Antananarivo  - At least three people have been reported killed in anti-government protests that broke out in the island country on Monday.

Looting has also spread across the capital Antananarivo, starting in the Chinatown business district.

The buildings of two television stations considered close to the government were set on fire, and according to the latest reports the city's central jail was stormed for the release of 3 youths arrested earlier for attacks on government buildings.

Antananarivo- A mass anti-government rally in Madagascar on Monday ended with two people reportedly dead and the state television building in flames.

Tens of thousands of people took to the streets of the capital Antananarivo to protest the rule of President Marc Ravalomanana, whom they accuse of being anti-democratic.

The demonstration in the city's May 13th square was called by Antananarivo's mayor and Ravalomanana's rival, Andry Rajoelina, on the first day of an open-ended general strike.

Antananarivo - The Indian Ocean island of Madagascar was being attacked by two tropical cyclones arriving from opposite directions Tuesday.

Tropical cyclone Eric made landfall on Monday in the eastern Fenerive-Est region of the world's fourth-largest island at wind speeds of around 100 kilometres per hour, local media reported Tuesday.

Government buildings, schools and shops in the area remained closed Monday and power supplies were deliberately suspended for safety reasons until the storm had passed.

There were no reports yet of major damage or injuries.

Antananarivo - Twenty two inmates managed Sunday to break out of a prison outside the capital Antananarivo in a breakout prepared over the Christmas period, local media reported Monday.

The inmates crept out through a seven-meter-long escape tunnel, dug with plastic bottles and a saucepan, before lowering themselves over the prison wall with a rope made of clothing.

One prisoner was shot to death by the guards, while four others were seized several kilometres away from the Tsiafahy prison situated outside Antananarivo.

Antananarivo, Madagascar - As delegates from 45 countries met in Nairobi to discuss a coordinated front against Somali piracy, the Indian Ocean island of Madagascar further south was preparing for the opening of a museum that documents the history of piracy on the high-seas under the skull and crossbones flag.

A Swiss national has founded the Pirates' Museum in Antananarivo, capital of Madagascar, the world's fourth-largest island and a favourite former ambush point for ships travelling between Africa and Asia.

The museum explores more than 300 years of the swashbuckling history of piracy, focusing on the Indian Ocean and the Caribbean Sea.