STOP PRESS

Fissure in Goa government
16 Oct. 15:39 ICT. IANS. …The clash of Naik and Monserrate, has precipitated a crisis in the Goa government. Monserrate has charged Naik, whose son Roy has been linked to the murder of British teenager Scarlett Keeling, of double standards … A group of legislators and ministers is planning to send a memorandum to the Congress heads in New Delhi, seeking a change in state leadership… 440 words. Click here.

COMMUNITY NEWS

Donation Fund for Joanne D'Mello (UK)
7 Oct: G.O.A. (Toronto) via Rene Barreto. …Joanne-Marie D'Mello is a promising and talented classical singer and musician from Goa who is currently studying at the Royal College of Music, London, under the tutelage of Ms. Patricia Rosario, OBE. The cost of tuition and related expenses at this prestigious institution are quite high. Joanne is a dedicated student, who in time will be a credit to Goa. It behoves us as community to support her financially in her endeavours. For more information click here.

Police to defend defamation case brought by Lloyd Rayney
10 Oct: The Australian. Police will defend a defamation case brought by Perth lawyer Lloyd Rayney, named as the "prime" and "only" suspect in his wife's murder. Corryn Rayney [nee D’Silva, ex-Uganda] disappeared on August 7, 2007, after a bootscooting class. Her body was found in a bush grave in Perth's Kings Park nine days later… 361 words. Click here.

Kevin John Pinto: Portrait Project
13 Oct: The Torontoist. Toronto has murderers, crooks, and petty thieves aplenty, but bandits? Not so much. Kevin John Pinto surrendered to the Toronto Police last week in connection with the Exchange Bandit robberies, which means we'll soon learn more about these feats of banditry. Namely how someone hits twenty-six banks without getting caught. Click here.

Allan Saldanha: Countdown Kid
14 Oct: Daily Mail. Kai Laddiman aged 11 may become the youngest winner of the Channel 4 show after reaching the series' finals yesterday. He will now challenge the feats of Allan Saldanha, who was a ten-year-old runner-up in 1988, as the most successful Countdown child contestant. Click here.
For a profile of Allan Saldanha today, click here.

Canada Elections: Recount after Troy DeSouza is behind by 68-votes
15 Oct: BC Local News. Dr. Keith Martin held on to Esquimalt-Juan de Fuca for the Liberals with 20,042 votes. Troy has 19,974. The election results will automatically go to a recount… Click here.

Seattle: Melissa Fernandes Murder: Conviction likely to be reinstated
15 Oct: Seattle Post Intelligencer. The Supreme Court appeared likely to reinstate the murder conviction of the driver in a gang-related drive-by shooting that horrified Seattle in 1994… Cesar Sarausad II drove the car from which Brian Ronquillo, shot and killed 16-year-old Melissa Fernandes. She had nothing to do with the gang rivalry that led to the shooting… Click here.

DEATHS

13 Oct: Amsterdam, Holland. EMELIA CARDOSO E OLIVEIRA (ex-Rachol, Goa). Wife of Santana Oliveira (Holland). Mother of Sydney (Holland). Sister of Jorge, Isabel/Reginaldo, Gracinda/Jose Rosarinho, Carlos/Sheryl, Luis. Funeral in Amsterdam on 15 Oct.

12 Oct: London: Colindale. OLGA CARVALHO (nee Reis da Costa; ex-Mapuca & Uganda). Beloved wife of Frank (Ex Director, Goan Assoc). Daughter of late Domingos Rosario/ late Marta, Sister of Irene / late Prudent, Iria / late Sebastiao, late Prudent, late Joe / Ivy, Zelia / late Godfrey, late Tony/ Patricia, late Alda/ Nicholas and Tito/ Elka. Funeral service on Fri 24 Oct. at 10 am at All Saints Church, 531 Kenton Road, Kenton, Harrow, HA3 0UL. Condolences to carvalho42@onetel.com

11 Oct. Perth, Australia. BONNIE MENEZES. Wife of late Charles Menezes (Ex Dar-es-Salaam/Bandra Bombay/Anjuna, Goa). Mother/Mother in law of Merwyn/Noella (Perth Australia), Joyce/Cedric Pereira (Perth Australia). Grandmother of Ryan/Mellisa, Nicky, Gavin and Daryn. Great Grandmother of Mathew. Sister/Sister-in-law of late Cyril/late Edna, late Clement, late Dora/late Manu, late Anthony/late Darie and Annie/late Lucian , Sister-in-law of Late Pascoal/late Laura, late Quirino Menezes(Anjuna), Late Nazar and Late Bona. Messages of Condolence may be sent to merwynmenezes@hotmail.com

11 Oct: Toronto. ERASMUS VIEGAS. Husband of late Olive. Father of Oreska/Derrick, Leandru/Kathleen, Renato/Lorraine, Patricia/Neil, Auriole/Joseph, Michael. Burial on 14 Oct.

