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A US lawmaker wants Mauritius on the travel ban list, and Chagos is part of it

Republican Representative Tom Tiffany wrote to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin on April 23, calling for Mauritius to be placed on a travel ban list under Section 212(f) of the US Immigration and Nationality Act. Madagascar and Seychelles are in the crosshairs too. The trigger: all three Indian Ocean nations denied Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te overflight rights while he was travelling to Eswatini.

Taiwan's presidential secretary-general says the permits were pulled under Chinese economic pressure. Tiffany called it an "irresponsible action" that violates international civil aviation norms. For Madagascar, he wants more than $100 million in US aid frozen. Seychelles faces a suspension of talks on an unspecified bilateral programme. Mauritius gets the travel ban request.

Tiffany's letter also flags Mauritius' bid for the Chagos Islands and the US military base at Diego Garcia specifically, making clear Washington doesn't see Chagos diplomacy as separate from how Mauritius behaves geopolitically.

Individual Congress members write these letters more than they become policy. But they set a tone.

Six now accuse Percy Duval as women who stayed silent for years speak up

Six complaints are now on record with Brigade pour la Protection de la Famille against Percy Duval, 57, from Tamarin. Three new victims came forward last week, all adults now, after reading press coverage of his arrest. They said they were minors when the alleged abuse occurred, and the offences include causing a child to be sexually abused.

Duval has been in police custody since April 10 and is exercising his right to silence. On April 22, the three complainants were seen by a police doctor and psychologist, then identified the locations where Duval allegedly took them during a Riviere-Noire reconstruction. Each victim positively identified him.

Three women read about it in the press, made the call. That's how it works sometimes.

UK reaffirms Chagos deal but bill stalls while waiting for Trump's signature

Is the Chagos deal still alive? London says yes. On April 22, UK National Security Adviser Jonathan Powell called PM Navin Ramgoolam to confirm Britain's commitment to the sovereignty agreement, but the UK will not advance the Diego Garcia Bill in Parliament this session; an updated exchange of notes on the military base still awaits Trump's final signature.

Mauritius is not rushing. PM Ramgoolam says the government will reassess after hosting the US-Africa Economic Summit in late July. Separately, Chagossian leader Olivier Bancoult and a group of community members are planning a London mission to press their case.

Every piece of this deal now runs through the White House. Mauritius can only wait.

Competition Commission opens first probe into private healthcare costs

Mauritius' Competition Commission launched an investigation into the private healthcare sector on April 24, citing surging costs and a lack of price transparency. The market is worth roughly Rs 19 billion a year, most of it paid from households pockets rather than insurance. Commissioner Vipin Naugah called it the first such probe under the new competition law.

Rs 19 billion, mostly out of pocket, with no clear pricing rules. Worth looking into.

'Some families have cut out lunch': the cost crisis in plain sight

Social worker Sandra Casimir says the surge in food prices is pushing poorer families to two meals a day, while wealthier households are panic buying and stockpiling. The gap that creates inside communities is visible and widening.

The queue at the supermarket and the empty shelf at home. Same crisis, two very different experiences.

🗞️ SHORTS

68 new chikungunya cases yesterday – 68 new chikungunya cases reported Friday push this year's total to 1,645 as mosquito activity stays high across the island.

Mauritius para-athletes shine in Rabat – Brandy Perrine won twice at this week's World Para Athletics Grand Prix in Rabat, one of several strong results from the Mauritian squad.

Jockey Joorawon granted Rs 80,000 bail – Jockey Rye Joorawon bailed for Rs 80,000 Friday in the Solitude manslaughter case, after appearing at Pamplemousses district court.

IMF team in Mauritius for financial audit – IMF auditors are examining Mauritius' public finances and economic outlook through May 4.

460m rock wall planned for Trou-aux-Biches – A 460-metre rock wall is planned at Trou-aux-Biches to hold back accelerating coastal erosion.

406,808 Tourist arrivals in Mauritius between January and mid-April 2026, according to Statistics Mauritius. The first half of April ran 2.4% behind last year's pace.

Rs 48 billion Foreign investment flowing into Mauritius over the past year, per new official data. The figure puts the island among the region's more active destinations for cross-border capital.

Rs 361.2 billion Total capitalisation of the Mauritius Stock Exchange official market at Wednesday's close, continuing a bullish run into the weekend.

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Coordinated attacks hit Bamako and cities across Mali

Gunmen launched simultaneous assaults across Mali on Saturday morning, hitting Bamako's international airport, the Kati military base, and northern cities including Kidal and Gao. JNIM, the Al-Qaeda-linked militant group, claimed responsibility jointly with the Azawad Liberation Front, a Tuareg separatist movement that has fought the Malian army for over a decade. Tuareg rebels say they have seized Kidal and parts of Gao.

Mali's army says the situation is under control, but gunfire and helicopters could still be heard hours later. US embassy told American citizens to shelter in place. The African Union condemned the attacks.

General Assimi Goita's base at Kati was one of the targets. That is not a coincidence.

Dozens rally in Tunis for journalists locked up since 2024

Demonstrators gathered in the Tunisian capital to demand the release of journalists Mourad Zeghidi and Borhen Bsaies, both in detention since 2024 under a decree critics say has been used to silence opponents of President Kais Saied's government.

Inside the mosque that sheltered hundreds through Sudan's war

The Gharib Allah Sufi mosque in Khartoum stood on the frontline of Sudan's civil war for nearly two years. A new report from the capital tells the story of the war-damaged building that became a refuge for hundreds while fighting raged outside its walls.

Israel and Lebanon extend their ceasefire by three weeks, but violations keep mounting

Following a White House meeting, the US announced a three-week extension of the Israel-Lebanon ceasefire. Trump called it a step toward a "permanent, everlasting agreement" and said he expects Israeli and Lebanese leaders to meet him in coming weeks. Hezbollah called the deal meaningless.

Both sides have accused each other of violations. Recent Israeli airstrikes killed six people across southern Lebanese villages, while Hezbollah continued launching rockets and drones at Israel. Fighting had resumed on March 2 when Hezbollah re-entered the conflict in support of Iran, and the truce has held only loosely since.

Trump calling it 'everlasting' while both sides are actively shooting is an interesting choice of words.

US sanctions a major Chinese refinery and 40 firms over Iranian oil

Washington has sanctioned a major Chinese refinery and about 40 shipping companies in Iran's shadow fleet for trading in Iranian crude. The move tightens the US campaign to cut Tehran's oil revenue as the naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz continues.

Washington tweaks sanctions so Venezuela can pay Maduro's drug trial lawyers

Venezuela's government can now pay the legal fees of President Nicolas Maduro and his partner Celia Flores in a New York drug-trafficking case. The US modified its sanctions rules specifically to allow it, a rare carve-out in a regime that usually goes the other direction.

Unclear if this is diplomacy, a courtroom technicality, or something else entirely.

Four World Cup final tickets on FIFA's own site for $2.3 million each

Someone has listed four tickets to the World Cup final at MetLife Stadium on FIFA's official resale platform at just under $2.3 million each. That's per ticket.

Buy all four and you're looking at roughly $9.2 million, enough to fund the annual operations of several of the smaller football federations competing in the tournament.

The person who listed them either has a plan or an ego. Possibly both.