One curfew order could soon cover the whole island
Ministers have cleared a Police (Amendment) Bill for the National Assembly. It would let the Commissioner of Police declare a curfew over the entire country at once, instead of town by town as the law allows today.
The text also stiffens the penalty for anyone caught outdoors with an offensive weapon inside a curfew zone during curfew hours. Carrying a cutlass or a metal bar after dark would then cost far more than it does now. That same Cabinet sitting logged 151 arrests and heavy damage to shops and police property over the past week.
Emergency powers are easier to write into law than to retire from it.
Sydney Pierre walks out of Labour for the opposition benches
"It is a very difficult moment for me," Sydney Pierre said on Friday night as he announced his resignation from the Labour Party and the government majority.
Pierre, the member for Stanley and Rose-Hill, will cross to the opposition on Tuesday. Two months ago PM Ramgoolam sacked him as junior tourism minister for being the only majority member to vote against the pension changes in the Finance Bill. He says he emailed his letter to the party, he did not see PM Ramgoolam first.
First arrest over the 'Gen Z' chat behind the fires
Police in Flacq have arrested Jayesh Julloo, 21, known as Kushal, accusing him of fanning the unrest through a WhatsApp group named 'Gen Z' and of arranging the handout of petrol bombs. Officers picked him up on Wednesday night. It is the first arrest tied to the online organising behind the violence.
A hotter summer is coming for the taps and the grid
Forecasters expect above-normal heat from November to February as a strong El Niño settles over the region, the Mauritius Meteorological Services warn. Their real worry is the extra pull on water and electricity, both already stretched thin.
A dry island does not need a hotter summer to put the reservoirs back at the top of the news.
Shorts
Classes resume Monday – Schools across the country reopen on Monday 19 October after days of closure.
PM takes charge of the water crisis – Cabinet has set up an inter-ministerial committee on the water crisis, chaired by PM Ramgoolam.
A call to shield trafficking victims – The IOM, the UN migration body, urged better protection for trafficking victims after a national review.
Half the bus trade gone under curfew – Bus operators report a 50% fall in passengers and takings under the shortened hours.
Hotels report no cancellations yet – Tourism boss Richard Duval says the sector has logged no booking cancellations despite the unrest.
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