10 Oct: Montreal, Canada. NORAH PEREIRA (Born 1912, nee Almeida). Beloved wife of the late George Pereira. Loving mother to Arthur (Dr. Ida) and Daphne. Cherished grandmother to Shelby (Evelyne), Dr. Natasha (Dr. Dennis) Wesley and the late Kelvin. Dearest great grandmother to baby Owen. She is survived by her sisters Beryl D'Souza (Toronto), Teresa Callahan (Australia), and numerous nieces and nephews. Visitation and funeral service at the Centre Funeraire on Sat Oct 18. Click here.

10 Oct: London. FR ARTHUR MORAES (born 1929, ex- Rachol Seminary, Goa; Asian Chaplain in London 1980 - 1991) Brother of Druston, Cyril and Edna. Brother in law of Ida, Erica and the late Anthony D'Souza. Uncle of Darrell, Newton, Annette, Phillip, Vincent, and Great uncle of Stephanie and Andre. Funeral details to follow.

TRAVEL & TOURISM NEWS:

Shacks gear up for brisk business
10 Oct: Times of India. Even as the season’s first tourist charter flight trundled down at the Dabolim airstrip shack owners in the north Goa coastal belt began erecting their structures… 582 words. Click here.

Eco slowdown not to impact Goa tourism
11 Oct: Deccan Herald. Despite dire predictions, Goa’s tourism industry may well ride out the global financial storm with 700 charters confirmed to travel here this season… 273 words. Click here.

Russian drowns off Ashvem beach
11 Oct: Times of India. A 28-year-old Russian, Nikolai Lopatainsky, drowned off Ashvem beach on Friday. He had arrived in Goa on October 1 … Click here.

Tourist spell marked by uncertainty
11 Oct: Times of India. While travel agents in the state expect up to a 50% decline in tourists next year, travel and tourism association members say that the fears about this as well as the next season are baseless… 497 words. Click here.

Go Last Minute.
11 Oct: Irish Times. Have a gourmet holiday: On the Menu will fly you to 17 destinations where you can learn about the local cuisine. An eight-day trip to Goa, in India, will demystify the art of Indian cooking. From £1,200 per person, including flights from England and accommodation. 00-44-870-8998844, www.holidayonthemenu.com.

Goa on Terrorists’ Hit list
12 Oct: Times of India. Al Qaida and SIMI terrorists have been planning to target American, British and Israeli tourists in Goa, intelligence and police sources say… 268 words. Click here.

Editorial: Crime on the Beach
13 Oct: Navhind Times. … the number of Britishers who died in Goa was 32 in 2007 and 28 in 2006. What is shocking is nearly fifty per cent of the cases are yet to be solved. It is this laxity of the police that has primarily given a bad name to Goa… Blaming the tourist for his death does not give a good name to the Goa police… 532 words. Click here.

World Watch
13 Oct: Chicago Tribune. Goa is now the most expensive place in India for tourists and remains popular despite recent high-profile cases of sexual assaults, the murder of a British teenager and the killing of an Australian tourist in a quarrel with a waiter over how a beer should be served… authorities announced plans to crack down on alcohol and drug abuse and loud music at beach huts. Click here.

Airfares to Goa during Christmas already up
13 Oct: Business Line. If you are planning to fly to Goa this Christmas, you may be in for an expensive surprise even if you book tickets now as air-fares to the holiday destination have already sky-rocketed… The minimum from Mumbai is Rs 3,228, while the maximum can go up to Rs 23,910. The fares are inclusive of taxes… Click here.

Now Brits are ‘dregs’?
13 Oct: Herald. By Barbara Newsome: How dare Ervell Menezes berate the Brits as dregs in his article ‘Tourism Hiccups’ in Herald, 9 Sept. … the domestic tourists bring their own food and drink to the beach and spit, urinate and defecate there….why it is wrong for Goans to fraternise with foreigners…It is people like Mr Menezes who stir up disharmony in this world … 202 words. Click here.

$5,000 to see India, blemishes and all -- tourists not welcome
14 Oct: Ottawa Citizen. Rev. Louise Graves is inviting Ottawans to enjoy three weeks of straw mattresses and mosquito nets for a mere $5,000, airfare included… a chance to meet Catholic clergy, social workers and ordinary people … The group's route will centre on Goa, one of the most heavily Christian areas, to discover how the faith has blended with Indian culture, and how it grapples with the profoundly poor. 719 words. Click here.

Audio: Baby Tourism
14 Oct: BBC Asian Network Report. A look at the increasing number of surrogates in India having babies for British Asians. 30 mins. Click here.

