Mauritius Times: A Reader's Guide

The Mauritius Times is a weekly English-language newspaper published in Port Louis since 14 August 1954, best known for opinion, analysis and long interviews on Mauritian politics, society and the economy. You can read it on its own website and in its weekly e-paper, and its latest stories also appear in summary on Mauritius News, alongside the island's other main outlets, with a link back to every original article.

This guide explains what the Mauritius Times is, how to read it, and how to follow it together with the rest of the Mauritian press in one place.

What is the Mauritius Times?

The Mauritius Times was founded in 1954 by Beekrumsing Ramlallah and Sir Kher Jagatsingh, in the years leading up to independence in 1968. Ramlallah edited the paper from its launch until 2000, and it grew a reputation as an "opinion paper": rather than chasing the day's headlines, it explains events in the context of Mauritian social and political history.

It should not be confused with an older, unrelated daily of the same name that was published in the colony from the 1840s until the 1930s.

What it covers

The modern Mauritius Times publishes mostly in English, with some French content. Its main areas are:

• Editorials and opinion: commentary on government decisions, parliament and public life.
• Interviews: long-form conversations with politicians, economists, academics and community figures.
• Features: politics, the economy, education, health, culture, history, the environment and world affairs.
• Books and literature: reviews and essays, with a strong interest in Mauritian history and identity.

Because it is a weekly, the Mauritius Times is the place to look for considered analysis of a story, rather than the first report of it.

How to read the Mauritius Times

There are three straightforward ways to follow it:

1. The website. Articles from the current and past issues are published on the paper's own website, organised by section.

2. The weekly e-paper. Each Friday issue is also published as a downloadable PDF e-paper that reproduces the printed layout, with an issue number and the paper's year of publication on the front page.

3. Mauritius News. New Mauritius Times stories are picked up automatically and summarised on Mauritius News, each with a clear "Originally reported by Mauritius Times" credit that links straight to the full article on the paper's own site.

If you want the paper's complete argument in an editorial or interview, always read the original. A summary gives you the main points and helps you decide what is worth your time.

Following the Mauritius Times alongside other Mauritian news

Most readers do not rely on one outlet. The Mauritian press publishes in English, French and Creole, each outlet has its own strengths, and a weekly opinion paper works best when it is read alongside daily reporting.

Mauritius News was built for exactly that. It brings together stories from established Mauritian outlets in one English-language feed, including:

• Le Defi Media
• ION News
• Mauritius Times
• Le Mauricien

New stories are collected every day, French originals are translated into clear English, and every story ends with a credit and a link to the original publisher. You get one place to see what is happening across the island, and a direct route to the source whenever you want the full piece.

Browse by subject

Stories are sorted into sections, so you can follow the subjects you care about:

• Politics
• Business
• Tourism
• Environment
• Sport
• Culture
• Crime
• Education
• Health
• Technology

The Mauritius Times' interest in politics, the economy and education means its stories most often appear in the Politics, Business and Education sections.

Search the archive

If you remember a name, an issue or a phrase from a story, search Mauritius News to find it, including stories first reported by the Mauritius Times.

Get the news without checking every site

• The Daily Briefing: a free email every morning with the most important stories from the previous 24 hours. Sign up on the Mauritius News homepage, and choose daily, weekly or breaking news only.
• Browser notifications: turn on push alerts from the homepage to hear about major stories as they are published.
• RSS: follow the Mauritius News feed in any news reader.
• Alerts: a banner across the site shows official cyclone warnings and school closure notices as soon as they are issued.

Why read a weekly paper in a daily news world?

Daily outlets and radio stations are fastest with breaking events: a police statement, a court ruling, a cyclone bulletin or a ministerial announcement. A weekly such as the Mauritius Times does a different job. It looks back over the week, connects a story to what came before, and gives space to people who are rarely heard in a short news report.

Reading both gives you a fuller picture:

• Speed and context. Daily reports tell you what happened; a weekly editorial or interview helps explain why it matters.
• Different voices. Long interviews let policymakers and specialists set out their reasoning in full.
• History. With more than seventy years of publishing behind it, the Mauritius Times often places current debates in a long view of Mauritian history.
• Cross-checking. Seeing how several outlets report the same event is the simplest way to separate established facts from interpretation.

Our guide to breaking news in Mauritius today explains how local news is reported and how to judge whether a source is reliable.

Looking for the time in Mauritius?

Some people searching for "Mauritius times" want the local time rather than the newspaper. Mauritius runs on Mauritius Time (MUT), which is four hours ahead of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC+4). The island does not use daylight saving time, so the clock stays the same all year:

• In the northern summer, Mauritius is 3 hours ahead of London and 2 hours ahead of Paris.
• In the northern winter, it is 4 hours ahead of London and 3 hours ahead of Paris.
• It is 1.5 hours behind India all year round.

In short

The Mauritius Times is one of the island's longest-running newspapers: a weekly, English-language paper founded in 1954 and known for opinion, analysis and in-depth interviews. Read it on its own website or in its Friday e-paper for the full articles, and use Mauritius News to follow its new stories alongside Le Defi Media, ION News and Le Mauricien in one place, with a link to every original.