🇲🇺 IMF wants Mauritius to cut its debt before the next shock lands

IMF wants Mauritius to cut its debt before the next shock lands

The International Monetary Fund handed Mauritius a mixed report card on 15 July. Its Article IV review, the yearly health check the Fund runs on member economies, calls the island resilient but weakening as conditions abroad turn less friendly. Growth came in at 3.2% in 2025, carried by tourism and financial services, while construction went into reverse.

That momentum is fading. The Fund expects growth to slow to 2.8% this year before edging back toward 3.2% over the medium term, as fresh investment offsets an ageing population. Inflation, which cooled to 4.1% in June, is tipped to climb again as the renewed Middle East war lifts fuel and commodity prices.

The prescription is blunt. Rein in a high public debt, hold down spending, and push structural reforms faster, pension reform among them. The report reads less like a warning shot than a checklist the government already knows by heart. Resilience buys time. It does not pay down the debt.

A fake CEB inspector talked his way to Rs 105,000

Jalal Ud Dhin Mohabeer, a 33-year-old technician from Pamplemousses, was arrested by the Financial Crimes Commission on 15 July. Investigators say he turned up at a home in Vallee-des-Pretres waving a forged document that claimed the Central Electricity Board had sent him to inspect the meter.

He then faked a fault, demanded Rs 200,000 to stay quiet, and walked off with Rs 105,000. The commission, which chases financial crime, suspects a wider racket and is questioning other Board staff. If you never called anyone about your meter, nobody should be collecting cash for it.

Guilty verdict lands nine years after a Forest-Side killing

A Chamouny woman, Henna Auckloo, 33, was found guilty by eight votes to one of complicity in the 2017 manslaughter of her husband's father, Indurduth Auckloo, 63. The verdict came down around 10pm before the assizes court.

He was killed at Cite St-Luc, Forest-Side, in September 2017. Auckloo now waits at Beau-Bassin prison for sentencing pleas on 17 July. Nine years is a long time to reach a single word.

Six new airlines line up to fly into Mauritius

Answering a question in Parliament, PM Ramgoolam named six airlines that have secured air traffic rights over the past two years and applied to run commercial flights to the island. More carriers means more seats, keener fares, and a tourism sector that has leaned too long on a handful of routes.

A Mahebourg man confesses to killing his brother

Asvind Aukhajah, 46, has been provisionally charged with murder after telling police he beat his older brother Bassoodeo, 48, to death at the family home in Mahebourg on Monday. The argument began over a bottle of rum that had run dry. Aukhajah had already been convicted once before, for the killing of his grandmother.

Shorts

Mauritius set to sign US strategic accords – The island will sign space and logistics deals with Washington during a senior US visit.

53 undocumented foreigners held in Port Louis – Police rounded up 53 foreign nationals living irregularly, with deportations to follow.

Cannabis policy report due by end July – The national drug agency's long-awaited cannabis report is expected before the month is out.

CID breaks up an alcohol theft ring – Detectives dismantled a ring that specialised in stealing alcoholic drinks around Goodlands.

Saudi tourism delegation tours resorts – A Saudi delegation began a familiarisation tour of luxury resorts to court Gulf visitors.

77 deaths

Road fatalities to 14 July, eleven more than the 66 recorded a year earlier, have reignited the debate over how Mauritius trains its drivers.

14 states

A third of Nigeria's regions now sit under a flood warning as the seasonal rains turn heavier.

$1 million

Wisconsin's election board says Elon Musk likely broke bribery law by handing cheques to voters before a 2025 state court race.

Algeria orphanage fire kills 11 as a heatwave fans the flames

At least 11 people, some of them children, died in a fire at an orphanage in Algiers, authorities said Thursday. The blaze struck during a punishing heatwave that has set off hundreds of wildfires across northern Algeria.

Emergency crews are stretched thin as country battles blazes on several fronts at once. For a home meant to shelter children, this is a cruel turn.

South Africa hunts the killers of a migrant-hostile leader

Police have set up a special team to investigate the murder of Andile Somgaxa, who led the movement March and March.

Uganda discharges its last Ebola patient

With its final patient sent home Thursday, Uganda starts a 42-day countdown that could see it declared free of the virus.

Iran shuts the Strait of Hormuz as US strikes escalate

The United States and Iran traded fresh strikes overnight as Washington reimposed a naval blockade on the Strait of Hormuz. Tehran answered by closing the strait altogether, the narrow channel through which about a fifth of the world's oil normally passes.

At least 35 people were killed in the US bombardment of southern Iran, and fuel prices jumped worldwide. For an island that ships in every drop of its fuel, a closed Hormuz is not a distant headline.

EU's top court backs Spain's Catalan amnesty

The European Court of Justice, the bloc's highest court, ruled that Spain's amnesty for Catalan separatists breaks neither EU law nor its terrorism rules.

Israeli strikes kill 12 in Gaza despite the truce

At least 12 Palestinians were killed over two days of Israeli strikes, health officials said, even with a ceasefire nominally in force.

How did Toronto end up with the planet's dirtiest air?

Ever seen a skyline the colour of weak tea? Toronto woke to one on 15 July, when smoke from wildfires in northwestern Ontario smothered the city and handed Canada's biggest metro the worst air quality of any big city that morning.

The culprit is a fire season that keeps starting earlier and burning longer. When the smoke of a distant forest can choke a city, distance stops being much of a defence.

🙏 Merci, à demain! 👋

Enjoying 4minit?
❤️ Share 4minit with someone who'd enjoy it
📲 Follow us on Facebook and Instagram
🤝 Get in touch to sponsor us

Feedback | Unsubscribe