Tropical storm Binziga  has just hit Madagascar, having killed killed six people and leaving about 7,500 without adequate shelter. Yet  the attention is focused on the return of the Ousted Madagascar President Marc Ravalomanana, who issued a statement and spoke at a news conference in Johannesburg on  Thursday Feb. 17, 2011. He says he will return from his exile in South Africa.  Ravalomanana was forced to flee on 2009 and despite facing a life sentence in prison, has decided to return to Madagascar. His attempt at coming back on February 18th was rebuked by the air traffic authority of Madagascar who issued a persona non grata notice on the ousted president.

( Ravalomanana's reaction at press conference after being refused to board on the plane)

(thousands of people gathering at the airport to welcome the ousted president)

Here are some reactions on Twitter as news of his attempt at returning home  surfaced:

[ Editor's note: it is important to note that there was a high volume of twitter updates about this subject that were not confirmed or verified as the situation is still very fluid. For instance, many users posted that Ravalomanana was already on the plane when he was still only attempting to board]

tomavana To mavana

[Coïncidence?] annonce retour Ravalomanana #Madagascar & enquête parquet Sud-Af ‘tentative de recruter des mercenaires’ http://bit.ly/hP5Fzk

[Coincidence?] announcement return Ravalomanana #Madagascar & South Af’  investigation prosecutors on attempt to recruit mercenaries’ http://bit.ly/hP5Fzk

tomavana To mavana

‘sûr et certain #Ravalomanana sera de retour à #Madagascar ce samedi 19.02'~sénatrice Naika Eliane au téléphone avec @NRakotoarson

‘sure and certain #Ravalomanana will be back #Madagascar this Saturday  19.02'~senator Naika Eliane on the phone with @NRakotoarson

hery hery

[blaogy.com] Raha hody Ravalo: IZay izany no vaovao farany tamin'ity herinandro ity dia ny… http://goo.gl/fb/QXuzy

[blaogy.com] if Ravalo decide to return:  the latest news of this week will be… http://goo.gl/fb/QXuzy

tananews tananews

par hery

Vidéo de la conférence de presse de Marc Ravalomanana http://www.tananews.com/?p=14799

conférence live of  Marc Ravalomanana http://www.tananews.com/?p=14799

iceclubmada ICE Club Madagascar

[ICE member blog] Marc Ravalomanana will come home on Saturday: The ousted president Marc Ravalomanana did today… http://bit.ly/eDtjrB

tomavana To mavana

‘Ravalomanana return to #Madagascar is the last roll of the dice of a desperate man'~Thomas Wilson, #Africa analyst http://bit.ly/hhDYao

topmada TopMada.com

Retour Ravalomanana Conférence Live + Video sur http://www.topmada.com/ ou http://www.livestream.com/madagascardemocracy #madagascar

Ravalomanana return – Conférence Live + Video on http://www.topmada.com/ or  http://www.livestream.com/madagascardemocracy #madagascar

tomavana To mavana

No ultimatum had been given to former Malagasy prez Ravalomanana to leave #SouthAfrica http://bit.ly/epZfC0 #Madagascar http://ff.im/y8vzO

GTTIntl GTT International

Le plan de retour de #Ravalomanana a #Madagascar est ficelé, wait and see

GTTIntl GTT International

Return plan tied for #Ravalomanana #Madagascar , wait and see

GTTIntl GTT International

Kung-Fu, réservistes, volontaires , militaires, la sécurité de #Ravalomanana sera assuré samedi

Kung-Fu, reservists, volunteers, military, #Ravalomanana
security will be assured next Saturday

tomavana To mavana

‘emboldened by pro- #democracy demonstrations in the world’ ousted leader Ravalomanana ‘to return’ to #Madagascar http://bbc.in/gZvLQ2

Ratsara Jérôme

#Wikileaks 2010-02-11 : Gompertz (..) #Madagascar was “obviously a very embarrassing subject” for France http://bit.ly/gM4ZT8

tandriamirado Thierry Andriamirado

par barijaona

Vrai, ambassade? RT @streetrover: Midi #Madagascar : l’ambassade @USMadagascar félicite la décision de Marc Ravalomanana http://ow.ly/1s3wlg ( ed's note: This information is not verified and did not appear in the posted link)

hery hery

#Madagascar Primature bloquer les pistes d'aerodromes locaux avec des futs remplis d'eau http://www.madatimes.com/images//1communication.pdf

hery hery

La primature invite ses siens à bloquer la piste d'Ivato avec des futs remplis d'eau http://www.madatimes.com/images//1communication.pdf

tomavana To mavana

Joaquim Chissano endosse la ‘feuille de route’ de sortie de crise #Madagascar du Dr Leonardo Simão, au nom de la #SADC http://bit.ly/dROVNs

hery hery

Hmmm ezahina hosakanna hono ny fiaramanidina avy any Afrika atsimo amin'ny asabotsy? Ka raha tsy avy any izy no miditra loll

Hmmm, all  flights from South Africa not allowed to land Saturday?. And what if  he doesn't fly in  from that country loll

GTTIntl GTT International

Si vous ne pouvez pas accueillir le Président #Ravalomanana, signez cette pétition http://bit.ly/f6jB2l pour le soutenir dans son action

If you cannot welcome the President Ravalomanana #, sign this online petitionhttp://bit.ly/f6jB2l to support him in his action

USMadagascar USEmbassy-Madagascar

How can you promote democratic change on an individual level? ahoan ny fampiroborobon n fiovana/fanovan demokratika eo @ tsi1/1?