Migrant children, left without a mother by accidents in the Mediterranean, have found a second chance thanks to two Sicilian families

They are called Noelia and Isabel and to unite them is a common past. Both are "orphans of the sea". Two girls, that is, who have lost their natural mothers in the crossing of the desperate in the Mediterranean, from Africa to Italy. Here, however, they found, both, an adoptive family. And, with this, that second opportunity that those who gave their lives did not, unfortunately, have.

Their moving story was told by their adoptive mothers. Both seem to come from Nigeria. Although little is known about their past. Noelia arrived in 2015, Isabel a year later. To take them on a sea journey to Italy, on a boat, on which they traveled with their respective parents. The one on which Noelia was traveling caught fire. She, survived only 23 days old, was rescued by a fishing boat. The 23, however, is a number that is also linked to the history of Isabel. 23 were, in fact, the people, including herself, who were saved among the 100 who undertook that damn trip. The mother protected her as much as she could from the burning sun, which took away her life. Protected by another woman, the child managed to reach Italy alive.

"Of their past - said Margherita and Sofia (the names are fancy), the adoptive mothers - we know practically nothing, we presume the nationality because they were mostly Nigerians on the barge. We don't know the day of birth, the real name, who their mother was, nothing. It was the Court, after medical examinations following the landing, to decide for them. Not even a birth certificate ".

But the documents do not serve when the miracle of adoption comes into play. " It was love at first sight. Yes, they changed our lives ", say the two women who made Noelia and Isabel again" daughters ". Both were placed in a family home for some time before the adoption.

Ludhiana: A few days after TOI reported the plight of 10-year-old Pratigya and her parents, who have been struggling to get her

custody for the past one year due to official apathy, social security and women & child development minister Aruna Chaudhary

on Friday sought a detailed report into the matter.

The minister also sought an explanation from the district child protection officer (DCPO) on the issue.

In its news reports published in these columns earliar this week, TOI had highlighted how Pratigya’s parents Gopal and Hema,

A while ago, the world's second largest Adoption Mediator celebrated the Swedish Adoption Center (AC) for 50 years. AC

In conjunction with the jubilee, gave an anniversary script and in the script found in addition to several interviews and a kind of timeline

who describes AC's history a number of old photographs such as a picture of the Queen who visited AC in 1984

but also a group picture from an AC conference that took place in Skövde in 1997 in connection with AC forming one

special department for adopted who was named Forum for adopted.

The UK's Crown Prosecution Service, which represents the Indian authorities in court extradition proceedings, said it will be seeking permission to appeal against the Westminster Magistrates' Court order.

LONDON: The Indian government has lodged an appeal in the UK High Court after its extradition request for a couple, wanted for the murder of their adopted child, was turned down by a London court recently.

The UK's Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), which represents the Indian authorities in court extradition proceedings, said it will be seeking permission to appeal against the Westminster Magistrates' Court order in the case involving Indian-origin British citizen Arti Dhir and her husband Kaval Raijada, wanted in India for the murder of their adopted 11-year-old son Gopal and his brother-in-law.

An investigation by Gujarat police has claimed that the accused had hatched a plot to adopt Gopal and then insure him for around Rs. 1.3 crore before staging his kidnapping and murder in India and then split the life insurance payout.

"We have lodged an appeal on behalf of the Indian authorities. The appeal will be considered on the papers by a single judge, who will decide whether or not to grant leave," a CPS spokesperson said.

Some 40,000 unidentified bodies are disposed of by the police every year across the country. While most are natural deaths, accidents, suicides and homicides are also the other causes, especially among youth.

While these bodies have no claimants, what if someone turns up later searching for a lost/missing kin among the unidentified dead?

To answer just such queries, the Department of Forensic Medicine at All India Medical Institute of Medicine (AIIMS) here is now keeping a DNA record of unclaimed bodies.

Doctors from AIIMS said that within two months they will host the database on a website that people can access.

