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First mpox cases in Mauritius: one patient tracked down after fleeing

Mauritius recorded its first confirmed mpox cases Wednesday. A 46-year-old Mauritian and a 31-year-old Comorian national, both recently returned from Madagascar, tested positive after presenting with high fever and skin lesions. Both patients are stable.

The Mauritian is being treated at Victoria Hospital in Candos. The Comorian was isolated at Dr A.G. Jeetoo Hospital in Port Louis — then fled. Health officials tracked him down later that afternoon and returned him to isolation. The Ministry of Health launched contact tracing immediately.

Mpox spreads through close physical contact with an infected person. The incubation window is 5 to 21 days. Anyone who recently traveled from Madagascar and develops fever or skin rashes should seek medical attention and tell their doctor where they've been. Madagascar has been dealing with active cases, making it a direct exposure risk for arriving travellers.

With Madagascar as the source and Comoros as a known stopover, Mauritius was always going to be on the risk list.

Mare-aux-Vacoas at 51%: water cuts are weeks away

51% — that's how full Mare-aux-Vacoas reservoir is right now. The seasonal norm at this time of year is 85%. It's getting worse.

Minister Patrick Assirvaden ordered the Water Resources Commission to draw up restriction plans covering Upper Plaines-Wilhems, Rose-Hill, and parts of the South. Households in those zones will face fewer hours of tap water each day. Assirvaden warned that continuing as normal "would be irresponsible."

By June, projections show the reservoir could fall to 22%, the point where sediment makes extraction technically impossible. No meaningful rainfall is expected before November. February 2026 was already one of the driest months in over a century. Desalination units are being explored for the North, but that doesn't help the South anytime soon.

Paul Bérenger launches a new movement after MMM break

Paul Bérenger posted on Facebook Wednesday that "the fight continues" and that a new political movement is being born. He is inviting anyone committed to the cause to join him.

Bérenger and fourteen colleagues were recently expelled from the Mouvement Militant Mauricien (MMM), the party he co-founded decades ago. He cited "serious breaches and failings" on issues he's spent his career fighting: anti-communalism, electoral reform, workers' rights, and anti-corruption.

No party name yet. No launch date. Just the signal that Mauritius's most veteran opposition figure isn't walking away quietly.

UK delegation meets Ramgoolam as Chagos deal edges forward

A British delegation led by Robbie Bulloch, the UK's Director of Overseas Territories, met PM Navin Ramgoolam at the New Treasury Building in Port Louis on Wednesday. Attorney General Gavin Glover attended from the Mauritian side.

Glover confirmed that a US-UK agreement on an exchange of notes has been reached, though US presidential approval is still pending. A planned bill covering Diego Garcia's military base won't go to the House of Lords this month. Mauritius holds internationally recognised sovereignty over Chagos on paper. Actual control sits with Washington, whose security interests in Diego Garcia remain the decisive variable.

DPP challenges "lenient" sentences in Rs 80m Bramer Bank fraud

Four men convicted of laundering Rs 80 million from Bramer Bank received sentences the Director of Public Prosecutions is calling "manifestly inadequate and unduly lenient." A formal notice of appeal was filed Wednesday.

The harshest penalty: 18 months in prison for Muhammad Saif Ullah Maulaboksh, who processed over Rs 34 million. Darmendra Mulloo received nine months.

The sentence drawing most scrutiny: Chandra Prakashsingh Dip, son of former Police Commissioner Anil Kumar Dip, received only a fine, despite handling Rs 3.5 million. No prison time. The DPP argues the court gave "excessive weight" to Dip's partial repayment, letting fines substitute for a custodial sentence.

🗞️ SHORTS

4th leptospirosis death confirmed – A fourth person with underlying conditions died at Dr A.G. Jeetoo Hospital on Tuesday; there are now 15 active cases on the island.

Chikungunya hits Quatre-Bornes hardest – 59 new cases in 24 hours, 1,474 confirmed since January, and Quatre-Bornes is now the epicenter of the outbreak, overtaking Rose-Hill.

Taiwan president blocked from African skies – Mauritius and other African nations revoked airspace permits for Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te, drawing public praise from Beijing.

Rs 10.8bn highway from Forbach to Bel-Air – The 30km M4 motorway, fully funded by India, breaks ground in about three months and is designed to cut congestion by 40%.

