Madagascar+and+Indian+Ocean

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Australia-bound refugees from Sri Lanka have been detained in Indonesia after fleeing genocide in their home country
A group of Tamil refugees destined for Australia has been detained by Indonesian authorities. The refugees, who have escaped the Tamil genocide in Sri Lanka, paid $15,000 for passage on a small, run down fishing boat to Australia. They were promised by Abraham Lauhenapessy, one of the organizers of the trip and well known people smuggler, that he could pay his way out of Indonesian prisons if they were intercepted. He has been arrested. The asylum seekers are now attempting to bargain for refugee status, and a relocation to a country other than Indonesia.

Demographic description of the Indian Ocean region
The Indian Ocean region is very diverse due to the vast number of nations located in it and the large distances the nations are separated by. Nations like Madagascar, Seychelles and Comoros are located very near the east coast of Africa while nations like the Maldives and and Sri Lanka are near the southern tip of India.

Dubai's East African Exploration has begun a second survey of Seychelles' seabed in search of oil reserves


The Dubai based East African Exploration is conducting its second seismic exploration of Seychelles sea floor in search of crude oil reserves. This exploration is the third since 2007, and the second in the last year. In 2007 the company conducted an initial scan of 3650 kilometers that showed sedimentary section that surrounds the islands. The new survey will search 1100 kilometers that surround potential reservoirs. Some drilling is planned from the beginning of 2011 to 2012. If large reserves of accessible oil are located it could be an attractive alternative to countries that suffer from political strife.

===Technology that utilizes carbon dioxide and waste to create fertilizer will soon be implemented in the Maldives===

A new technology that creates fertilizer from agricultural waste while removing carbon dioxide from the air will soon be implemented in the Maldives. The process creates a product known as "biochar" that is composed mostly of carbon. This carbon based substance can then be plowed into the soil to improve its fertility. The environmental benefits of creating biochar include reducing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The reduction of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is particularly important to the Maldives since global warming currently threatens 198 of the 200 inhabited islands through rising sea levels. If sea levels rise one meter by 2010 as they are currently projected to do, only the capital island Male' and the artificial island of Thilafushi would remain inhabitable. In an effort to carbon neutralize the Maldives, the environmental benefits of the biochar industry would be extremely beneficial.

===Three Main Political Opposition Groups in Madagascar Unite Against President===

Ever since the beginning of this year, the government in Madagascar has been unstable due to Former President Marc Ravalomanana's [|resignation]. He was succeeded on March 18th by [|Andry Rajoelina], a charismatic 35 year-old former disc jockey who had been mayor of Madagascar's capital. Now, ever since then political tension has been building from three different factions against Rajoelina. The three parties convened yesterday and are now united against Rajoelina's presidency in Madagascar. They have said they will be using the same tactics that Rajoelina used to get Ravalomanana to step down, such as rallies, to convince Madagascar to join the opposition against Rajoelina. ​