Young Mauritian Nominated for award
Last Updated on Tuesday, 30 November 1999 00:00 Written by Administrator Wednesday, 20 January 2010 20:33
Young Riana Soobadoo has been nominated for Female Junior Sports Personality of the year as part of the British Asian Sports 2010. Her achievements to date are:
2007/08- SELECTED TO APPEAR IN PROMOTIONAL PHOTOSHOOTS WITH DAVID BECKHAM IN LONDON AND MADRID AND ALSO FEATURED IN HIS COACHING BOOK- ‘DAVID BECKHAM- MAKING IT REAL’
2009– MAKES SENIOR MIDDLESEX COUNTY DEBUT
2008- SCORES A HATRICK ON SENIOR DEBUT FOR BARNET LADIES AGED 16 VS LEICESTER CITY
2007/08- CAPTAINS LEYTON ORIENT U16’s AND FINISH RUNNER’S-UP IN THE LEAGUE
2006- MADE CAPTAIN OF TOTTENHAM LADIES U15’s IN 1ST SEASON AT THE CLUB
2005- JOINS LEYTON ORIENT FA CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE AND SCOUTED FOR ENGLAND LADIES
2008/09- WINS FA PUMA SOUTH-EAST U16’s PLAYER OF THE YEAR
2008- SELECTED FOR ENGLAND LADIES U16’s
2002- SCOUTED AND STARTED FOOTBALL CAREER AT ARSENAL LADIES UNDER 10’s
Riana has dedicated her life to sport and deserves to be nominated for this award for all her hard work. To be in with a chance to win the award, she needs the support of all her family, friends & her community. Mauritius News wishes her the best of luck and we hope that our readers will support her. To vote for her see details above. Terms & Conditions apply.
Terms & Conditions:
* Calls are charged 25p per minute from a standard BT line. Call charges from other operators and mobile networks may vary.
* BASA voting line SMS texts are charged at 25p per text plus your standard network charge.
* Voting lines close on 4th February 2010 at 23:59:59 hours.
* All telephone and SMS text votes may be charged including a) the ones received after closing times b) from withheld numbers c) duplicate calls/texts from the same number.
* Maximum number of votes taken in count is one from each unique number for each nominee, any voting calls from withheld number will not be taken into account but may still be charged. SMS voting is also limited to one vote from each unique number.
* 'Total votes' mean the sum total of phone line and SMS votes as per terms mentioned above.
* Final decision on the winner of each category is a combination of 'total votes' and Judges decision based on a 50:50 weightage.
* All proceeds from the votes will go to the nominated charity at the event.
* Further details can be obtained by emailing:
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Christmas Message from Mauritius High Commission
Last Updated on Monday, 07 December 2009 14:52 Written by Administrator Monday, 07 December 2009 14:44
As 2009 nearly drawing to a close and at the dawn of 2010, I would like to extend to you all my best wishes for a Happy and Prosperous New Year.
I have a special message of appreciation for the various Socio-Cultural Associations and the Mauritian Community who continue to work relentlessly to promote and to serve the interest of the country and a special thanks to all of them for their unflinching support provided to me in the performance of my duties.
As you are all aware, the most severe financial crisis has spared no country but Mauritius as a small Island developing country reacted swiftly and introduced appropriate measures to save jobs, to protect vulnerable people and to prepare for the recovery. Our economy is now structurally more sound, more competitive and resilient.
The Government will spare no efforts in pursuing the right path to make Mauritius more prosperous and contribute to peace and prosperity in the region.
Let me once again wish all of you the very best wishes for a merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Mauritius High Commissioner
London
Christmas and New Year Message Mr Pramod Gujadhur, Regional Manager, Air Mauritius UK & Ireland
Last Updated on Monday, 07 December 2009 14:52 Written by bryan Monday, 07 December 2009 14:18
On behalf of my team in the UK and on my own behalf we extend to all our Mauritian compatriots in the UK our very warm greetings for Christmas and all the very best wishes for the New Year; may 2010 bring you joy, happiness and above all, good health.
The year 2009 has indeed been a very challenging one for the global airline industry, with the effects of the economic downturn adversely impacting upon our operations. Air Mauritius has not been an exception to this phenomenon.
On one hand we have had to cope with rising costs and on the other, a slacking demand for travel resulting in declining revenues.
We adjusted capacity according to these market realities, with 3 base flights and modulated capacity with a 4th frequency to meet demand during peak months.
