical storm that wreaked devastation last month.

Cyclone Batsirai strengthening, threatening Madagascar

MOMBASA, Kenya (AP) — Forecasts say Tropical Cyclone Batsirai is increasing in intensity and is expected to pass north of the Indian Ocean island nation of Mauritius on Wednesday evening and make landfall in central Madagascar on Saturday afternoon.

In this image made from video, people stand on an overturned vehicle swept by flooding waters in Chikwawa, Malawi, Tuesday Jan. 25, 2022. Mozambique, Madagascar and Malawi are counting the deaths and damage by tropical storm Ana and more than a week of heavy rains across southern Africa. (AP Photo)

Mozambique, Malawi, Madagascar count deaths, damage by storm

Mozambique, Madagascar and Malawi are counting the deaths and damage by tropical storm Ana and more than a week of heavy rains across southern Africa.

A man wades through flood water on his way to a shop in Antananarivo, Madagascar, Monday, Jan. 24, 2022. Tropical storm Ana has caused widespread flooding in Madagascar, including in the capital city, causing the deaths of 34 people and displacing more than 55,000, officials said Monday. (AP Photo/Alexander Joe)

Malawi hit by flooding caused by tropical storm Ana; 1 dead

Officials in Malawi say that tropical storm Ana has caused widespread flooding, power outages and killed at least one person in Malawi.

Tropical storm Ana floods Madagascar’s capital; 34 dead

Officials in Madagascar say that tropical storm Ana has caused widespread flooding in Madagascar, including in the capital city, raising the death toll from recent heavy rains to 34 people and displacing more than 55,000.