Edited by Eddie Fernandes editor@goanvoice.org.uk

Could Goan-origin Suella Braverman be the next Tory leader in UK?
29 June. The Guardian. Facing almost certain electoral defeat, Rishi Sunak could soon be yesterday's news in the UK. In which case, the Tories will be looking to replace him as leader of the party. Suella Braverman heads the list of possible contender.  For further details click here

Rishi Sunak To Priti Patel: A look At Indian-Origin MPs In UK Parliament
29 June. NDTV. In what came as a major surprise to political observers, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on May 23 called snap elections. With just over a week to go for the all-important July 4 polls, all eyes are now on Mr Sunak and his Conservative Party as they attempt to retain power against a resurgent Labour Party. Here is a list of the 15 MPs of Indian origin contesting.  click here

Portugal's António Costa, the European Council's next president
29 June. Le Monde France. The former Socialist prime minister of Portugal will succeed Belgium's Charles Michel. At 62, Costa's moderate profile, combining traditional social-democratic values with an orthodox approach to the economy, won over the 27 member states. Costa can trace his ancestry to Goa.  For further details click here

Western classical music and Goa
29 June. Herald. One spin-off from the Portuguese colonial presence in Goa (the longest on the Indian subcontinent compared to other European powers) has been the introduction of western music as part of its evangelisation. The seminaries, but more importantly the village parish schools, were where this instruction happened. Ever since orchestras began to form in our part of Asia in the early twentieth century, Goan-origin musicians have continued to be part of the rank and file of all orchestral and chamber ensembles. Sometimes they were even at the helm.  For further details click here

Vasco man Imtiyaz Shaikh is Mayor of Swindon
28 June. Herald. Shaikh has considered the UK his second home for two decades, experiencing the country's unity in diversity. When the opportunity to join politics came, he didn’t hesitate. He believed it could be a more effective platform to help and represent residents. Leading up to this, he realized that the Goan diaspora in Swindon needed a representative to address their issues.  For further details click here

Becoming Goan: Beyond Ancestral Pasts
28 June. JRLJ. Selma Carvalho in conversation with Michelle Mendonca Bambawale author of the book Becoming Goan (Penguin) elaborates on her journey to becoming Goan. Here, she talks about her childhood in Pune, her re-location to Goa and her cry to preserve Goa's culture and ecology.  For further details click here

Know about Goa's culinary legacy
26 June. Gomantak Times. Goa's cuisine undoubtedly is a fusion of cultures and geographies. This Saturday 29 June, food writer Odette Mascarenhas is giving a talk about the legacy of Goan cuisine documented in her book, The Culinary Odyssey of Goa.  For further details click here

7 charming new restaurants in Goa to bookmark for your next trip
27 June. Architectural Digest. Goa is well on its way to becoming one of the hottest culinary-forward states in the country. The new restaurants in Goa offer varied cuisines ranging from traditional to experimental. If you are all set to pay a visit to this beach state, we recommend stopping by at these recent openings that serve delish design along with their food.  For further details click here

Suella Braveman pictured as "Coconut"
27 June. Evening Standard. Five people have been arrested outside court where a teacher pictured carrying a placard featuring Rishi Sunak and Suella Braverman as coconuts is appearing. Police were also seen to be seizing coconuts. Footage online shows Metropolitan Police officers detaining some of 100 activists gathered and removing coconuts placed on the street outside Westminster Magistrates’ Court in central London. Suella Braverman is of Goan heritage.  For further details click here

Antonio Costa approved for EU top job by negotiators
26 June. Politico. The six EU leaders negotiating the bloc’s top jobs have agreed that Germany’s Ursula von der Leyen, Portugal’s António Costa, and Estonia’s Kaja Kallas should get the most senior positions at the European Commission, European Council and foreign policy service, according to five EU officials. Antonio Costa is of Goan heritage.  For further details click here

The Progressives are the real deal and FN Souza is our Picasso
27 June. GQ Magazine. By Vivek Menezes. Looking back across the expanse of an entire century, it is clear that Souza was a genuine savant, seemingly born with an impactful line, possessed with the uncanny power to affect, attract or repulse people with his art. But the circumstances of his birth in a tiny Indian village in the 1920s were decidedly unpromising, and those initial prospects grew even worse when his father died when the artist-to-be was still in infancy.  click here

Goa: Historic chapel razed
26 June. The Goan. A small historic chapel dedicated to St Anthony in Porvorim was razed on Monday to continue with ongoing construction projects. Efforts are being made to find an alternative site for a chapel dedicated to St Anthony.  For further details click here

We Love You Liverpool: Meet Official LFC Supporters Club... Goa
27 June. LiverpoolLFC. Liverpool FC has more than 300 Official LFC Supporters Clubs (OLSCs) across 100 countries worldwide. Here, we meet OLSC Goa...I fell in love with Liverpool in 2001. Only 10 years later in 2011, a couple of friends and I started using social media to connect and bring together other Goan Reds like myself. We started in 2012 officially and were awarded OLSC status in 2015.  For further details click here

Goa: Many school kids using drugs
27 June. Times of India. Drug use in North Goa schools is rampant, says the Government forensic doctor. In fact, many first-time users get the drugs for free. Meanwhile, the government doctor in South Goa, stated a common drug is ecstacy-MDMA.  For further details click here

Death announcement: Dora Anne Pereira. Canada.
21 June. Dora Anne on died age 89. Beloved wife of Maurice, mother of Mark/Alison Macpherson, Christine/John Charal, grandmother to Katie/Peter Zidros, Krista, Kyle, Michael, Stephanie/Phillip Boyd, and great-grandmother to Oliver, and Miles. Funeral mass to be held on 29 June 29 at 11:00am at the Merciful Redeemer Parish, 2775 Erin Center Blvd, Mississauga. The Mass will be followed by the entombment of her ashes at the Assumption Cemetery (Our Lady of Fatima Mausoleum) 6933 Tomken Road, Mississauga (905-670-8801).

