Mauritius

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Britain Gives Up One of the Last Pieces of Its Empire
Britain Gives Up One of
the Last Pieces of Its Empire
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Britain Gives Up One of the Last Pieces of Its Empire

Under deal, it will hand sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius

(Newser) - What some call the UK's "last colony in Africa" will now return to African hands. The UK on Thursday said it will hand sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius as part of a to-be-signed agreement. What you need to know:
  • The history: Mauritius has for decades claimed
...

Leaking Oil Ship Splits Apart
Leaking Oil Ship Splits Apart

Leaking Oil Ship Splits Apart

And remaining fuel is spilling off the coast of Mauritius

(Newser) - The grounded Japanese ship that leaked tons of oil near protected areas off the Indian Ocean island nation of Mauritius has split apart, officials said Saturday, with remaining fuel spreading into the turquoise waters, the AP reports. Photos posted on social media by the official cleanup effort with support of...

Nation Fights Oil Spill With Human Hair

Emergency volunteers in Mauritius are using whatever works to contain the spill

(Newser) - Facing a nightmare oil spill , people in Mauritius are cutting off their hair. Salons nationwide are offering free haircuts—and some abroad are sending in fresh locks—to help soak up roughly 2,500 tons of oil spilled by a Japanese tanker in late July, Gizmodo reports. Emergency volunteers are...

'The Ship Is Showing Really Big, Big Cracks'

Mauritius is scrambling to prevent environmental disaster

(Newser) - A Japanese ship carrying thousands of tons of oil ran aground in one of the worst possible places: a coral reef in a formerly pristine sanctuary for rare wildlife in Mauritius. More than 1,000 tons of oil have already leaked from the MV Wakashio, soiling beaches and lagoons, and...

3B-Year-Old 'Lost Continent' Is Found
Ancient 
'Lost Continent'
Is Found
STUDY SAYS

Ancient 'Lost Continent' Is Found

It hides under Mauritius: scientists

(Newser) - Before the various land masses that are now Africa, India, Australia, and Antarctica went their separate ways some 200 million years ago, they were part of the supercontinent Gondwana. So, too, was a "lost continent" scientists say is now hiding beneath the island nation of Mauritius. In a video...

Flash Floods Kill 11 in Mauritius

PM: Today a day of mourning

(Newser) - Flash floods killed at least 11 people in the capital of the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius this weekend, leaving the prime minister pointing a finger at climate change as the culprit. Officials today said that most of the dead drowned in rivers of water that rose swiftly Saturday in...

'Lost Continent' Detected Under Indian Ocean

'Mauritia' believed to have sunk millions of years ago

(Newser) - The remains of an ancient continent ripped apart by plate tectonics tens of millions of years ago may lie under the Indian Ocean, researchers say. Scientists who analyzed beach sand on the island of Mauritius found tiny crystals of zirconium silicate that were hundreds of millions of years older than...

What We Can Learn from Mauritius

 What We Can 
 Learn from 
 Mauritius 
OPINION

What We Can Learn from Mauritius

How a tiny African nation provides education, health care for all

(Newser) - Imagine a nation that provided free health care and a college education for all its citizens while maintaining a nicely balanced budget. Sound impossible? Well, they’ve managed it in Mauritius, a small island nation off the east coast of Africa with no "exploitable" natural resources to speak of....

8 Stories