We embarked on a number of cost containment initiatives, the major ones being restructuring our UK set up, reviewing our representations in Scotland & Ireland and relocating our Heathrow office to smaller premises from Terminal 3 to Terminal 4 in anticipation of our operations shifting to Terminal 4 next year.
We aggressively promoted the MK/AF codeshare beyond CDG with roadshows organised in 8 major cities in the UK & Ireland jointly with the MTPA and Hoteliers in order to get the incremental traffic. We were reactive to the ever changing competitive environment and thus got in the volumes retaining our market share.
With the concrete measures taken and with the consistency and reliability of our services throughout the year we retained the goodwill of our esteemed passengers and the trade thereby achieving record load factors for period APR/OCT 09 improving the vialibility of our operations and in turn, dramatically narrowing the losses as compared to the same period last year.
Our achieving such good results would not have been possible had it not been for your patronage of Air Mauritius and the team spirit which prevailed in the UK office throughout, with my staff adapting to various changes and supporting me in all my endeavours to weather the storm together.
I therefore dedicate our achievements to my entire Team in the UK.
In the Global arena Air Mauritius won Indian Ocean’s leading Airline award and Mauritius was voted best island destination at the World Travel Awards grand final held just before the WTM. The awards were received by Mr Kamal Taposeea Chairman of Air Mauritius and Hon Xavier Duval Vice Prime Minister, Minister of Tourism & External communication Mauritius.
The year 2009 has been very rewarding for me inspite of a most difficult environment and we are now looking forward to 2010 with increased capacity on the London route with 4 base flights and a 5th frequency modulated to meet peak period demand.
Our Very Best Wishes to all of you once again,
Area Manager UK and Ireland
December 2009 - Last month of the first decade of the new century
Last Updated on Monday, 07 December 2009 14:17 Written by Peter Chellen Monday, 07 December 2009 14:08
The New Millennium, Remember the scare? The Millennium Bug was to crash all computers on earth and destroy software and data. Remember why?
In my mind, the ‘epic battle between’ Christianity and Islam is not over yet … and will perhaps go on forever. Israel in the end is but a buffer in the Middle East for the West.
The battle is now taking a new form: The Dome against the Minaret. I personally think the Muslims should be allowed to have their minarets. Some minarets can add to beautify the landscape like in old Constantinople and in old Spain under Muslim rulers. They have now become domes under Christian rulers.
While on the one hand, I sympathise with the Muslims, on the other hand I sympathise with the Christians who argue that their brethren are being persecuted and killed in other countries, and their places of worship destroyed. They are not allowed to practise their faith in those countries while here everyone can impose his will. Both sides are right, in the end.
I usually receive insulting letters or emails for expressing such views. My personal understanding of Faith is: “to have faith one must believe, the stronger one’s belief is, the stronger is one’s faith.”
But to understand other faiths demands humanism, the greater the humanism - the greater is one’s understanding. Bush and Blair are devoid of humanism, but Mahatma Gandhi had it when he refused to give way to violence as India was being torn apart. He told his own people: I am a Hindu, a Muslim, and a Christian at the same time . Beat that, I challenge all those who take exception at my expression. Gandhi said “If to violence we answer by violence when will violence end?”. Nelson Mandela embraced that philosophy in the end. It’s doubtful whether others will accept it. The leaders of all sides seem to find a sort of gratification and ‘extase’ in the fighting and killing.
Still I say to all, in the style of Bing Crosby:
May your Christmas be Merry and May your New Year be Happy. May the new decade beginning with 2010 help us all in the realisation of our dreams.
To the Mauritian Diaspora in the UK, France, Belgium, Switzerland, Italy, US, Australia, Canada, and elsewhere, I say : Remember Mauritius News is here for us all. We want the right to vote at General Elections in the Fatherland, while our countries of adoption have become our Motherland, as well.
Managing Director - December 2009
December 2009
Earthquake near Rodrigues
Last Updated on Wednesday, 02 December 2009 14:10 Written by bryan Wednesday, 02 December 2009 12:57
An earthquake of magnitude 5.0 has been reported today , December 2, 2009 at around 10.50am Local Time, 90 Miles off the South East coast of Rodrigues. The earthquake is said to have been under water, but so far no Tsunami has been detected.
An earthquake of such magnitude may be considered as moderate, and if occurred on land, may cause substantial damage, especially to poorly constructed buildings. However, most buildings are designed nowadays to withstand at least moderate earthquakes. On this occasion, both Rodrigues and Mauritius are so far safe from any disaster, but will be monitored closely for any recurrence.
The picture from Reuters shows where the epicenter of the earthquake was located.
