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Fuel prices could climb again, and the government is racing to ease the pain

Less than 24 hours after petrol jumped to Rs 64.25 at the pump, Commerce Minister Michael Sik Yuen said there is a "strong possibility" prices go up again. Crude oil supply through the Strait of Hormuz stays choked. No one is predicting when the Middle East war ends.

The government's response: expand the Price Stabilisation Fund (PSF) to cover five essential product categories. Rice, flour, dried grains, cooking gas, and household basics like cooking oil and powdered milk are being fast-tracked for inclusion. Minister Sik Yuen said his team is still drafting the final list and will take it to the Council of Ministers in the coming weeks.

Details of how Mauritius is sourcing fuel under crisis conditions came to light this week. Parliament saw the full terms of the STC-Sahara Energy deal tabled, the agreement between the State Trading Corporation (STC) and Sahara Energy Resource Limited covering heavy fuel oil deliveries to the Central Electricity Board (CEB). Critics say the terms were too favourable to the supplier. The government says it was the best deal on the market.

When the PSF last ran thin in 2022, prices crept up anyway. Whether this extension holds differently may depend on how fast the Hormuz passage reopens.

Parliament passes sweeping anti-money laundering law

Parliament voted through the Anti-Money Laundering, Combating the Financing of Terrorism and Countering Proliferation Financing Bill on Tuesday night, with amendments. Minister of Financial Services Jyoti Jeetun called it "structuring and transformational." The law brings Mauritius fully in line with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the global watchdog on dirty money.

Minister of the Environment Rajesh Bhagwan described it as "an absolute necessity" for restoring Mauritius's financial credibility. Minister of Lands Shakeel Mohamed used the debate to blast the previous government for leaving the Real Estate Agency Authority Act's enforcement regime toothless since 2020.

The FATF greylisting hurt Mauritius's financial sector reputation for years. Nobody in the current government wants to revisit that.

Bérenger quits MMM, heads for a political movement

Paul Bérenger left the Mouvement Militant Mauricien (MMM), a party he helped build over decades. After a meeting with close allies this week, the former prime minister said: "We are going in the direction of a political movement." He wasn't ready to name it yet.

A movement doesn't require the same formal registration, fundraising structure, or internal governance a party does. Bérenger is keeping his options open.

Five arrested over Grand-Gaube man's death

Three men and two women are in custody after the death of Vijay Ramdass, 66, of St-François, Grand-Gaube. Attackers beat him at home on March 26, and he died 22 days later on April 16. Police ordered an autopsy to establish the cause of death. The Northern Division's crime intelligence unit made all five arrests on Thursday.

A hundred Indian workers line up outside Labour in Port Louis

About a hundred Indian workers gathered outside the Labour Ministry in Port Louis on Thursday, sitting in the heat through the morning. Their demand: resolve the disputes with their employers and get them a ticket home. They said they had no other options left.

🗞️ SHORTS

Mufti gone, search finds USB and mop stick – CID raided Twaha Academy Tuesday; a USB drive, broken mop handle, and documents seized from the Mufti's room. He left on one-way ticket to South Africa on April 1.

Two Hindu groups say no to Kreol in parliament – Both the Arya Sabha and the Mauritius Sanatan Dharma Temples Federation (MSDTF) issued statements Thursday opposing Kreol Morisien as a parliamentary language.

Pack & Blister: Joomaye freed after FCC hearing – Dr Zouberr Joomaye, former adviser at the PM's office under the previous government, left Financial Crimes Commission (FCC) premises at midday Thursday after a new round of questioning.

Menlo Park: MCB exec takes case to court – Deepshikha Gowreesunkur, re-arrested on April 15 over the Rs 45 million Menlo Park money laundering case, filed a Supreme Court motion Thursday challenging her detention at the Mauritius Commercial Bank (MCB).

Rodrigues flood families get expanded state aid – One month after the March 15 floods, Minister Ashok Subron visited Rodrigues and confirmed a broader package of state support for affected families.