Tony Fernandes: Air Asia to fly to India
15 Oct: Exonomic Times. …Air Asia CEO Tony Fernandes said that they are inclined to start operations due to the immense potential to fly carriers within South East Asia. If all goes well, we shall fly to Trichnapalli by the end of this year… “We work on the basic philosophy of low fares to customers, which has vanished from the Indian market,” said Mr Fernandes. 345 words. Click here.
For the GVUK Tony Fernandes supplement, click here.

GOA NEWS HEADLINES

A strong script makes a great film
10 Oct: Times of India, Bijaya Jena is working on an English film, Goan Sonata. Set against the turbulent backdrop of Goa’s pre-liberation period, it’s a classic tale of love between British travel writer Adrian Grey and Maria. It is set to begin shooting in Goa next year … international stars like Andy Garcia and F Murray Abraham have interest in the script… 543 words. Click here.

Goan sailor released by pirates
11 Oct: IANS.A Goan sailor was released by Somali pirates and is expected back home within a fortnight his mother said Saturday … Asked if she would allow him to pursue his career as a sailor once he returned, she said there was no other alternative. "I cannot ask him to stay back. There is nothing much to do here for a trained sailor." … http://www.newkerala.com/topstory-fullnews-31734.html

Goan Anti-Mining Activists Cry Foul as Old and Innocent Arrested
12 Oct: Ohmy News International. This is the time for solidarity. This type of harassment of innocent people fighting for their lives, their forests, their fields, for Goa, simply cannot go on. Those arrested included an 85-year-old woman Dora D'Souza, her daughter-in-law Sheryl D'Souza and her eight-year-old daughter. What is Goa coming to, questions noted environmentalist and rights campaigner Claude Alvares. 767 words. Click here.

British presence in Goa
13 Oct: Times of India. By Alexandre Moniz Barbosa. Dona Paula has, what is popularly known as the “British cemetery”… during the Napoleonic wars between 1799 and 1813, there was a British garrison of about 10,000 soldiers stationed in Goa, defending the Portuguese enclave from any possible French attack… the cemetery was built around the 1802… Margaret Thatcher visited it when she was in Goa for the Commonwealth Heads of Government’s meeting in Nov 1983… 619 words. Click here.

Tiatr Akademi to be set up by Nov
13 Oct: Navhind Times. The Chief Minister, Mr Digamber Kamat on Sunday announced that the Tiatr Akademi would be set up by November. He also said that a budgetary provision of Rs15 lakh had been made for the Dalgado Konkani Akademi, this year. 845 words. Click here.

Goa: Five star toilet facility inaugurated
13 Oct: Navhind Times. The Corporation of City of Panaji added another feather in its cap with the inauguration of another state-of-the-art Public Toilet block at the new Dona Paula Jetty…The five star facilities of toilet blocks will go a long way towards matching the city’s public amenities with the best in the world. 148 words. Click here.

'Goa police slow in probing corruption charges against their own'
15 Oct. IANS. Goa opposition leader Manohar Parrikar has accused the police of going slow on the investigation into the mention of many police officers' names in the diary of a criminal … It lists the names of several mid-level police officials and call girls … 365 words. Click here.

Goa beaches target on Dec. 31?
16 Oct. Asian Age. The world famous beaches of Goa are on the hitlist of Indian Mujahideen (IM) which has been planning a terrorist strike in the city around New Year eve this year … 380 words. Click here.

Goa’s ministers who are booked under criminal cases
16 Oct, Economic Times. Goa’s 40-member assembly has many ministers and MLAs who have been booked under various criminal cases, including murder: Monserrate, The Alemao Brothers, Francisco (Mickky) Pacheco, Dayanand Narvekar, Mauvin Godinho, Manohar Parrikar and Victoria Fernandes. 522 words. Click here.

Weekly Update
16 Oct: Times of India – Goa edition. Weather: Max = 37.2; Min = 23.5. Humidity 62% to 80%
Exchange rates £= 85.18; $ =48.53 ; Euro = 66.04

MINISTER’S SON & GERMAN GIRL:

Video + text: Goa minister’s son accused of sending lewd SMSs to German girl
11 Oct: IANS. Rohit Monserrate, Goa Education Minister Atanasio Monserrate’s son has been accused of sending lewd SMSs to a 14 year old German national living in the state…Goa police confirmed a complaint has been received… Monserrate claimed that his son would never indulge in such activities… 1m. 26s. Click here.

Cop 'ignore' lewd SMS charge against Goa minister's son
12 Oct: CNN-IBN. Panaji: A German woman who had complained that her daughter was being sexually harassed by the Goa education minister's son, claims that the police would "prefer" her to withdraw the complaint… the boy’s mother had visited her, imploring her to withdraw the complaint… 470 words. Click here.

German girl’s mother did not turn up: Goa police
12 Oct: Zee News. Hitting back at the German woman researcher Fadela Fuchs, Goa police on Sunday said the lady who has accused a minister's son of mentally and sexually abusing her teenaged daughter is not making herself available to the police to give details of the incident. 196 words. Click here.

