<B>?I killed my aunt?

An 88 year-old woman was killed last Friday. Her 35 year-old nephew who lived with her confessed to the crime. Jean-Yves Benoit Ratseezamut was arrested by the police; he already had a police record for rape. The principal police medical officer, Dr Satish Boolell, said the death of Marie Thérèse Alice Maléa was caused by ?asphyxia due to strangulation?. The victim was living in her house in Cité Malherbes with her 72 year-old sister and their four nephews. The main suspect shared the victim?s room and had stopped working since the end of last year.

<B>Criminals, beware! </B>

Public security is being reinforced. Cameras have already been placed in the airport and authorities intend to place some at the port and in different places in Port-Louis. 110 cameras have already been placed at the airport. The Mauritius Ports Authority should not take long before following suit. As for the municipality of Port-Louis, a report has been given to the mayor to state the cost for setting up such a system as well as the main sites where such cameras should be placed. The mayor, Reza Issac, hopes ?that the project will move forward very quickly? both to help provide more security in the capital and to reduce traffic jams.

<B>Goodbye Austria, hello Spain! </B>

Lauda Air will stop serving Mauritius as from March. As Air Mauritius has stopped going to Austria since 2004, there will be no airlink between the two countries. The decision of Lauda Air ? a subsidiary of Austrian Airlines ? does not appear so astonishing. The airline had already decided that it would land in Mauritius only during the peak season since last year. Thus, the latest decision is only a continuation of the company?s strategy. On the other hand, Spain seems to attract Air Mauritius and the board is considering an eventual direct link between Plaisance and Madrid as from 2007.

<B>Slowly but surely</B>

The government is continuing its appointments seven months after the elections. Several embassies still do not have an ambassador at their head but Mozambique, India and China have been granted their ambassadors since last week. The winners are: Alain Laridon, a former MP for the Militant Socialist Movement (MSM) until 1995, Mukhesswur Choonee, a former minister under the MSM-MMM government who joined Anil Bachoo?s MSD, after the MSM split, and Paul Chong Leung who was attorney general between 1976 and 1982.