6 weeks — that's roughly how much jet fuel Europe has left, according to Fatih Birol, head of the International Energy Agency (IEA). The Strait of Hormuz crisis has strangled refinery throughput across the continent. "If the strait doesn't reopen by end of May, countries face potential recession," Birol warned. Island economies and weaker markets feel it first.

250 kg — the weight of a carved dodo sculpture unveiled in Paris this week, the result of a cultural partnership between Mauritian hotel group Sunlife and French travel company Nautil. The dodo has quietly become one of Mauritius's most recognisable global symbols, and apparently it takes 250 kilograms of stone to do the bird justice.

40 of 47 — Senate Democrats who voted to block a US military bulldozer sale to Israel, with 10 Republicans joining them. The resolution failed in the full Senate, but rights advocates called it a "historic" signal of bipartisan discomfort with unconditional arms transfers. Forty out of 47 is not a dissenting fringe.

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Malema gets five years, walks free for now

Five years. That's what a South African court handed Julius Malema, leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), for firing a rifle at a political rally in 2018. Cameras caught the moment. It went everywhere.

The court convicted him on five counts in October last year, including unlawful possession of a firearm and reckless endangerment. He is appealing and will not go to prison yet.

Under South African law, anyone sentenced to more than 12 months without fine option is barred from Parliament. If the appeal fails, Malema loses his seat. His supporters showed up in red, chanting outside the courtroom.

The EFF, which Malema built from scratch, is now the fourth-largest party in South Africa. The appeal verdict will be the real one to watch.

Gabon arrests its main opposition leader

Alain-Claude Bilie-By-Nze, Gabon's main opposition leader and a former prime minister, was detained late Wednesday night. The government's official reason: a financial dispute from 2008, tied to a cultural festival organisation. His Together For Gabon party calls it "a serious political manoeuvre" and describes the arrest as arbitrary and brutal.

Bilie-By-Nze had recently criticised the junta government's social media suspension and nationality laws issued by decree without parliament. He was runner-up in last year's presidential election, finishing far behind winner Brice Oligui Nguema.

Burkina Faso dissolves 118 civil society groups

Burkina Faso's military junta dissolved 118 civil society associations in one announcement this week, citing a regulatory law pushed through in July 2025. Territorial Administration Minister Emile Zerbo warned that "any offender faces the penalties provided for under current regulations." Many of the affected organisations had been doing human rights monitoring. Captain Ibrahim Traoré's junta, in power since a 2022 coup, has been steadily narrowing the public space.

Lebanon ceasefire begins as Trump says Iran deal is ‘very close’

A 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah came into force on Friday. Lebanese civilians began making cautious returns to homes in areas battered by weeks of bombardment. The death toll from Israeli strikes on Lebanon stands at 2,196.

US President Donald Trump separately declared an agreement with Iran over the broader conflict "very close," with talks potentially resuming in Islamabad this weekend.

A 10-day window to negotiate what decades couldn't resolve. The region has been here before.

When is a ceasefire not a ceasefire? Ask Russia.

Russian forces struck Kyiv, Odesa, and Dnipro in a coordinated overnight assault that killed at least 12 people, including a 12-year-old boy in Kyiv. This came after a failed Easter truce. Kyiv documented nearly 7,700 Russian violations of that truce on April 12 alone. Ukraine says it has retaken 12 settlements and 480 square kilometres of territory in recent weeks.

A refinery fire in Australia deepens global fuel fears

An "unprecedented" fire at Viva Energy's Geelong refinery, southwest of Melbourne, disrupted production at a plant that supplies roughly 10% of Australia's eastern fuel needs. The gasoline unit took the brunt, diesel and jet fuel production continues at reduced levels. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese warned of a prolonged disruption, with the government helping fuel companies buy emergency supplies at spot market prices. It's one more pressure point in an already stretched global energy picture.

Nine days, one wolf, and a meme coin

A wolf escaped from a South Korean zoo on April 8 and spent nine days evading every attempt to recapture it, gripping the country's news cycle and going international. Locals gave the animal a nickname. Someone launched a cryptocurrency in its honour.

On Thursday, officials caught it using a network of traps after drone and ground searches failed. The wolf survived. Its meme coin did not.