14 year old German girl “has attempted to commit suicide”
13 Oct Times of India. The German woman who complained to the police against a minister's son for "sexually using" her minor daughter has been staying in Goa for the last 14 years with her daughter, while her husband is in Germany… She said “Her mental state is finished and she has attempted to commit suicide more than once. It has become intolerable now…" The German woman's counsel Aires Rodrigues said, “The minister shouldn't interfere with the investigation…” Click here.

Video: German girl's mother says Goa cops not cooperating
13 Oct: CNN-IBN. A German woman has accused Goa Education Minister Atanasio Monserrate's son of sending lewd text messages to her daughter … 1m.22s. Click here.

Video + text: Rohit Monserrate charged with rape
14 Oct: 14:47. CNN-IBN. Rohit Monserrate, the son of Goa Education Minister Atanasio Monserrate's son has been charged with the rape of a 14-year-old German girl.. “Sooner or later I thought I would find my child dead. I have seen it in the recent past," claimed the girl’s mother, hinting at the murder of British teen Scarlett Keeling…Goa has been rocked by scandals involving foreign nationals in the recent past, resulting in the coastal state dropping off the popularity charts… 0m.30s Click here.

Goa minister made co-accused of son's crime
14 Oct: 22:07. CNN-IBN. Goa Education Minister Antanasio Monserrate has been made a co-accused in the crime relating to alleged abuse of a German girl by his son Rohit Monserrate. “I am being framed. I want an impartial enquiry into the entire episode. My son is innocent. In a couple of days it will be revealed who is the real political mastermind behind this episode,” he said. Click here.

Germany wants proper probe into rape case
15 Oct: NDTV. The German Consul General has written to the Goa Chief Secretary for a proper investigation into the rape case of a 14-year old German girl. 132 words. Click here.

Goa minister's son still at large
15 Oct: Times of India. Even a day after he was booked for allegedly raping a German minor girl, the Goa police are still unable to arrest the state education minister Atanasio Monserrate’s elder son, Rohit. 250 words. Click here.

German rape case: Girl refuses to cooperate with police
15 Oct: The German girl, who was allegedly raped by the son of Goa Education Minister has refused to co-operate with the investigating authorities in the case, police said today. She has also refused medical examination … Advocate Aires Rodrigues, said that girl's refusal for medical examination or deposition before the police does not hamper the case… 268 words. Click here.

Goa police afraid rape suspect may leave India
15 Oct: IANS. The Goa Police Wednesday said they were concerned about the possibility of state Education Minister Atanasio Monseratte’s son Rohit fleeing the country, after he was formally charged with raping a 14-year-old German girl Tuesday. 355 words. Click here.

Goa rape suspect’s father sees political ploy
16 Oct: IANS. Goa Education Minister Atanasio Monseratte, whose absconding son Rohit has been charged with rape, Wednesday accused Home Minister Ravi Naik of using the case to target him…. He also charged Naik, whose son Roy has been linked to the murder of British teenager Scarlett Keeling, of double standards. 172 words. Click here.

Goa police acted 12 days late: German Consul
16 Oct: Hindustan Times. It was a written appeal from Walter Steckel, German Consul General in Mumbai, to Goa’s chief secretary JP Singh that forced the local police to finally register a case against Rohit Monseratte, 12 days after German citizen Fadela Fuchs complained that her daughter had been raped by him… Police sources revealed that they had been under enormous pressure to quash the case…. 261 words. Click here.

Twist in tale: German Girl tries to save Rohit
16 Oct: Times of India. In a fresh twist the girl has refused to give her statement to the police and subject herself to a medical examination. When the police team went to see her on Tuesday she threw a tantrum, locked herself up in a room and refused to meet anyone … 499 words. Click here.

Goa: Minister's son rapes German girl (14)
16 Oct: Berliner Kurier. The German mother is fighting for justice. The police asked the mother to withdraw the case but she refused to. Soon afterwards her lawyer was attacked by masked men. Text, 257 words, in German. Click here.

Jennifer Monserrate vouches for son’s innocence
16 Oct: Times of India. The parents of Rohit Monserrate, who has been accused of raping a minor German girl, on Wednesday night claimed that their son is innocent and that they were trying to locate him… My son is not even friends with the minor girl, the mother said … . Jennifer also denied going to the German mother’s home… 616 words. Click here.

AIRES RODRIGUES ATTACK:

Aires Rodrigues Attacked
14 Oct: Navhind Times. Aires Rodrigues and Prajal Sakhardande were brutally attacked in a restaurant in Panjim at around 10.20 pm on October 13. Half-a-dozen armed and masked men entered the restaurant and are understood to have attacked them with swords. Aires and Prajal have been admitted at Campal Clinic in Panjim. Aires has lost a finger; Prajal's condition is stable. Click here.
The photograph shows Aires in an interview on CNN-IBN on Sunday 12 Oct. To watch it click here.
For a GVUK profile of Aires Rodrigues (ex-Toronto and London), click here.

