Irish woman’s murder puts Goa back in British media spotlight

LONDON: Goa is one of the most common subjects for lyrical travel pieces in the British news media, but last week’s murder of Irish and British dual national Danielle McLaughlin has brought the popular tourist resort in the headlines for less than gushing reasons.

The February 2008 murder of British teenager Scarlett Keeling continues to make news: her mother, Fiona MacKeown, launched a fund-raising campaign earlier this month to raise 20,000 pounds to offer as reward for information/evidence that leads to her killer’s conviction.

Now a campaign to raise 10,000 Euros to bring the body of McLaughlin, 28, to Ireland quickly reached over 37,800 Euros. She was found dead on March 14 near the Palolem beach. Her body is expected to reach Ireland this week.

Hailing from County Donegal in Ireland, she was a student in Liverpool. The Irish embassy and the British high commission in India are reportedly assisting in dealing issues related to the murder.

Goa police arrested a suspect, but several reports here question if the killer will be brought to justice, given the fate of the Keeling case, in which two accused were acquitted in 2016.

The British news media have been closely covering the McLaughlin case.

McLaughlin’s murder is also the subject of discussion among people of Goa origin based in Britain and elsewhere.

“It is so sad. You can’t trust the police and politicians in Goa. It is not only the British who are questioning police’s role, even we Goans don’t have much trust in them. Every Goan family here I know is talking about it,” London-based Jaime Barreto of Goa origin told HT.

Goa is one of the most popular destinations of British tourists; most visits are incident-free.

But the Foreign Office has a separate section on its India travel advice on Goa, where many Britons have died of alcohol and drug abuse, or drown in the sea.

It says: “If you’re staying in a hotel on the smaller roads in the Candolim-Calangute belt, take particular care when walking to or from the main road. There have been reports of bag-snatchings on these roads. The thieves are usually on motorbikes, with headlights on full-beam to blind their victims”. KATHMANDU: Indian Army chief General Bipin Rawat will visit Nepal from March 28 to 31, close on the heels of a visit by Chinese defence minister Chang Wanquan. Rawat was invited by the Nepal government soon after he assumed office in December.

“The main purpose of the visit is to confer the honorary title of Nepal Army to General Rawat,” said Nepal Army spokesperson General Tara Bahadur Kari.

President Bidhya Devi Bhandrai will confer the title to Rawat on March 29 at a special function for his “commendable military prowess and immeasurable contribution to fostering India’s long-standing and friendly ties with Nepal”.

It has been a custom between the armies of the neighbours to confer the title to each other’s army chiefs since 1950.

Gen Rawat will hold a meeting with President Bidhya Devi Bhandrai, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ and defence minister Bal Krishna Khad.

He will also visit Pokhara and Muktinath, where the Nepal Army runs a high-altitude military warfare training centre.

Issues related to purchase of military hardware and software for Nepal Army will come up for discussion.

Nepal Army makes almost all military purchases from India .

The proposed three-day visit of the Chinese defence minister to Nepal from March 23 and an upcoming China-Nepal joint military drill have made New Delhi “nervous” as Chang is also going to push Nepal to become a member of China’s ambitious, One Belt One Belt initiative, a flagship foreign policy initiative by President Xi Jinping.

The visit of the Chinese defence minister, whose programme is yet to be made public, is closely followed in New Delhi due to China’s push for joint military exercises and possible defence and military cooperation between Kathmandu and Beijing which raises eyebrows in India.

It is so sad. You can’t trust the police and politicians in Goa. It is not only the British who are questioning police’s role, even we Goans don’t have trust in them...