Global Goans demand Romi Konknni
26 June. Times of India. The Global Goan forum have demanded equal status to Romi Konknni with that of Devnagri script. Their leader Kennedy Afonso has threatened to take the battle to the supreme court if need be, claiming it to be the biggest fraud in the history of regional language movements.  click here

Legacy in ink: An initiative of documenting Bombay’s Christian heritage
26 June. 'Soboicar’ is an oral-visual memory archive project chronicling the lives of Christians from the Konkan region who once made Mumbai their home, explains Jane Borges, the founder of the project. The name of the project alludes to Bomoicar—the Konkani name given to the Bombay Goans—and is prefixed Sobo, meaning South Bombay, because this is where most Christian migrants, many of whom were Catholics, first settled, in the early 19th and 20th centuries.  click here

Goa Govt now to allow sale of liquor near schools, shrines
25 June. Goemkarponn. The State government announced a contentious amendment to the Goa Excise Duty Rules, 1964, allowing licenses for alcohol stores to be issued in previously prohibited areas, such as within a 100-meter radius of places of worship, colleges, and other educational institutions. However, the new law stipulates that license fees for these restricted zones must be double what license holders pay for stores in other non-restricted areas.  For further details click here

Indian Catholics to honour Mumhumutapa descendant

When in Goa, Google Maps isn't always your best friend
26 June. Gomantak Times. AI may not really be adept at interpreting local cultures. Open a google map and you soon realise how places are incorrectly spelt. Google maps may not be your best friend in Goa, a place where human interaction works best.  For further details click here

Goa CM loosens environmental protections
26 June. Herald. Goa CM Sawant is in Delhi at the moment hoping the Centre will loosen environmental protections. What Goa CM is proposing is very dangerous. He is challenging established environmental jurisprudence of India designed to defend village integrity from mining menace. These protections are meant to safeguard Goan villages from the detrimental effects of iron ore mining.  For further details click here

Goa Government: Forests can be shifted not minerals
24 June. Times of India. The Goa government has appealed to the Central government to change the catergorisation of 33 villages which are at the moment listed as eco-sensitive. They argue while forests can be shifted minerals cannot.  click here

Find budget-friendly way to get from Mopa airport to major towns in Goa
25 June. Gomantak Times. Budget-friendly ways to get from Mopa airport to central towns, including electric buses.  For further details click here

‘We’re trying to change the festival world’: how south Asian music is transforming Glastonbury
25 June. The Guardian UK.In some south Asian communities, there is stigma around music festivals, and negative perceptions about them and the people who attend them. Taking up space as south Asians is so important because it begins to normalise our bodies at these events and to break down preconceptions within our own communities. It can also challenge biases that others have about south Asian people. We’re so underrepresented in popular culture and, for decades, when we have been represented, we have often been stereotyped. This is a chance for south Asian people to set the agenda.  For further details click here

Goans across the world celebrated Sao Joao
24 June. Gomantak Times. Across the globe from Qatar to UK to Cayman islands, Goans celebrated the feast of Sao Joao by drenching themselves in water, wearing colourful clothes and flower crowns.  click here
24 June. Gomantak Times. Commercialisation of Goa's Sao Joao is diluting tradition.  click here

Smiles and sunshine at Swindon Sao Joao festival - in pictures
24 June. Swindon Advertiser. Sao Joao festival - a day that remembers a baby leaping with joy at the sound of his aunt’s voice. For Goan Christians in Swindon, it remembers a holy moment between John the Baptist and Jesus’ mother. At Swindon’s Queens Park there was plenty of leaping for everyone to remember. On July 22 it hosted bands playing upbeat traditional Goan music and well-known classics.  click here
24 June. Gallery of 21 pictures of Sao Joao in Swindon.  click here

Serenity in Goa is on notice
22 June. Gomantak Times. The increasing number of tourist have unleashed chaos on the quiet beaches, the sleepy villages, the market towns of Goa. Mining, casino culture and mass tourism have greatly impacted and altered Goa.  For further details click here

Death: Placido D'Souza, Career Diplomat in California

Portugal's Consul General visits Goan community in Swindon
21 June. The Swindon Advertiser. The Goan population of Swindon, many of whom are Portuguese citizens, were able to express their gratitude to that country’s Consul General to the UK. Luis Leandro da Silva made a visit to Swindon, his first, and the civic offices in Euclid Street where a number of the London consulate’s staff had come to advise and help Portugues citizens with essential documentation: issuing visas, renewing passports and national identity cards, registering births and the like.  For further details click here

NRIs of the world, keep on depositing
21 June. The Economic Times. Non-resident deposits are surging because the confluence of factors that define the risk-reward trade-off are broadly positive. The pandemic had globally reset households' savings patterns in favour of less-risky bank deposits. This worked to the advantage of the money the Indian diaspora parks in deposits back home. The NRI population overall had relatively even incomes during the Covid disruptions, which kept remittances strong, another positive influence on non-resident deposits.  For further details click here

Goa is going, where are its youth?
22 June. Herald. Tallulah D'Silva argues climate change will eventually result in the displacement of the Goan population.  For further details click here

Dabolim airport continues to bleed as Qatar Airways shifts operations to Mopa
22 June. Herald. Major airlines continue to relocate themselves from Dabolim to Manohar International Airport, Mopa, and the latest being Qatar Airways. South Goa MP-elect Captain Viriato Fernandes and many Goans, mostly overseas travellers, have voiced strong criticism against the State government following Qatar Airways’ decision to shift its operations from Dabolim International Airport to Manohar International Airport.  For further details click here