Video: Panaji attack: Prajal Sakhardande interviewed
14 Oct: You Tube. Following the Panaji attack, Vivek Menezes interviews Prajal Sakhardande who was with Aires Rodrigues when the attack took place. Isabel Vaz gives her reaction. 2m.55s. Click here.

Video: Aires Rodrigues attacked in Goa
14 Oct: NDTV. 3 suspects have been detained by police investigating the case. 1. 40s. Click here.

Aires Rodrigues
14 Oct: 2 pm UK time. From Eddie Fernandes: I managed to call Aires in the hospital and he appeared to be in reasonable spirits considering his ordeal. Evidently during the attack he fled to the restaurant’s toilet and managed to lock himself in. The goons thrashed the restaurant before leaving.

Aires Rodrigues Attack: An Expat’s View
14 Oct: I have received several messages from British expats with a stake in Goa. This one is typical: “My heart aches and the tears fall for what is happening in Goa. Once a beautiful place, with beautiful people. What is happening is shameful, just shameful. God help the Goan people. Is there no end to the violence, the corruption and the deceit. This is not the Goa we know and love, this is foreign to our beautiful state. If you read British Expats, the Brits are very upset about the whole business Please pass on my prayers and regards to Aires Rodrigues, Prajal Sakhardande and their families. I truly am very, very sorry. I will continue to pray to God for a speedy solution. For the British Expats discussion list, click here.

Aires Rodrigues Attack: the Navhind Times coverage of 15 Oct.
Son faces rape charge, father abetment. 656 words. Click here.
Chief Minister condemns attack on activists. 648 words. Click here.
Police nab three in attack on activists. 250 words. Click here.
Aires accuses Babush of planning the assault. 335 words. Click here.
Monserrate decries attack on Aires. 240 words. Click here.
NGOs demand severe action against attackers. 646 words. Click here.
Politicos condemn attack on activists. 475 words. Click here.
Editorial: Nipping in Bud. 672 words. Click here.
Letters: On Assault against Aires and Prajal. 595 words. Click here.

Goa minister: Conspiracy to tarnish image. By Pamela D’Mello
15 Oct: Asian Age. A senior police office squarely blamed Goa education minister Atanasio Monserrate for the assault on Aires Rodrigues … Goa home minister Ravi Naik promised action within 24 hours, making the three arrests shortly thereafter. A stream of politicians visited the hospital on Tuesday…The German single mother said her daughter’s older former schoolmates, including Rohit Monserrate, were encouraging her to go clubbing, experiment sexually and defy her mother. 294 words. Click here.

Aires Rodrigues: “They wanted to chop my neck”
15 Oct: Herald. “They wanted to get my neck, but instead got my fingers,” is what an unfazed Advocate Aires Rodrigues had to say reacting to the attack on him and Prajal by goons … 356 words. Click here.

Video: Aires Rodrigues Protest Meeting 15 Oct
15 Oct: Video clip and photo by JoaGoaUK. Aires Rodrigues “You can cut my fingers, tongue or limbs but you can't cut my spirit.” About 300 people attended the protest meeting at TB Cunha Hall, Panaji on 15 Oct. Among the speakers were Oscar Rebello, Patricia Pinto, Mathany Saldanha, Isabel Vaz, Remo Fernandes and Auda Viegas. 7m.46s. Click here.

Goans told to unite against anarchy
16 Oct Times of India. Calls for unity among Goans to prevent Goa from sliding into anarchy and much criticism of the government and Goan politicians marked a well-attended meeting at T B Cunha hall, Panaji on Wednesday. Click here.

IN THE NEWS:

Rupee fall bonanza for NRIs
10 Oct: Herald. Karina, a Goan media executive working in the United Arab Emirates, was all smiles as she came out of a money exchange there. She had just got Rs 3,100 more for the Dh 3,000 she sends each month to her family in Goa. “Last month I got Rs 35,000 for Dh 3,000, but now it’s gone up to over Rs 38,000,” she said happily. Yesterday, the rupee touched Rs 13.26 against the UAE dirham, a 22.2 per cent drop from its April levels. Click here.

Football: Overhaul domestic structure: Houghton
11 Oct: The Hindu. India’s football coach Bob Houghton, who resides in Goa and does not miss an opportunity to see a local football match at Margao, has been trying to impress upon the All India Football Federation bosses and the coaches of national and state clubs the need for a thorough overhaul of the domestic structure… “there are only 70 active football players in India.” Click here.
For a GVUK profile of Bob Houghton, click here.

Vijay Mallya: The flamboyant tycoon behind Kingfisher Airlines
11 Oct: The Times (UK). He built a £4 billion empire with beer and now hopes to rule the skies. Vijay Mallya is India’s high-flying tycoon. He owns 26 houses around the world and 250 cars …2133 words. Click here.

