Local Mauritius

Delegation to meet Air Berlin representatives

Mauritius had put up a stand at ITB Berlin, a fair that brings together professionals from the tourism industry across Europe. The minister of Tourism, Michael Sik Yuen led an important delegation to Berlin comprising 120 participants from 38 local travel trade organisations including tour operators and hotel groups. On Friday, the Mauritian delegation will [...]

09 Mar 2012, The Independent Daily

Youth participate in rally to show patriotic ardour

To mark the Independence Day celebrations and the National Youth Day 2012, the Ministry of Youth and Sports in collaboration with Lucozade is organising the National Youth Rally today. The rally, “Marching Flag” will see 600 youngsters dressed in national colours. It will start at 11 am from the Tombeau Malartic, Champs de Mars and [...]

09 Mar 2012, The Independent Daily

ADB opens local liaison office

On Thursday, the African Development Bank (ADB) officially opened its new Mauritius Liaison Office which will be located at the UNDP Mauritius office. The ceremony was held at the Anglo Mauritius House, Port Louis in the presence minister of Finance and Economic Development, Xavier Duval. The new office will provide financial and technical assistance and [...]

09 Mar 2012, The Independent Daily

UoM Council reviews Morgan’s restructuring plan

The University of Mauritius (UoM) Council met all its members on Thursday afternoon to discuss the restructuring plan of the former vice-chancellor, Professor Konrad Morgan. A presentation on the new reforms was conducted by the Independent Task Force, which was chaired by Dan Bundhoo. Several changes have been made to the initial plan proposed by [...]

09 Mar 2012, The Independent Daily

The new iPad: Yes, that’s what they are calling it

Apple released their latest and greatest tablet and they’re simply calling it “the new iPad”. It still has the same battery life and only a very slight, almost undetectable, change in dimensions. Apple also announced a new version of IOS (5.1), now with Japanese Siri support and a slew of app updates i Work Garageband: [...]

09 Mar 2012, The Independent Daily

30-30 seat sharing reports from MSM, MMM meet

The top brass of both the MSM and MMM, including Pravind Jugnauth and Paul Berenger, met to discuss the possible remake of 2000 alliance. According to a source, both parties have decided on a seat sharing agreement whereby each will present 30 candidates in the general elections. Moreover, the source added that if they win [...]

09 Mar 2012, The Independent Daily

Private sector biased against women: PM

International Women’s Day was celebrated at the J&J auditorium, Phoenix on Thursday in the presence of Prime Minister Dr Navin Ramgoolam, minister of Gender Equality Mireille Martin and UNDP representative Asha Kannen, among others. Dr Ramgoolam urged the private sector to step up efforts so that women are able to climb up the hierarchy. He [...]

09 Mar 2012, The Independent Daily

Earthquake measuring 5.1 felt near Rodrigues

An earthquake measuring 5.1 on the Richter scale was recorded at 6.20 am on Thursday 308 km north east of Rodrigues. The epicentre was located at a latitude of 17.8 degrees South and longitude 65.6 degrees East. However, according to the forecaster of the Mauritius Meteorological Station, no tsunami warning was issued on the island [...]

17 Feb 2012, The Independent Daily

Legislation to prevent import of fake gadgets

Certificates from parent company needed. The number of defective products, especially mobile phones in the market is of growing concern to the government. A new legislation will therefore be adopted in the coming week to review the import standards of such products. ICT minister Tassarajen Pillay Chedumbrum made it clear that importers should meet all [...]

17 Feb 2012, The Independent Daily

National carrier incurs 3.2 m loss

The global economic crisis has severely impacted the airline industry and Air Mauritius is no exception. The national airline company incurred losses of EUR 3.2 million for the third quarter, October 1 to December 31, 2011 against a profit of EUR 12.2 million for the same period in the previous year. The worsening results are [...]

