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Mauritius Shuts Down After More COVID-19 Cases

Mauritius Shuts Down After More COVID-19 Cases
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Mauritius Shuts Down After More COVID-19 Cases

Mauritius Shuts Down After More COVID-19 Cases

Mauritius has gone into lockdown and suspended flights in and out of the island for two weeks following the discovery of 15 more cases of COVID-19, the Mauritius state tourism agency said on Wednesday.

The Indian Ocean island of 1.4 million people has had 641 confirmed coronavirus cases with 10 deaths, according to the latest World Health Organization (WHO) data.

All residents and visitors have been asked to stay at home or in their hotels until March 25, the agency said in a statement.

"We have decided to implement the nationwide lockdown to make sure that there is no risk of it spreading further," said Nilen Vencadasmy, chairman of the Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority.

"Mauritius is looking forward to welcoming visitors back later in 2021 in the knowledge that we are a safe and secure destination."

The agency said Mauritius' vaccination program against the coronavirus has been underway since January, offering Oxford/AstraZeneca shots free of charge.

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Trump Says Iran Must Pay Compensation for Those It Has Killed and Wounded

US President Donald Trump attends an event to sign executive orders related to birthright citizenship and the polysilicon industry, in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC, US, August 6, 2026. (Reuters)
US President Donald Trump attends an event to sign executive orders related to birthright citizenship and the polysilicon industry, in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC, US, August 6, 2026. (Reuters)
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Trump Says Iran Must Pay Compensation for Those It Has Killed and Wounded

US President Donald Trump attends an event to sign executive orders related to birthright citizenship and the polysilicon industry, in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC, US, August 6, 2026. (Reuters)
US President Donald Trump attends an event to sign executive orders related to birthright citizenship and the polysilicon industry, in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC, US, August 6, 2026. (Reuters)

US President Donald Trump said on Monday he will demand that Iran pay compensation for "all of the people that they have killed and gravely wounded," in response to Iran seeking compensation for the damages it has incurred from US and Israeli attacks.

Trump's social media post came after Iran said over the weekend it was ‌nearing a ‌deal with Oman defining new ‌shipping lanes ⁠between them through ⁠the Strait of Hormuz but repeated that the US must meet conditions, including compensation and an end to sanctions and military threats, before the strategic waterway is reopened.

"It is an interesting idea because now ⁠I am likewise demanding compensation from ‌Iran, for all ‌of the people that they have killed and ‌gravely wounded with their roadside bombs and ‌many conflicts," he wrote on Truth Social.

Trump also referenced and claimed compensation from Iran for the October 2000 deadly bombing of the ‌US Navy guided-missile destroyer USS Cole at a Yemeni port. The FBI ⁠has ⁠attributed that bombing, which killed 17 sailors and wounded more than three dozen others, to al-Qaeda.

Trump added that Tehran should also pay compensation to the families of the thousands of people during anti-government protests in January, Iran's worst domestic unrest since the era of its 1979 revolution.

Rights groups say the Iranian government has continued to crack down on opponents during the war.

World

Iran Supreme Leader Names Guards General Abdollahi Military Chief

A delivery person rides a motorcycle near an image of Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei at Valiasr Square in central Tehran on August 8, 2026. (AFP)
A delivery person rides a motorcycle near an image of Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei at Valiasr Square in central Tehran on August 8, 2026. (AFP)
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Iran Supreme Leader Names Guards General Abdollahi Military Chief

A delivery person rides a motorcycle near an image of Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei at Valiasr Square in central Tehran on August 8, 2026. (AFP)
A delivery person rides a motorcycle near an image of Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei at Valiasr Square in central Tehran on August 8, 2026. (AFP)

Iranian supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei named Revolutionary Guards general Ali Abdollahi head of the country's armed forces on Monday, while also confirming a new commander of the Guards, putting his imprimatur on the country's military.

Abdollahi had previously led the Khatam al-Anbiya, Iran's inter-branch central military command tasked with coordinating operations.

A statement on Khamenei's website announced that "Major General Ali Abdollahi has been appointed chief of staff of the armed forces. Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi has also been appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Revolutionary Guard Corps with the rank of major general."

The pair represent Khamenei's first senior military appointments since being named supreme leader early in the Middle East war after the death of his father in US-Israeli strikes.

World

Iran Presses Demands on US as Shipping Standoff Grinds on

Vessels near the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, August 10, 2026. (Reuters)
Vessels near the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, August 10, 2026. (Reuters)
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Iran Presses Demands on US as Shipping Standoff Grinds on

Vessels near the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, August 10, 2026. (Reuters)
Vessels near the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, August 10, 2026. (Reuters)

An Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Iran will not reopen the Strait of Hormuz until the United States meets its conditions.

“It is up to the US side to stop and make amends for its illegal and destructive actions,” Esmail Baghaei said Monday, noting the American blockade of Iranian ports.

Iran wants the US to end the blockade, pay compensation for months of war damage, lift economic sanctions and release Iran's frozen assets. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz — a waterway that normally carries roughly one-fifth of the world's traded oil supplies — has become the war’s most lasting consequence.

The impasse has kept energy prices as a major focus of US politics ahead of November’s midterm elections.

Iran is holding separate talks with Oman over transit through the strait, including potentially a temporary shipping corridor. But it has said any actual reopening is contingent on talks with the US.