‘Allegations baseless, ready to challenge them on any public platform’ Sankhali/Mapusa: That the election campaign for the May 7 Lok Sabha polls is heating up was evident on Sunday when Power Minister Ramkrishna ‘Sudin’ Dhavalikar and the BJP’s North Goa candidate Shripad Naik levelled charges against Congress candidate Ramakant Khalap over the Mapusa Urban Co-Operative Bank, of which the former Union law minister was chairman for many years. Dhavalikar said that during Khalap’s chairmanship, the bank went through a bad phase and put investors in deep trouble. Naik also said that there is a ne ..read more

Pathirana, Dhoni star as CSK trump MI by 20 runs Mumbai: Matheesha Pathirana and an ageless MS Dhoni delivered decisive blows as Chennai Super Kings outgunned Mumbai Indians by 20 runs despite Rohit Sharma making a resolute unbeaten 105 in their Indian Premier League match here on Sunday. After Dhoni hammered three consecutive sixes in the final over bowled by Hardik Pandya to race to 20 not out off just four balls to propel CSK to a huge 206 for four, Pathirana grabbed 4 for 28 to halt the chase of MI at 186 for six. Rohit produced his only second IPL century and first since 2012, hitting 11 ..read more

Panaji: Eight-year-old Alak Dessai, along with his twin brother Sujal Dessai, successfully swam across the Mandovi river on Sunday. The brothers started from Reis Magos Fort and finished at Panjim Gymkhana. It took them approximately 40 minutes to complete the grueling milestone. While Sujal is an experienced swimmer and has been training for the past two years, Alak’s path was filled with unique challenges.  Living with autism, Alak only recently joined his brother in training under Dayanand Patil, a seasoned SAG swimming coach, who was determined to help Alak achieve this milestone. Pat ..read more

Tel Aviv  hails ‘success’ in neutralising unprecedented onslaught Tel Aviv: Israel on Sunday hailed its successful air defences in the face of an unprecedented attack by Iran, saying it and its allies thwarted 99%  of the more than 300 drones and missiles launched toward its territory. But regional tensions remain high, amid fears of further escalation in the event of a possible Israeli counter-strike. US President Joe Biden said he would convene a meeting of the Group of Seven advanced democracies on Sunday “to coordinate a united diplomatic response to Iran’s brazen attack.” The la ..read more

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday released the BJP’s Lok Sabha poll manifesto, outlining his vision for Viksit Bharat as he exhorted people to give another mandate to his party to shape India’s ‘destiny’ for the next 1,000 years. Describing the party’s ‘Sankal Patra’ as a document of his guarantee, Modi highlighted the achievements of 10 years of his government at the Centre and said the BJP has delivered on every promise it made so far. “In the last 10 years, the BJP has implemented every aspect of its manifesto as a guarantee. The BJP has restored the sanctity of the manifest ..read more

New Delhi: Amir Sarfaraz Tamba, an accused in the murder of Indian death row prisoner in Pakistan Sarabjit Singh and a close associate of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terror outfit founder Hafiz Sayeed, was killed by unidentified gunmen in Lahore on Sunday, official sources said. Tamba was attacked by motorcycle-borne assailants in the Islampura area of Lahore in Pakistan and was rushed in critical condition to a hospital where he succumbed to his injuries, the sources said. Singh, 49, died of cardiac arrest in Jinnah Hospital Lahore in the wee hours of May 2, 2013, after being comatose for nearly a ..read more

Panaji: The Directorate of Fire and Emergency Services in 2023-24, attended 8,000 calls in the state, of which 3,000 were fire calls and 5,000 emergency calls, said director Nitin V Raiker. He said that, during the year firefighters saved 194 human and 757 animal lives. “In all property worth Rs 179 crore was saved,” said Raiker at the 80th National Fire Service (NFS) Day celebrations, which was marked by parades, a live fire fighting demo, search and rescue operations by fire personnel. Over the next few days until April 20, the directorate will be observing fire safety week, wherein campaign ..read more

PTI Washington Gopi Thotakura, an entrepreneur and a pilot, is set to become the first Indian to venture into space as a tourist on Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin’s NS-25 mission. Thotakura was selected as one of the six crew members for the mission, making him the first Indian space tourist and the second Indian to venture into space after the Indian Army’s Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma in 1984. The flight date is yet to be announced, the aerospace company said. This mission will be the seventh human flight for the New Shepard programme and the 25th in its history. To date, the program ..read more

Staff Reporter Panaji The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday said both of its candidates – Shripad Naik in North Goa and Pallavi Dempo in South Goa – will win by a huge margin in upcoming Lok Sabha elections. “The Congress party is just trying to create anxiety among the voters by setting a false narrative that the Constitution of India will be changed if BJP comes to power in the Lok Sabha election,” said North Goa Zilla Panchayat chairperson Siddesh Naik while addressing mediapersons. He said, in fact, the Congress government had amended the Constitution on several occasions in the pas ..read more

Staff Reporter Mapusa North Goa Congress candidate Ramakant Khalap has called for efforts to create a land bank which would be preserved for future generations of Goans. “Let us think about the next 3-4 generations. We need to preserve the comunidade and fazenda land for our Goans. Also, there must be a small restriction on the sale of agricultural land. Why can›t the government introduce a law so that Goans get the first right to purchase land?” said Khalap during his campaign in Bardez on Saturday. “I had proposed that let us create a land bank that will be reserved for future Goans. But the ..read more