Presumed dead in Goa, techie found alive in Pune
11 Oct: Times of India. Meghna Subhedar, the 28-year-old Bangalore-based software engineer who had been thought to have been murdered in Goa six months ago, turned up at her grandfather's house in Pune. The police said that she looked mentally disturbed… 378 words. Click here.

Video + text: Girl returns from the 'dead' after 6 months
12 Oct: CNN-IBN. A montage shows photos of Meghna Subharao six months ago (L) and now. A 28-year-old woman who went missing six months ago and was later declared dead by Goa police has mysteriously resurfaced on Friday when she called her parents from Pune and asked them to rescue her. Click here.

India: Health Minister wants ban on alcohol
12 Oct: Times of India. After a ban on smoking in public places, Union Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss is now eyeing the bottle. A national policy on alcohol control will soon be implemented in the country, the minister said on Saturday. Click here.

Not all Goans are Fernandes or D'Souza
13 Oct: Mid-Day (Mumbai). The closer you get to Goans, the better you understand their culture. A series of events, including a Hindu Goan musical, Catholic Goan plays and a Goan-Portuguese-Hindu food festival, all come together as part of the ongoing Goa festival in Mumbai (ends on October 26), to tell you Goa is not just about the odd Fernandes or D'Souza … 446 words. Click here.

UK: Forthcoming Auctions:
23 Oct 2008. Humberts incorporating Tayler & Fletcher. Lot 493. An antique (probably 18th Century Goanese) gilt framed (later) Oil on Canvas devotional Study of the Christ Child, 15.5" x 11" (possibly relined, cleaned). Est: £150 to £200. Click here.
7 Nov 2008. St. James's Auctions (Knightsbridge Coins). Live auction. Lot 260. World Coins. India, Portuguese India, Manuel I (1495-1521), gold ½-manoel, Goa, obv. crown above MEA, rev. globe (Fr.1450), graded by NGC as AU50, very rare. Est: £2250 to £2750. Click here.

INDIA: ANTI-CHRISTIANITY VIOLENCE:

India's Shame
11 Oct: The Times (UK). For months, armed thugs in one state of eastern India have been burning churches, rampaging through villages and subjecting terrified Christians to forcible conversion to Hinduism…Since August 24, according to the Roman Catholic Church in India, 300 Christian villages have been destroyed in Orissa, 4,400 houses burnt, 50,000 people made homeless and 59 Christians killed and 18,000 injured….Churches have also been attacked in six other states, largely in the south, but even in Delhi Christians have been threatened. 537 words. Click here.

India: Christian youths turn to militancy
12 Oct: The National (UAE). Christian youths in the eastern state of Orissa have turned to militancy by teaming up with local Maoists. Police are concerned that if anti-Christian riots continue, the Christians may also join forces with Muslim militants to take on Hindus… 848 words. Click here.

Pope condemns anti-Christian violence
12 Oct: Globe & Mail (Reuters). Pope Benedict created India's first woman saint on Sunday and appealed for an end to anti-Christian violence there that has claimed dozens of lives since August… 305 words. Click here.

Video: India: Christians divided over decision to ban Bajrang Dal
12 Oct: CNN-IBN. The return of a stronger BJP in Orissa is what the Christians are wary. 2m. 04s. Click here.

Video: 30 Minutes. The radical and dark side of Bajrang Dal
13 Oct: CNN-IBN. A network of radical and militant Hindu groups has burst into the national scene. They are allegedly making bombs and setting them off, sparking communal violence and terrorising minority communities. They are arrogantly open about their attacks and motives, acting almost without fear of punishment. CNN-IBN explores this new and dangerous network of saffron terror. 5 clips. 30 mins. Click here.

Hindu Threat to Christians: Convert or Flee
13 Oct: New York Times. India, the world’s most populous democracy and officially a secular nation, is today haunted by a stark assault on one of its fundamental freedoms. Here in eastern Orissa State, riven by six weeks of religious clashes, Christian families say they are being forced to abandon their faith in exchange for their safety. 1325 words. Click here.

SCARLETT KEELING MURDER

Goa police to probe against Scarlett’s mother
10 Oct: Express India. Goa police on Friday said it would investigate into the case of neglect filed against British national Fiona Mackeown, mother of slain teenager Scarlett Keeling…Superintendent of Police Bosco George said that the police would see if a case of neglect could be made out. 259 words. Click here.

Goa court gives final warning to Scarlett's mum
11 Oct: PTI. Authorities in Goa on Saturday gave a final warning to the mother of murdered British teenager Scarlett Keeling to appear in court to face neglect charges. The state government's directorate of women and child development said Fiona MacKeown had until October 15 to turn up in person and proceedings will start in her absence if she fails to show. MacKeown is said to be at home in Devon. 389 words. Click here.

