MAURITIUS
– INTERNATIONAL
News:
Six pilgrims killed in
Mauritius blaze
What's
in the news?
●
Six pilgrims died in Mauritius, when a
fire broke out during a religious ritual to mark a Hindu festival, police said.
Key
takeaways:
●
The pilgrims were travelling on foot to
the Grand Bassin lake, which is deemed sacred by the east African island
nation's Hindu community.
Mauritius:
●
It is an island country in the Indian Ocean, located off the eastern coast of
Africa.
Location:
●
It lies about 500 miles (800 km) east of
Madagascar in the Indian Ocean.
●
Its outlying territories are Rodrigues
Island, situated about 340 miles (550 km) eastward, the Cargados Carajos
Shoals, 250 miles (400 km) north eastward, and the Agalega Islands, 580 miles
(930 km) northward from the main island.
●
Mauritius also claims sovereignty over the
Chagos Archipelago (including Diego Garcia), some 1,250 miles (2,000 km) to the
northeast, although this claim is disputed by Britain.
Relief:
●
It is volcanic
in origin and is almost entirely surrounded by coral reefs.
●
The northern part is a plain that rises to
a central plateau. The plateau is bordered by small mountains that may have
formed the rim of an ancient volcano.
Climate:
●
The climate is maritime subtropical, with
fairly uniform temperatures throughout the year.
Capital
-
Port Louis
Languages
- English, French, Mauritian Creole, Bhojpuri, Hindi, Chinese, Marathi.
Government:
●
Mauritius gained independence from the UK
in 1968 as a Parliamentary Republic and has remained a stable democracy with
regular free elections.
●
The chief of state is the president and
the head of government is the prime minister.
●
Mauritius is a member of the Common Market
for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and the Southern African Development
Community (SADC).
Population:
●
Approximately two-thirds of the population is of Indo-Pakistani origin, most of
whom are descendants of indentured labourers brought to work in the sugar
industry during the 19th and early 20th centuries.
●
About one-fourth of the population is
Creole (of mixed French and African descent), and there are small numbers of
people of Chinese and Franco-Mauritian descent.
Religion:
●
About half of the population is Hindu, about one-third is Christian.