🇲🇺 Borrowing gets pricier as the central bank lifts its key rate to 5%

Borrowing gets pricier as the central bank lifts its key rate to 5%

The Bank of Mauritius raised its key interest rate by a quarter point on Wednesday, nudging it from 4.75% to 5% in a unanimous vote by its Monetary Policy Committee. That is the benchmark commercial banks track, so loans, mortgages and overdrafts across the island get a little costlier from here. The trigger was prices: annual inflation hit 6.4% in October, up from 4.4% in July.

The squeeze is widening. Nearly half the goods and services in the consumer basket, 47%, rose by more than 5% in October, against 33% back in January. The share of items getting cheaper shrank from 23% to 12%, and the bank expects inflation to sit above its 2% to 5% comfort band into 2027, with a long drought still pushing food costs up.

Growth is the sweetener, the bank still sees the economy expanding 3% this year, led by financial services, insurance and tourism, while construction and manufacturing lag behind.

It cools inflation by cooling spending; households already feeling the price squeeze now pay more to borrow, too.

Court rules today on four Chagossians who tried to go home

At 2pm Mauritius time today, the BIOT Court of Appeal in London rules on four Chagossians who have waited months; BIOT, the British Indian Ocean Territory, covers the archipelago Mauritius claims as its own. In February, Misley Mandarin and three others landed on Île du Coin in the Peros Banhos atoll to settle, and removal notices soon followed.

In March, Chief Justice James Lewis quashed those notices as unfair and declared the 2004 rule that stripped Chagossians of the right to live there illegal. British authorities appealed, and today's ruling decides whether that small opening stands.

Mauritius lands 120 new weather stations in a Rs 163 million climate deal

More than 120 new meteorological, hydrological and marine tracking units are heading to Mauritius, a haul worth about Rs 163 million, or roughly $3.4 million. The kit comes through a regional climate programme run by the Indian Ocean Commission, the IOC, the bloc that links Mauritius with its island neighbours. Better data on rain, rivers and the sea matter for an island staring down drought and wilder weather.

Mauritius Telecom signs three deals to boost autism, heart and kidney care

Mauritius Telecom has signed three partnership accords aimed at strengthening public health services, covering autism support, cardiology and dialysis. The deals put the telecoms group behind patients who often wait longest for specialised care. Figures on funding and rollout were thin, but the three areas named are among the most stretched in the system.

Mauritius to host STEM Racing's first African continental cup in 2028

STEM Racing has picked Mauritius as its hub for school engineering contests across Africa. Working with STEM Racing Mauritius, the Unicity Education Hub and the Medine group, the island is lined up to host the first African continental cup in 2028. It is a bet that the country can sell itself as a base for youth science on the continent, not just a beach.

Shorts

Three drivers test positive for drugs – A pedestrian was left seriously injured after police caught three drivers under the influence.

Car wash suspected of illegal gas refills – A Plaine-des-Papayes car wash is suspected of topping up cylinders with household cooking gas.

Petit-Gamin riding centre faces sanctions – The equestrian centre at Petit-Gamin could face sanctions, a parliamentary reply revealed this week.

FoodWise flies the flag at a Toronto summit – Mauritius joined 470 delegates at Global FoodBanking Network summit in Toronto, through the charity FoodWise.

Mooneesawmy murder trial gets its jury – A new jury took its seats and the murder trial of Reddy Mooneesawmy resumed in court.

Upcoming Events

Sat 14 Nov · Montebello Car Boot Sale
9am to 2pm

Sat 14 Nov · NASA Space Apps Challenge
2 days · Rajiv Gandhi Science Center

Thu 19 Nov · ThirdThursday Networking
9:30am to 11:30am at Middlesex Uni

Sat 21 Nov · Bo’Valon Car Boot Sale
9am to 2pm

Fri 4 Dec · FirstFriday Networking
Social event from 6:30pm to 8:30pm

149,273

visitors reached Mauritius during October alone, up 8.3% on the same month last year, with arrivals running about 4% ahead across the first ten months of 2026.

$870 million

Ethiopia's coffee exports earned that much over a single quarter, up 15% on last year and still the country's biggest export earner.

66,000

Nigerians have fled across borders to escape insecurity by mid-October, three times last year's pace, and the UN refugee agency is appealing for $2 million to help them.

Congo eases referendum rules as third term fears grow

President Félix Tshisekedi has signed a law making it easier to call a constitutional referendum in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Opponents read it as groundwork for a bid to stay in power past his current limit. President Tshisekedi says the change is about modernising the constitution, nothing more.

Algeria jails author Kamel Daoud for five years

An Algerian court sentenced the prize-winning novelist Kamel Daoud and his wife to five years, in absentia, over claims he breached medical confidentiality in a novel.

Miners expelled by Guinea trickle out of Mali camp

Gold miners thrown out by Guinea are leaving a holding site in Mali, where officials say about 160,000 people have arrived since the crackdown began.

US army officer held in England over Russia spy claim

How does a senior American officer end up in handcuffs in rural England?

A 41-year-old US Army officer was arrested near Gloucester on suspicion of spying for Russia, in a joint FBI and British police operation. Few details are public, but the case lands at a raw moment between Washington and Moscow.

US House report demands a fresh Epstein inquiry

A House Oversight report says federal agencies failed Jeffrey Epstein's victims and urges a new Justice Department investigation into the case.

Jim Jordan to lead House Republicans after poll losses

House Republicans picked Trump ally Jim Jordan over Steve Scalise as minority leader, regrouping after a bruising round of midterm defeats.

A Mauritian pen takes one of France's literary prizes

Ananda Devi has won the 2026 Prix Jean Giono for her novel Chronique d'un royaume perdu. The prize, named after the French writer Giono, is one of the autumn season's quieter but respected honours.

Devi, born in Trois-Boutiques, has spent decades turning Mauritian lives into French prose read far beyond the island. Another honour for a writer Mauritius loves to claim.

🙏 Merci, à demain! 👋

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