15 Feb 2012, The Independent Daily

Hindu House mobilises for Maha Shivaratree

In the context of the celebrating Maha Shivaratree, the sociocultural association, Hindu House, in collaboration with the Rashtriya Sanatan Dharma Sanghatan and the Sanatan Dharma Purohit Mandal, will undertake a food distribution for pilgrims coming from the north of the island heading to Grand Bassin from February 18 to 19. Hence, an area of 30,000 [...]

15 Feb 2012, The Independent Daily

Ministry of Youth awards 144 students

The minister of Youth and Sports, Devanand Ritoo presided over a ceremony organised to award certificates to 144 students from Beau Bassin / Rose Hill. These students participated and successfully completed the Life Skills Education programme organised by the Ministry of Youth and Sports last year. The ceremony was held at Eddy Norton Hall, Rose [...]

15 Feb 2012, The Independent Daily

Financial constraints no hurdle for bright Massirah

The success story of Massirah Mehtaab Burthun, 18, at the 2011 Higher School Certificate (HSC) examinations is proof of determination and that poor economic background is no deterrent to academic success. Massirah was ranked as laureate of the Queen Elizabeth College (QEC) in the Economics stream and hails from Paul Toureau Street, Port Louis. Massirah [...]

15 Feb 2012, The Independent Daily

UK announces changes in visa application procedure

The British High Commission, in collaboration with the United Kingdom Border Agency is changing its procedures for submitting and processing visa applications. The new rules will take effect from Monday, February 27. From February 27, all applications for a UK visa made from Mauritius or Seychelles must be completed online at www.visa4uk.fco.gov.uk . After completing [...]

15 Feb 2012, The Independent Daily

Mauritius showcasing tourism in India

To encourage Indians to visit Mauritius and to showcase the exclusive range of products available here, the Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority became a partner at the 19th celebration of the South Asian Travel & Tourism Exhibition, considered India‘s biggest B2B (business to business) exhibition in travel and tourism. SATTE, the most anticipated tourism event in [...]

15 Feb 2012, The Independent Daily

MPL celebrates 240 years of operation

Mauritius Post Limited (MPL) celebrated its 240th anniversary on Tuesday and held a press meet to announce its calendar of activities for 2012. The chairman of MPL, Arnaud Godere said, “The MPL has been at the service of the public since 1772. It has modernised its services and this year, we have chosen the theme, [...]

15 Feb 2012, The Independent Daily

Min launches IYC sensitisation campaign in secondary schools

In the context of the International Year of Cooperatives (IYC), the National Institute for Cooperative Entrepreneurship (NICE), which operates under the aegis of the Ministry of Business, Enterprise and Cooperatives has launched a sensitisation campaign in secondary schools. Present at the Basdeo Bissoondoyal College on Monday, the minister of Business, Enterprise and Cooperatives, Jim Seetaram [...]

15 Feb 2012, The Independent Daily

Averses et risques d’orages à l'Ouest

La  station météorologique de Vacoas prévoit un beau temps sur l'ensemble de l'île aujourd'hui hormis des averses localisées sur le plateau central et à l'Ouest le matin, alors que dans l'après-midi, il y aura des développements nuageux et des risques d'orages.

06 Feb 2012, Le Matinal

Ramgoolam heads to India

On Sunday, the Prime Minister, Dr Navin Ramgoolam headed for his official mission to India. During the six-day visit, the PM will have the opportunity to strengthen the country’s economic and diplomatic ties with India. A high-level ministerial delegation including the ministers Cader Sayed Hossen, Arvin Boolell, twenty private sector delegations including the former finance [...]

06 Feb 2012, The Independent Daily

PMO launches mass media campaign against HIV

The National Aids Secretariat, Prime Minister’s Office launched a mass media campaign on HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) Testing on Saturday. Over a period of one month the national campaign will be broadcast on TV, radio, billboards, and on the web.. The objective of this campaign is to encourage the public to have voluntary HIV test, [...]

06 Feb 2012, The Independent Daily