Second flour smuggling suspect charged – Ryder Xpress Co. director Baboo Gowreesunkar charged with conspiracy for allegedly diverting 12,000 sacks of subsidised flour via false export documents, netting Rs 4.9 million.

Rs 13 billion The Bank of Mauritius recorded total comprehensive income of Rs 39 billion in March 2026, against Rs 52 billion the year before. A drop of that size, in a single year, at a moment when household budgets are already stretched.

20,000 flights Lufthansa is cancelling 20,000 summer flights as jet fuel prices surge following the ongoing US-Iran war in the Gulf. Germany's flagship carrier joins a growing list of airlines restructuring schedules as energy costs bite into margins.

77 years That's how far back Gaza's development has been set by the ongoing war, according to a new report. Recovery would require close to eight decades and tens of billions of dollars. For context: 77 years ago, the territory had barely been created.

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Iran seizes Hormuz ships as ceasefire frays

Three commercial vessels were hit in separate incidents in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday. Iran's Revolutionary Guard fired on a container ship off Oman's coast, heavily damaging its bridge. Two more vessels were intercepted and redirected toward Iranian waters, accused of violating the blockade. All crew were safe.

Trump extended the ceasefire earlier this week. In the Strait, both sides are enforcing it differently, the result is three more ships seized and the world's critical oil route running on nerves.

Brent crude is at $103 per barrel. Every incident in the Strait pushes that number higher, and Mauritius imports nearly all its fuel.

South Africa's first winter with the lights on

When did Eskom last run a full winter without cutting power? Nobody in South Africa can quite remember. But the state utility announced Wednesday it does not expect any load-shedding from April to August, the Southern Hemisphere winter.

What changed: generating fleet became more reliable, the company posted its first annual profit in eight years, and diesel use at emergency power plants dropped sharply, saving roughly $1.64 billion compared to the previous three-year period. Nationwide cuts last hit about a year ago.

South Africa lost tens of billions of rands annually to load-shedding. This winter will feel very different.

Djibouti's Guelleh sweeps sixth term with 97.8%

97.81% — the official vote share secured by Ismaïl Omar Guelleh in Djibouti's April 10 election, with results confirmed Tuesday. He has governed the country since 1999, a run of over 25 years.

Guelleh, now 78, had previously pledged his fifth term would be his last. The constitution was amended to let him run past 75. His only challenger was a former ruling party member. Opposition groups boycotted the vote and called it a "masquerade."

Lebanese journalist killed as Iran-US talks stall

Israeli forces struck southern Lebanon on Wednesday, killing at least five people, including journalist Amal Khalil, who reported for Al Akhbar. Lebanon's government called the killing a "heinous crime." Khalil was in at-Tiri when the strike hit.

Diplomatic negotiations between Tehran and Washington remains frozen. Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian blamed the US naval blockade for the impasse, saying "breach of commitments, blockade and threats are the main obstacles to genuine negotiations." Tehran says it wants dialogue. Washington hasn't moved on the blockade.

EU approves €90bn for Ukraine as Druzhba pipeline flows again

The European Union approved a €90 billion loan for Ukraine this week, while Kyiv announced it had reopened the Druzhba pipeline, the oil link to Hungary that had been stalled for months in a dispute over payments.

Both moves represent real progress. The loan gives Ukraine fiscal headroom after months of budget pressure. The pipeline reopening removes the pressure point Hungary used to resist tighter sanctions; Budapest gets its oil, and the EU gets a quieter internal debate.

Billionaire sues Trump's crypto firm after spending $45m

$45 million. That's what Justin Sun, the billionaire crypto investor, put into the Trump family's World Liberty Financial venture. Now he's suing, alleging the Trump family engaged in extortion after he became a major token holder.

Sun claims that after committing $45m to the platform, he faced further financial demands he describes as coercive. The lawsuit adds to growing questions about how the Trump family manages its digital assets operation while in office.

Spending $45 million on a deal and then being asked for more is a very specific kind of bad day.

LA bans classroom screens for half a million students

The Los Angeles Unified School District voted to limit classroom screen time, becoming the first major US school district to do so. About 500,000 students are affected.

The move reverses years of device investment rolled out during the pandemic, when schools distributed laptops and tablets by the millions. Officials say screen reliance grew beyond what the evidence supports. France banned phones from schools in 2018; seven years on, the US is catching up one district at a time.

The research on screens in classrooms is clear. Getting schools to act on it has taken twenty years.