The Navhind Times

Panaji : Making a kind gesture, the state government has granted approval for the implementation of Special Medical Leave Policy providing for the grant of up to one year of fully paid medical leave to regular teachers of government and government-aided schools diagnosed with terminal illnesses. The terminal illnesses under the policy shall include later-stage []

Panaji: The State Election Commission on Tuesday notified the reservation of wards for the elections to the Corporation of the City of Panaji (CCP) which will be held next month. As per the notification, out of 30 wards, 50 per cent of the wards have been reserved for different categories. The notification issued by the []

Nearly 35% of hotels are yet to embrace mandatory application Padmavati Prabhu Panaji : Nearly 50 per cent of the hotels and accommodation units registered with the Tourism Department have failed to submit the required data on the Tourism Information Management Enterprise (TIME) application. Additionally, nearly 35 per cent of the hotels are yet to []

Margao: Colva witnessed a tense situation on Tuesday after Colva police inspector Vikram Naik, accompanied by around 18 police personnel, went to meet the parish priest at the local church in connection with an ongoing dispute over a construction project. The project, which includes 10 villas and 10 swimming pools in Ward 3, is claimed []

Panaji: Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, who also holds the finance portfolio, will present the annual budget for the financial year 2026-27 on March 6, the first day of the 14-day session of the Goa Legislative Assembly. The announcement was made by Speaker Ganesh Gaonkar on Tuesday while addressing the media in his chamber at Porvorim. []

Union Min says Chimbel site not biodiversity hotspot Panaji: The Union government has said that the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has not received any communication opposing the proposed Pradhan Mantri Ekta (Unity) Mall in Goa and that the site identified in Chimbel village does not fall within a biodiversity hotspot. []

Miguel Braganza February is the time when the Firecracker flower, Crossandra infundibuliformis, begins to bloom. We call it the Abolim. It is also the name of a hall at the International Centre, Goa, where more books will be released at GALF this weekend. Crossandra is a bushy, erectand evergreen plantgrowing about one metre tall. It []

CHRISTINE MACHADO NT BUZZ Noted Goan singer Genevieve Desouza has teamed with popular DJ and music producer Skeletron for a new Carnival tune Fuloi re fuloi go that is set to premiere on February 10. After over 20 years in the Goan music scene, singing the same staples like Brazil , Samba de Janeiro etc, []

For Pilerne based Keziah DSouza, art has no limits and her oeuvre spans from quilling works and hand painted bags to wood painted ornaments and resin art CHRISTINE MACHADO NT BUZZ There is something about the bewitching quality of art that always manages to pull Keziah DSouza in. Whenever I look at a piece of []

The 14th edition of the Goa Arts and Literature Festival will witness book launches, discussions, poetry readings, a delegation from Singapore, and a Young GALF mini-festival NT BUZZ The Goa Arts and Literature Festival (GALF) is back in its 14th edition and will be held at the International Centre Goa from February 12 to 14. []

TIATR REVIEW JP Pereira This tiatr by Peter de Macazana narrates a tale of a woman who promises love but has other ideas. Reuben, Mayra, and Scully are siblings raised with love by their mother. They are not very rich. Although Reubens job doesnt pay too well, he works hard, trying to provide some []

Chimbel villagers celebrate the formal announcement by the government to shift Unity Mall and Prashasan Sthamb projects from their village. The villagers waged a 44-day-long battle against the projects. |Nandesh Kambli

Banks have fiduciary responsibility to alert customers New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday described the cheating of over Rs 54,000 crore through digital frauds as absolute robbery or dacoity and asked the Centre to draft a standard operating procedure in consultation with stakeholders like RBI, banks and the Department of Telecommunications to deal with []

No illegal overseas job agencies active in Goa Panaji: Eighteen FIRs were registered in recruitment frauds in the last two years, the Goa Police on Monday said, adding that there are no active illegal overseas recruitment agencies operating in the state. Giving details of the cases, crime branch SP Rahul Gupta said, Since January 2024, []

Panaji: Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Monday said the state government has been pressing the Centre to consider Goa for the funding pattern of 90:10 like the northeastern and Himalayan states, under centrally sponsored schemes. Speaking during a talk and discussion on the Union Budget 2026-27 at social media influencers and intellectual meet in Panaji, []

Waterbody conversion, pollution and overfishing significantly intensifying ecological stress Abdul Wahab Khan Panaji: Stating that Goas wetlands are steadily losing their ecological resilience, the State of the Environment Report 2025 has warned that unchecked human activities and emerging environmental threats could irreversibly damage the vital ecosystems that sustain wildlife, fisheries and water security in the []

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday advised students not to let technology enslave them, saying artificial intelligence should be used for guidance and value addition, not as a substitute for learning. In the second episode of the ninth edition of the Prime Ministers annual Pariksha Pe Charcha event, he noted that mobile phones []

