Conservationists are at war over a British plan to create a marine protection zone around a large chunk of surviving empire in the Indian Ocean. The zone, twice the size of Britain, would cover much of the Chagos archipelago, one of the most unspoiled coral reef systems in the world.

Sandhya Boygah considers herself a victim of male-dominated politics. In 2007, she was asked by her party, the ruling Labour Party, to step aside and allow a man to stand for the elected post she sought.

Women human rights activists in Mauritius, under the umbrella Women in Politics (WIP), have asked political parties to field women as one-third of their candidates in the next general elections. They said one woman should be among the three candidates that each party shall field in each of the 20 constituencies of the island.

Mauritian Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam, speaking at the opening of a three-day conference on “Doing Business 2010 in Africa: Sharing Reform Experiences” in Balaclava, Mauritius, has said that Africa is poised for what may be the most buoyant years in its economic history, provided it facilitates doing business despite the worst global economic recession in decades.

Mauritius appears to have a happy problem with the 400,000 tons of waste it produces each year. The island's only landfill is full and the government must decide whether to turn to incinerating waste - generating electricity in the process - or to compost it, to the benefit of farmers.