Madagascar

International mediators negotiating a resolution to the crisis in Madagascar have announced that the rival parties have agreed on an election within 14 months in which both the ousted president, Marc Ravalomanana, and the leader who overthrew him, Andry Rajoelina, could stand for the presidency.

The multilateral negotiations seeking to establish a neutral, peaceful and consensual transition in Madagascar resumed on Wednesday 20 May 2009 under the auspices of international mediators from the African Union (AU), the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (OIF) and the United Nations (UN).

Communities in southern Madagascar have a wealth of experience in dealing with the unforgiving, arid conditions of their region, but not even their finely honed farming skills and knowledge passed down for generations can withstand the relentless drought.

Madagascar's ousted president, Marc Ravalomanana, may be down but he is not out.

Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Acting Chief Executive Officer Rodney Bent announced today that the MCC Board of Directors, chaired by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, has voted to authorize the termination of MCC’s $110 million, five-year poverty reduction grant agreement, or compact, with Madagascar.