Local Mauritius
508 low-cost housing units ready by year-end
Some 508 social housing units in 10 different places will be delivered between late September and the end of the year. With these 508 houses of the National Housing Development Company (NHDC), several families will find a home. The government had to look for a sum of about Rs 325 million for the construction of [...]
03 Aug 2011, The Independent Daily
Tengur attacks TM over deal on energy
The shift from the production of energy to the so-called green energy is giving rise to an interesting debate. Many countries have chosen to opt for a change by abandoning fossil fuels. In Mauritius, it has been nearly a decade since the use of bagasse was presented as an alternative. Unfortunately, as it is produced [...]
03 Aug 2011, The Independent Daily
Plaines Wilhems daily water supply down to five hours
The water level in reservoirs continues to drop. On Tuesday, Mare aux Vacoas, the biggest reservoir of the island was filled at 31.1 per cent with only 8.05 million cubic metres of water. The other reservoirs are also drying up quickly. Piton du Milieu is currently filled at 42 per cent of its capacity while [...]
03 Aug 2011, The Independent Daily
Chinese netted for fishing sea cucumbers
The Flic en Flac National Coast Guard (NCG) arrested Pan Ila Dong, a 40-year-old man of Chinese national, on Sunday with five 25-litre tins of sea cucumbers. He was caught fishing in front of the Villas Caroline Hotel, Flic en Flac, with a group of men of other nationalities. This was despite a ban on [...]
03 Aug 2011, The Independent Daily
President appoints new electoral commissioners
President Sir Anerood Jugnauth decided to appoint four persons as members of the Electoral Supervisory Commission (ESC) and the Electoral Boundaries Commission. They are Nargis Bundhun, Oograssen D Cowreea, Pramahunse Bissessur and Vedita Devi Peerun. Jugnauth used the power vested in him under the Constitution to take this decision in consultation with the leader of [...]
03 Aug 2011, The Independent Daily
President’s men that irk Labourites
Using his prerogatives, the President of the Republic Sir Anerood Jugnauth has constituted the Public Service Commission (PSC) and the Discplined Forces Services Commissions (DFSC) for a period of three years, with effect from August 1. Legally, there is nothing wrong with this, but the appointments made without consulting the PM has infuriated the Labour [...]
02 Aug 2011, The Independent Daily
Komiko stages Beauty and Beast
The success of the second edition of the Festival du Rire (laughter festival) ended on Sunday with a local adaptation of the famous theatrical piece, Beauty and The Beast by the Komiko group. The play is set in a chaotic apartment where food packets, utensils and dirty clothes are strewn on the floor. Albert, an [...]
02 Aug 2011, The Independent Daily
NCB to host ICT regional fairs
The National Computer Board (NCB) is organising a series of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) expos on a regional basis across the country. The first regional ICT expo will be held at the Rivière des Anguilles community centre on August 6-7 and at the Rivière du Rempart Youth Centre on August 20-21. The objective of [...]
02 Aug 2011, The Independent Daily
Microsoft honours local, Réunion firms
Regional partners, System Plus Pioneer and its Reunion island counterpart, Hermes System were given the ‘Microsoft Country Partner of the Year Award’ at the latest edition of the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference 2011. The two representatives, Alain Barbe, technical director of System Pioneer Plus, and Denis Taris, managing director of Hermes System, were present at [...]
02 Aug 2011, The Independent Daily
UoM explores possibility of using coconut oil as bio fuel
The University of Mauritius (UoM) and the Mauritius Standards Bureau (MSB) conducted a feasibility study on the use of coconut and waste vegetable oil as an alternative to diesel for power generation. The project, which is an initiative of the Mauritius Research Council (MRC), in collaboration with the Outer Islands Development Corporation (IDOC), aims to [...]
02 Aug 2011, The Independent Daily
Miss Sport, Siren pageants selected
Following the Miss Talent contest, which was won by Ameeksha Dilchand, the participants met again on Sunday for the Miss Siren and Miss Sport contests. Laura Yow Sang was declared the winner for Miss Siren while Anais Sadien bagged the Miss Sport title. The contestants took part in three competitions over two days. They also [...]
02 Aug 2011, The Independent Daily
Accused referred to Assizes
Four suspects in the murder case of Denis Fine, namely Sada Curpen, Patrick Steeve Serret (also known as Polocco), Antoine Georgy Westley Bhadoodeenkhan (alias Toto) and Louis Gino Robertson (alias Batman), have been referred to the Assizes. In her ruling at the District Court of Pamplemousses on Monday afternoon, magistrate Maryse Panglose-Cala concluded that there [...]
02 Aug 2011, The Independent Daily
Gang of four arrested for murder of 80 year old
Benito Pancheu, 30, and his accomplices, Pierre Antoine Gabriel, 41, Jean Claude Pierre, 45, and Pierre Ohmet, 81, confessed about their involvement in the murder of 80-year-old Marie Belle Orange Redini. The woman was murdered on Saturday at Saint Croix. During their interrogation, the four said that they visited the victim on the evening of [...]
02 Aug 2011, The Independent Daily
7 police transferred after inmate’s death
Seven police officers who were working during the night shift on July 29 to 30, at the police station in Rivière du Rempart, have been transferred. This transfer follows the suicide of an inmate. Officers of the Major Crime Investigation Team were interrogating the policemen when they were they were informed of their immediate transfer. [...]
02 Aug 2011, The Independent Daily
Vallée des Prêtres green space at Rs 100 m
The Municipality of Port Louis is working on a project to set up a green space at the foot of Caroline Hill, Vallée des Prêtres, in line with the government policy to make Mauritius a sustainable island. The green space will be set up on about 10 acres of land at an estimated cost of [...]
02 Aug 2011, The Independent Daily
Stirring win for Button
Jenson Button marked his 200th Grand Prix with a reminder of his class today when he drove his McLaren to a stirring victory in a chaotic and incident-filled Hungarian Grand Prix. The 31-year-old Briton, who started third on the grid, made the most of some wretched ill-fortune for his teammate and compatriot Lewis Hamilton in [...]
01 Aug 2011, The Independent Daily
PM lands today to tackle crisis
In line with the Medpoint chronicle which the leader of the Opposition, Paul Bérenger, has described as ‘the scandal of the century’, all attention is focused on Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam’s arrival from London on Monday, which is expected to be the dénouement in this affair. He is awaited aboard flight MK 053 from Heathrow [...]
01 Aug 2011, The Independent Daily
ICAC launches offensive
After MedPoint, another politically volatile case is receiving the renewed attention of the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC). The investigators have in their possessions some documents from Britain, Netherlands and Singapore which are likely to give a new turn to the Boskalis case initiated in 2008. The investigators have established a detailed work programme to [...]
01 Aug 2011, The Independent Daily
4 hurt in gas cylinder blast
Four people were seriously injured after a gas cylinder exploded at Morcellement Raffray, Pailles, on Sunday. According to sources, the explosion was caused by a leak in the connection between the cylinder and an oven. Banon Caderesa, 34, Feizala Chetty,25, a five-year-old girl and a three-yearold boy sustained serious injuries following the explosion. Three dogs [...]
01 Aug 2011, The Independent Daily
Ramadan fasting to start this week
Depending on the visibility of the moon, on Monday or Tuesday, the Muslims will begin their one month fast for Ramadan, one of the five compulsory pillars of Islam. Fasting does not only consist of food deprivation but is mostly an opportunity for believers to change their habits, keeping in mind the need of the [...]
01 Aug 2011, The Independent Daily