National interests will be guiding factor: Foreign Secretary New Delhi: India will maintain multiple sources for crude oil purchases and diversify them to ensure stability in the supply chain with national interests remaining the guiding factor for the procurement, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said on Monday amid a swirling controversy over Washingtons claim that New []

SP, Trinamool Congress seek debate on Budget New Delhi: Cracks appeared in the Opposition ranks as the SP and the TMC showed willingness to participate in the debate on the Budget instead of stalling the proceedings, with the government making it clear that it cannot allow Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to have his say and []

New Delhi: The Delhi Police has registered an FIR over the circulation of an unpublished book of former Chief of Army Staff Gen M M Naravane on social media, an official statement said Monday. The Delhi Police has taken cognisance of information circulating on social media platforms and online news forums claiming that a pre-print []

Files suggest UK ambassador had shared confidential info with sex offender London: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is fighting to hold on to his job after two of his top aides resigned over a controversial politician Peter Mandelsons appointment as the UKs ambassador to the US despite known links with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. []

Low birth rate, conversion, infiltration causing population imbalance Mumbai: Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat on Sunday said the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) should be framed by taking everyone into confidence and must not lead to divisions. Asked whether achche din (good days) for RSS came after BJP came to power, Bhagwat said it []

Panaji: Goas citizens movement Enough is Enough spearheaded by the former chief justice of the Allahabad High Court and former legislator Justice (Retd) Ferdino Rebello received a shot in the arm as the former judge of the Supreme Court Justice (Retd) Abhay Oka extended his support to the campaign on Sunday. The support comes on []

Land-use change intensifying consequences Abdul Wahab Khan Panaji : Climate change is no longer a distant concern for Goa: the State of the Environment Report 2025, drawing on assessments under the Goa State Action Plan on Climate Change (SAPCC), has warned that rising temperatures, erratic rainfall and land-use pressures are pushing Goa towards heightened ecological []

Programme blends ayurveda, psychiatry, yoga, diet and rehabilitative therapies New Delhi/Panaji: A de-addiction and mental health programme at the All India Institute of Ayurveda in Goa is blending ayurveda, psychiatry, yoga, diet and rehabilitative therapies to help those struggling with alcohol and tobacco dependence besides mental health issues. Operational for the past three years at []

Panaji: An elderly resident of Santa Cruz died after suffering a massive heart attack during the gram sabha of the Santa Cruz panchayat on Sunday, following a discussion over the high flat transfer fees imposed by the panchayat. The deceased Olavio Fernandes (70) was a resident of Bondir, Santa Cruz, and a retired deputy director []

Canacona: The gram sabha of Loliem-Polem village panchayat held on Sunday saw adoption of six resolutions highlighting key environmental, planning and governance concerns. Resolutions moved by Manoj Prabhugaonkar and Prashant Pagi were discussed at length, with major deliberations centred on the Draft Coastal Zone Management Plan (CZMP) 2019. Pagi said there are errors in the []

Margao: An extraordinary gram sabha of Colva was convened on Sunday to discuss two key issues concerning the village the proposed development plan under the Swadesh Darshan 2.0 scheme and the draft Coastal Zone Management Plan (CZMP) 2019. However, deliberations on the Swadesh Darshan plan were once again deferred due to the absence of []

Purvaja (166*), Shreya (3/35) script their 51-run triumph Ranchi: A scintillating century by Purvaja Verlekar anchored Goa to a convincing 51-run victory over Mighty Hyderabad in an Elite Group Womens List-A match of the Senior Womens One Day Trophy at the JSCA Oval Ground at Ranchi, On Sunday. Electing to bat first, Goa stumbled early []

Kerala: Goa have been set a challenging target of 364 runs for victory by Kerala in the Colonel C.K. Nayudu Elite Cricket Tournament match at the St. Xaviers KCA Cricket Academy ground in Thiruvananthapuram, kerala on Sunday. At stumps on the third day, Goa were 63 for three in 27 overs in their second innings []

Panaji: Dempo Challengers faced a tough outing against Baale Tigers going down by nine wickets, in the Panaji Gymkhana-organised PGML 5.0 Cricket Tournament at the Panjim Gymkhana ground, CampalPanaji, on Sunday. Batting first, Dempo Challengers were restricted to 70 in 15.3 overs despite Sunny Kamats resilient 25 and Vedant Naiks 14. The team struggled against []

London: British Prime Minister Keir Starmers chief of staff resigned, on Sunday, over the furore surrounding the appointment of Peter Mandelson as the UK ambassador to the US despite his ties to Jeffrey Epstein. Morgan McSweeney said he took responsibility for advising Starmer to appoint Mandelson, 72, to Britains most important diplomatic post in 2024. []

Islamabad: The licence to Starlink to enter Pakistans satellite internet market is delayed over data security concerns, the ongoing Musk-Trump fallout and competition from Chinese firms, local media reported on Sunday. Starlink, owned by tech billionaire Elon Musk, is among several companies seeking approval to operate in Pakistan, but officials say unresolved security and geopolitical []

