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Your electricity bill just got more expensive, and that's just the start

The government's emergency economic plan, unveiled Friday in a cabinet meeting, hits Mauritian households on two fronts. Electricity tariffs go up 15% from May 1, and the price of bread jumps from Rs 2.60 to Rs 3.90, a 50% increase in one of the most basic staples on the island.

Behind the numbers is an oil bill that has ballooned beyond reach, with the State Trading Corporation (STC) needing to raise USD 180 million to cover just three oil cargo shipments of Mogas and diesel. With Brent crude already above $100 a barrel and a US naval blockade of Iranian ports now in force, those numbers will not get easier any time soon.

Out in streets, the mood is bleak. Entrepreneurs say the electricity hike threatens their margins. Households already stretched by rising food costs see little relief in the government's social protection measures, which welfare advocates have called inadequate for the most vulnerable.

Last time energy costs moved this sharply in Mauritius, food prices followed within months.

London puts the Chagos deal on ice

The United Kingdom has put the Chagos agreement, which would have returned sovereignty of the archipelago to Mauritius, into what officials described as a "deep freeze." London chose not to include the treaty in the upcoming King's Speech, after failing to secure formal backing from Washington.

The deal, signed in May 2025, now sits in limbo. Mauritius' representative Gavin Glover insists the door is not closed: the treaty could still be reintroduced in the British Parliament at a later stage. With the Trump administration's scepticism about the agreement well documented, a concrete timeline is anyone's guess.

MMM delegates choose: the party stays

306 of the 400 branches of the Mouvement Militant Mauricien (MMM), the junior coalition partner, sent delegates to the Belle-Rose municipal hall on Saturday, a 75% turnout. A vote by show of hands produced a clear majority: the party stays inside the Alliance du Changement government.

The entire assembly happened without Paul Bérenger's name being mentioned once. The party is projecting unity, but three MMM MPs' parliamentary status remains unresolved, a thread that will pull at Tuesday's session.

28 questions await PM Ramgoolam on Tuesday

Parliament resumes Tuesday April 14 with 28 questions lined up for PM Navin Ramgoolam. Opposition leader Joe Lesjongard leads with the Private Notice Question, expected to press hard on fuel costs and the electricity hike. Separately, Joanna Bérenger will question the PM on Kreol Morisien and old-age pension policy.

Watch the World Cup for Rs 300

Mauritians can stream all 104 FIFA World Cup 2026 matches for Rs 300, the MBC (Mauritius Broadcasting Corporation) will also broadcast 34 games free-to-air. The tournament runs June-July across the US, Canada, and Mexico, with broadcast rights for the African region held by New World Televisions SA, based in Togo.

🗞️ SHORTS

Chikungunya surging in April – 1,112 confirmed cases since January, with 45 new in a single day on April 9 alone.

Meth bust in the north – ADSU (Anti Drug and Smuggling Unit) seized over 100g of methamphetamine and arrested a 35-year-old driver at Espérance-Trébuchet.

Silver again for Maëlle Louise – Mauritian kickboxer Maëlle Louise took her second silver medal at the Kickboxing World Cup in Bangkok.

SC science practicals: urgent fix needed – Schools want a hybrid assessment model for School Certificate 2026 hands-on science exams.

Mauritius launches national AI strategy – The FAIR framework, covering fairness, accountability, inclusivity, and integrity, went live at a ceremony in Phoenix on April 9.

Rs 27 per litre of petrol goes to taxes and excise duty, before the pump price is even set, according to the Mauritius Consumers' Association, which is calling for those charges to be cut. At current prices, over half of what you pay at the pump is government revenue, not oil.

Gold surged 7.48% on Friday, reaching $4,717 per troy ounce, its biggest single-day move in years. Safe haven demand spiked after the US announced a naval blockade of Iranian ports. Gold has nearly doubled from its 2023 levels.

SEMDEX closed at 2,243 on Friday, gaining 20 points despite turbulence in global equity markets. The Stock Exchange of Mauritius index was driven up by financial sector stocks. Not everyone loses when oil prices rise.

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Iran's new Supreme Leader: wounded and out of sight

Who is actually running Iran right now? Mojtaba Khamenei, appointed Supreme Leader following his father Ali Khamenei's death in a US airstrike, is reportedly recovering from severe and disfiguring wounds sustained in the same attack. He has not appeared in public since taking office. With peace talks having collapsed after 21 hours in Islamabad, who is speaking for Tehran right now is more than an academic question.

100+ dead after airstrike hits Nigerian market

More than 100 civilians killed when Nigerian Air Force jets struck a village market in Jilli, Yobe state, while targeting Boko Haram militants, according to Amnesty International. The military has not addressed the reports. Dozens of survivors were taken to a hospital in Geidam for treatment.

Benin's presidential baton passes

Finance Minister Romuald Wadagni is widely expected to win Benin's presidential election after overseeing decade of economic growth in the west African country. Outgoing President Patrice Talon, who served two five-year terms, stepped down as the constitution requires.

Oil tops $100 as US blockades Iranian ports

Peace talks between Iran and the US collapsed Saturday after 21 hours of negotiations in Islamabad. Within hours, President Trump announced a naval blockade of Iranian ports starting from the Strait of Hormuz, with US Central Command confirming the operation begins Sunday. Brent crude hit $102.16. Asian markets opened lower, and Iran is defiant.

Mauritius imports 100% of its fuel. Every dollar added to Brent lands directly on the STC's bill.

Hungary sweeps Orbán from power after 16 years

Péter Magyar's Tisza party won two-thirds of parliamentary seats in Sunday's Hungarian election, enough to amend the constitution. Viktor Orbán, who spent 16 years reshaping Hungary's democratic institutions and judiciary to tighten his grip on power, conceded. Magyar, a 45-year-old former Orbán insider, built his campaign on anti-corruption promises, the EU has already welcomed the result.

Asha Bhosle, 1933–2026

She sang in over 12 languages, recorded an estimated 11,000 songs, and was nominated twice for a Grammy Award. Asha Bhosle died in Mumbai on Sunday, aged 92, after being admitted to hospital for extreme fatigue and a lung infection. For Mauritius, where Bollywood is not background noise but part of the cultural fabric, her passing will be felt personally.

The mystery of the missing boat motors

Police investigating a wave of outboard motor thefts from coastal communities in western Mauritius cracked something bigger. Investigators from the DCIU Nord (Drug Crime Investigation Unit) traced the stolen engines to a trafficking network running cannabis from Réunion and Madagascar on clandestine night sea crossings.

They weren't stealing for resale. Fast, untraceable engines were the point: the kind radar struggles to pick up on open water. The network is reportedly in custody, but the case raises questions about how many similar operations are running in waters that are harder to watch than than anyone likes to admit.