ANTANANARIVO: An army colonel who seized power in a military coup was set to be sworn in as Madagascar’s new leader Friday in a lightning-fast power grab that ousted the president and sent him fleeing from the country into hiding. Col. Michael Randrianirina, the commander of an elite army unit, will take the oath of office at the nation’s High Constitutional Court, he said in a statement published on state media.

After leaving his country with French assistance, Andry Rajoelina appeared for the first time since the military mutinied and refused to step down.

ANTANANARIVO: Madagascar’s President Andry Rajoelina on Tuesday dissolved the national assembly, pre-empting an opposition-led vote to force him out of office over the island…