Kyiv: A Russian airstrike on a residential area in eastern Ukraine killed one person and wounded two, officials said on Sunday, after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the US has given Ukraine and Russia a June deadline to reach a peace deal. The attack on the city of Kramatorsk in Ukraines Donetsk region caused a []

Guwahati: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday alleged that Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi, his British wife Elizabeth Colburn and Pakistani national Ali Tauqeer Sheikh had a deeper connection, and that information from the Intelligence Bureau was secretly passed on to the neighbouring nation. Addressing a press conference here ahead of the Assembly polls, []

This years King Momo, Cedric da Costa has seen Carnival from his childhood in Margao and while it has changed over time, his main aim as the leader of the festival is to bring people together in the festive, joyful and colourful season DIANA FERNANDES As a child growing up in Aquem, Margao, Cedric da []

LUIS DIAS Arecital by the award-winning Moroccan-Hungarian concert pianist, arranger, artistic director, teacher at the Liszt Academy Budapest, Marouan Benabdallah is something to be grabbed with both hands, as those of you who have heard him before will attest. So when he reached out around the end of last month about the possibility of []

A distinguished dental surgeon and Army officer, Major Dr Jacqueline Jacinta Dias steps into an international command role in healthcare while carrying Goas pride to the peaks of Bhutan John Aguiar The salt kissed air of Bardez has long shaped stories of quiet determination, discipline and ambition.Today, that spirit has travelled all the way to []

Nandkumar M. Kamat February 14, Valentines Day, often arrives wrapped in poetry, music, and symbolism; yet, the experience it celebratesfalling in loveis also one of the most intensively studied processes in modern biology and neuroscience. Over the past two decades, advances in brain imaging, hormone research, genetics, and behavioural science have transformed our understanding of []

Original Konkani Story: Hanv Vanzood Nhay Author: Sheela Kolambker Translator: Mitra Borkar -It was prophesied to her by an astrologer that getting a child within a year of marriage would be ruinous to the entire household. -But then why did she agree to the marriage that year? -The year was fine for marriage according to []

Frederick Noronha With its gilt-edged pages, this large-sized coffee-table book looks at The Archdiocese of Goa and its Governors. In the coffee-table format, the 236-page book printed on superior paper is all-colour and priced at Rs 2,000. Even before one reaches the main section of the book, the end-papers (or end-sheets) draw your attention with []

Peter F. Borges I am very, very alone. Mummy, Papa, sorry. These are not just words. These are last conversations that children never got to have. These are sentences that should force every parent to stop mid-breath. Because children do not die leaving apologies behind unless they believesomewhere deep insidethat they were a burden, a []

Its the season of vibrant colours and revelry as Carnival begins towards the end of next week. But what does this festival still evoke the same vibe and excitement? NT NETWORK The cheery-hued flags, ribbons, and masks are making their appearance. Special festive music and menus are being readied. In many towns and villages, groups []

With Carnival just around the corner, the state will witness the performances of traditional khell-tiatr in various locations J.P. PEREIRA It began years ago as village entertainment during the days of carnival as zomnivele khell. In those days, a circle would be formed with some rope and support. Musicians sat on one end and the []

PTI Kuala Lumpur Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said India is seen as a trusted partner for growth and it was reflected in the recent trade deals it has agreed with various countries, including the UK, USA and the EU. Addressing a community programme here, Modi said the Indian diaspora served as a living []

PTI Islamabad/Peshawar Regional affiliate of Daesh on Saturday claimed responsibility for the horrendous Shiite mosque attack in Islamabad even as four suspects, including a mastermind, were arrested in Pakistans Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in connection with the blast that took 36 lives. A 32-years old suicide bomber, identified as Yasir from Peshawar, barged into Khadijatul Kubra []

PTI Mumbai Elections to 12 Zilla Parishads and 125 Panchayat Samitis in Maharashtra on Saturday saw a voter turnout of around 67 per cent, the ballot coming 11 days after Deputy CM Ajit Pawars death in a plane crash. The polling percentage was 52.02 till 3.30 pm, an official said. It was around 67 per []

PTI New Delhi The tax department on Saturday released draft rules and forms under the new Income Tax Act, 2025, which proposes to simplify the provisions and reduce compliance burden for ease of understanding and make it taxpayer-friendly. A new and simplified Income Tax Act, 2025, which will replace the over six-decade-old Income Tax Act []

PTI New Delhi Several farmer organisations, including SKM, its non-political breakaway faction and AIKS, criticised the India-US trade deal on Saturday and said protests against it will be held across the country. In a statement issued here on Saturday, the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) alleged that the proposed interim trade agreement framework between India and []

PTI Bengaluru Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, on Saturday, said Indias IT sector is moving to an AI-driven services model with coordinated efforts from industry, academia, and the government. He said AI presents a major opportunity for India to develop a new model of services for the global market. Citing examples, Vaishnaw noted that AI-based solutions []