Fiona Mackeown faces Goa warning
11 Oct: BBC. Fiona Mackeown mother of a Scarlett Keeling who was raped and murdered in India has been given a final warning to appear in court there to answer allegations of neglect. 255 words + interesting links! Click here.

Fiona attempts afresh to procure her daughter's organs
13 Oct: Times of India. Fiona Mackeown, mother of slain British teenager Scarlett Eden Keeling, has launched a fresh attempt to procure organs of her daughter which were removed during the two autopsies conducted in India… Fiona's counsel Vikram Varma has said that in absence of the organs the third autopsy is pending in UK. 219 words. Click here.

Scarlett mother snubs India court
15 Oct: BBC. The mother of teenage rape and murder victim Scarlett Keeling has failed to appear before a court in India to face neglect allegations. Fiona MacKeown, 43, from Bradworthy, Devon, refused to travel to Goa for Wednesday's hearing because she feared being arrested on arrival. 263 words. Click here.

JOHN KELLY MURDER

Text + Video: Goa murder: Aussie provoked waiters, says witness
10 Oct: CNN-IBN. A man claims that he saw 65-year-old John Kelly - an Australian tourist killed in a bar brawl in Goa - provoke a fight in a bar … the eyewitness says that it was Kelly who attacked the waiter first with a knife and died in the brawl that followed. Click here.

'Australian put knife to waiter's neck'
10 Oct: Times of India. The forensic report on the body of John Kelly, the Australian who died on Wednesday says that death was due to internal bleeding due to a blunt and forcible impact. Further details are provided regarding the events that are claimed to have led to the attack … three persons: waiter Jaikrishna Das, 25, from Orissa, security guard Manab Basak, 32, from West Bengal and Jagat Pradhan, 23, from Assam have been arrested. 488 words. Click here.

John Kelly visited Goa frequently
10 Oct: Times of India. John Kelly, who died on Wednesday, had come to Goa in 2003 with wife Bela. Sources said that the couple used to visit Goa frequently…he was a Scottish national settled in Australia and held a British and Australian citizenship. 879 words. Click here.

Aussie racially abused waiters: Goa pub manager
11 Oct: CNN-ICN. Australian tourist John Kelly - who died after a pub brawl in Calangute on Wednesday morning - had hurled racial abuses at Indian customers and waiters that might have provoked the scuffle, the bar management said in a statement on Saturday… 564 words. Click here.

Australian tourist’s death: knife recovered from Goa bar
12 Oct: IANS. Police Saturday recovered a knife from a popular bar in Calangute, Goa, where 65-year-old Australian tourist John Kelly had a scuffle with waiters before his death this week. 160 words. Click here.

Video: Arrests in Goa after tourist's death
10 Oct: Reuters. By Sonia Legg. Police have arrested two waiters and a security guard in connection with the killing of an Australian tourist in the Indian resort of Goa. Police say the trio assaulted 65-year-old John Kelly and beat him up during a brawl at the 'City Club' bar. 0m. 52s. Click here.

Kelly's knife found, claim hotel staff
12 Oct: Times of India. The knife which was allegedly carried by John Kelly to restaurant in Calangute has been found. However there are no fingerprint marks on it… around 8.45 pm on Saturday the restaurant staff came across the knife just half a metre from the spot Kelly had fallen …the police had searched the site soon after the case and had not located the knife… 304 words. Click here.
For a photograph of the knife click here.

Australian tourist acted strangely, murder accused tell court
13 Oct: IANS. The three pub staffers accused in last week’s murder of 65-year-old John Kelly have claimed that the Australian tourist’s behaviour was very unpredictable on the fateful morning he died… 338 words. Click here.

GOANET HIGHLIGHTS
BY CORNEL DACOSTA

Goa's natural beauty has been referred to by ever so many. However, to draw from a common saying elsewhere... "but see what kind of people God has put in there"! Well, in Goa most people make excellent neighbours but Rajiv Desai recounts endless harassment, from his neighbours, encountered by him and his wife. This paradoxical situation has been well expressed by him as 'Goa Unplugged: After all it is India'.

There has been much news once again, about lawlessness in India generally and specifically in Goa. Short articles by Roland Francis, Selma Carvalho, Gabe Menezes, C. Fernandes and others present much foreboding about social instability in Goa and what may be contributing to it. The news about physical assaults on politicians and other well known people is particularly worrying.

Anyone keen to find out about the Saraswats would do well by reading Shyam Benegal's article titled 'Saraswats form an intellectual Community'. Such information may be new to many Goan Voice (UK) readers.