The pilot project to start retrieving DNA samples from unidentified bodies started in South and South-East Delhi in June. “The police declare a body ‘of unknown origin’ if nobody turns up to claim it in 72 hours. Depending on how mutilated the body, samples of organs, bones, hair or muscle tissue are retrieved for profiling the DNA,” said Chittaranjan Behara, Associate Professor, Forensic Medicine, AIIMS.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/15oOrvSyOBZoSjJ0AozRCC4MnnClvOfbo/view?usp=drivesdk

SOS: Infamous orphanages in Eastern Europe soon to be largely closed

Sofia / Munich (ots) - According to information from the SOS Children's Villages, Eastern Europe is closing its notorious orphanages. For a long time homes were the epitome of neglect and inhumane conditions. "In the meantime, all countries are closing state homes," says Maria Dantcheva, Program Development Manager for the SOS Children's Villages for Eastern Europe. For example, in Romania, nearly 100,000 boys and girls lived in orphanages in 2000, and today there are only about 6,600. In Bulgaria, too, the number of children in state homes has fallen from 7587 in 2009 to 979 in 2017. By 2025 all homes should be closed.

The SOS Children's Villages are decisively involved in the processes in 19 countries in Eastern and Central Europe, says Maria Dantcheva. "For many years, we have been the only ones offering family-oriented care for children in need in many places, and now we support governments with our know-how: we are involved in the development of laws and child protection systems and help build foster parent networks . " The organization is also active in Kazakhstan. The local SOS Children's Village Almaty will soon accommodate 30 to 40 boys and girls from a closing children's home. Under the name "Open Doors", SOS has partnered with four other aid agencies to promote the closure of orphanages by providing data, education and political work.\

Instead of being in state homes, the children will in future be raised by foster families, small groups or relatives. Also, families should be stabilized in crises so that as many children as possible can stay with their parents.

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On February 20, 1997, the management of the Bucharest Court, led by judge Viorel Roș, notified the Police about the disappearance from the court archive of 248 civil files with international adoptions as their object.

The then Minister of Justice ordered an extensive check at the Bucharest Court and the judicial inspectors of the higher court, the Bucharest Court of Appeal, found that 404 civil adoption files had disappeared: 173 from the period 1990-1993 and 231 files from the period 1994-1995 .

Along with the files, several minutes of meetings from the years 1994-1995, meeting folders and record books disappeared, reports Radio Europa Liberă.

"I asked for a check to be made and a report on the situation created. The report was made and after that I think a criminal complaint was also made. Unfortunately, as far as I can remember, the criminal investigation did not lead to any results, that is, it did not discover the perpetrators", said Valeriu Stoica, former Minister of Justice.

He says he no longer has the report drawn up at his request, but that it should be in the ministry's archive. The Ministry of Justice claims that in 1997 there was a structure that checked the activity of judges, but it did not find the report ordered by Valeriu Stoica.

On February 20, 1997, the leadership of the Bucharest Court, led by Judge Viorel Roș, notified the Police about the disappearance from the court archive of 248 civil files concerning international adoptions.

The then Minister of Justice ordered an extensive check at the Bucharest Court and the judicial inspectors of the higher court, the Bucharest Court of Appeal, found that 404 civil adoption files had disappeared: 173 from the period 1990-1993 and 231 files from the period 1994-1995 .

Along with the files, several minutes of meetings from the years 1994-1995, meeting folders and record books disappeared, reports Radio Europa Liberă.

In the FIR filed on 13th July, Sakshi has accused Abhishek of writing a Facebook post alleging that he has indulged in her character assassination.

Filmmaker Vinod Kapri and his wife Sakshi Joshi have filed an FIR against the journalist Abhishek Upadhyay who had accused the couple of using tragedy of a new born child to promote himself and his movie.

In the FIR filed on 13th July, Sakshi has accused Abhishek of writing a Facebook post alleging that he has indulged in her character assassination.

In his post, without naming anyone, Abhishek had written a story about a lady who marries an old divorced man through manipulation. In her FIR, Sakshi has claimed that the above story refers to her.

As per the FIR, she deduced that the post was about her when someone commented on the Facebook post with her and her husband filmmaker Vinod Kapri’s name and Upadhyay ‘liked’ that comment. She even alleges in her FIR that Upadhyay not only wrote the above post to defame her and Kapri and asked people to share the above post via WhatsApp but also asked people to walk up to the couple and spit on them.