Pregnant woman kidnapped

Nazira Khan has had a narrow escape. She was waiting in the car for her husband, Toseef, to take money out of a teller machine in Bell Village when two men jumped into the car and “took her for a drive”. They then told Nazira to call her husband and tell him to come with Rs 5,000 in front of the National Transport Authority building without warning the police. But as soon as they arrived they saw a police van and fled. As Nazira is pregnant, she did not want to take any risk and accepted to call one of her relatives to ask him for money. At the meeting point, Nazira recognised her father and two brothers; one of them bumped into the car and both crooks ran away.

12 alleged brutality cases

The trial concerning the murder of fashion designer, Vanessa Lagesse, whose body was found in her bungalow in Grand-Bay in March 2001, has started. The main suspect, Bernard Maigrot, is not the only one who made allegations of police brutality. The police prosecutor, inspector Mumtazally Chamroo, confirmed that there have been twelve other complaints in the same case.

Fatal accident kills three in same family

Only Emilie, seven years old, and her mother have survived the accident at Vingt-Pieds Road in Grand-Bay in the early hours of Saturday. The child is still in a critical condition at the intensive care unit of SSRN Hospital. Her 29 year-old mother, Daniella, had her both legs broken and multiple wounds but this is nothing compared to her mental pain. She has lost her husband, Stéphane, and her two other daughters, Angéna (four) and Stéphie (ten months). The accident happened while the family was coming back from Stéphane’s sister’s wedding. He suddenly lost control of the car.

More sugar lobbying in Brussels

A parliamentary delegation including members of the government and the opposition was in Brussels last week to continue lobbying the European Union. The objective of this new form of lobby was to make the Europeans understand the dramatic consequences the 39% drop in import sugar prices would have on the economy. African Caribbean and Pacific countries favour an approach that would not endanger their economies while taking their commitment with the World Trade Organisation into account. They also insisted on the need for more important accompanying measures to allow ACP countries to deal with the drop.