Finally, Gabriel de Figueredo draws our attention to a gripping POW escape story in Goa. This is from an article by Carlos Morais in Expresso, 30/3/2006. A small section reads thus: "...an unforgettable episode took place in the Prisoners' Camp of Ponda, Goa, where 1750 Portuguese soldiers were incarcerated, after the Indian Union invasion of that territory [Goa] on the night of 17 December 1961. Three of our soldiers planned to escape, making use of the garbage container that collected garbage daily...by lying low in the garbage container. Just as the vehicle stopped at the guarded exit, for no reason, the Portuguese sargeant in charge of the garbage-collection team decided to denounce the escape of the three soldiers to the Indian Commandant..." Surely, this POW account in Goa has hallmarks of the Great Escape with Steve McQueen in a starring role that, we can often see on our TV screens. Those unable to contain their excitement about this gripping story can now read it in full by clicking here. However, a little help in translation may be needed as the material is in Portuguese!

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DOCUMENTARY: The Surgery. BBC 2
Saturday 18th Oct. 13:30 to 13:50. Racism: Identity and Culture Clash. Does racism still affect the lives of today's teens or is it now being used as an excuse? Are race-motivated bullying at school, attacks on the street or intimidation by gangs a thing of the past? Jeff Leach and 40 teens argue it out.

COMEDY: The Wire. BBC Radio Three
Saturday 18th Oct. 21:00 to 21:45. Dirty White Girl. Louise Wallwein's first radio play is inspired by a young woman she met in a workshop, a teenage racist whose life was upset by her attraction to a young Asian boy on the same workshop.

FILM: Days and Nights in the Forest. Channel 4
Sun. 19th Oct. 00:55 to 03:05. Satyajit Ray's masterly examination of interlocking human relationships, centred on a quartet of young men from Calcutta and their experiences with women

DOCUMENTARY: The British Empire. Channel 4
Mon. 20th Oct. 09:30 to 10:20. In a major six-part series, Oxford Professor Niall Ferguson tells the full and spectacular story of the rise and fall of the British Empire.

DOCUMENTARY: Storyville. BBC 4
Mon. 20th Oct. 22:00 to 23:30. Documentary which goes beyond the glamour of Bollywood to expose the industry's dark underbelly

DOCUMENTARY: Monsoon Railway. BBC 4
Mon. 20th Oct. 23:30 to 00:20. Second of two films by director Gerry Troyna, painting an affectionate portrait of the Indian railway culture.

TRAVEL: Paul Merton in India. five
Wed. 22nd Oct. 21:00 to 22:00. Paul lets his hair down in the self-proclaimed 'rock city' of India; visits a centre for the children of prostitutes in Kolkata; and samples the laidback countryside of Kerala in south India.

FILM: Paar. Channel 4
Fri. 24th Oct. 00:45 to 03:10. Goutam Ghose film on caste violence

DOCUMENTARY: Unreported World. Channel 4
Fri. 24th Oct. 19:35 to 20:00. Kerala sells itself as "God's own country". But Kerala's 3,000 "godmen" are facing allegations of varying degrees of seriousness ranging from fraud to physical and sexual abuse.

FORTHCOMING

See http://www.lanfranc.com/lanfranc_location_2000.pdf for help in locating Archbishop Lanfranc School, Croydon

Sun. 26 Oct. G.O.A. Trook Tournament. At ATC Hall, South Wimbledon. Contact: Jacinto Fernandes 020- 8542 5427

Sun. 26 Oct: Colva Union, 35th Anniversary of the Feast of Infant Jesus. St Boniface Catholic Church, 185 Mitcham Road, Tooting, SW17 9PG. Mass at 1.30pm in the main church followed by the Social in the Hall. Tickets: Adults: £12; Children up to 12 years: £5. For tickets contact: Arlene Fernandes 0208 930 7679; Agapito Gouveia 0208 648 0350; Ames Fernandes 0208 672 4753; Alfie Fernandes 07860 152 939; Bento Fernandes 0208 672 0283; Fiona Fernandes 07908 125 765; Hilary Dias 0208 672 5528; Rose DeSouza 0208 677 0390.

Sun 26 Oct. St. Diogo's Association (UK) Guirim/Sangolda. Annual Social to celebrate the Feast of our Patron Saint Diogo at Archbishop Lanfranc School, Mitcham Rd., Croydon. Starts with Holy Mass at 12.15 followed by a Social. For further details contact: Apolonia DeSouza: 020 8686 1876; Evan D'Souza: 020 8427 8569; Gilbert Fonseca 020 8670 1955.

Sat. 1 Nov. G.O.A. French Shopping Extravaganza. Contact: Norma Menezes-Rahim 020 – 8771 4457, Bernie Gracias 020 – 8723 1322

Sun. 16 Nov. Navelim Feast at Bishop Thomas Grant School, Belltrees Grove, SW16 2HY. Music by Rainbow End. For tickets contact Vincent Fernandes 020-8764-8780; Violet D’Silva 020-8642-3283; Loy Rebello 020-241-9246 or Selwyn Ferrao 0208-933-8362.

FOR LATER EVENTS SEE http://www.goanvoice.org.uk/