A man who was taken from his mother as a newborn in a clandestine detention center during the Argentine dictatorship has been reunited with his family aer nearly fiy years. The 49-year-old man, whose identity has not been released, was identified through a DNA test.

He is the 140th "stolen grandchild" recovered by the human rights organization Grandmothers of Plaza de Mayo. He is the son of Graciela Alicia Romero and Raúl Eugenio Metz, leftwing activists who were arrested by soldiers on December 16, 1976. Romero, then five months pregnant, gave birth in captivity. She was murdered shortly afterward.

The news of the man's discovery was announced amid great interest at the former ESMA building in the north of the capital, Buenos Aires. This former naval training institute served as a clandestine concentration camp and torture center during the bloody dictatorship. Today, it is a national monument, a museum, and home to several human rights organizations.

During the military dictatorship (1976 - 1983), some30,000 people disappeared, most of whom were murdered. Pregnant woman were often kept alive until birth and then executed. At least 500 babies were taken and given to, among others, high-ranking army generals, and grew up without knowing their original identity. The search for their identities continues today.

Adriana Metz (left) and Estela de Carlotto, president of the human rights organization Grandmothers of Plaza de Mayo, embrace after announcing the recovery of Metz's brother. © REUTERS

'Grandmothers' find 140th stolen grandchild of Argentine dictatorship after nearly 50 years thanks to DNA research

He learned that he needed others to get ahead in life, so now he wants to be of significance to others. Séun Steenken, born in Nigeria, is committed to the youth in his city, Almere.

'The role of the barbershop is seriously underestimated in the Netherlands, in the United States they see it much more. It is a place where young people come to chill, there is such a relaxed atmosphere that everyone talks to each other. We are friends, there is respect. You can have deep conversations with boys who would never go to a community center. 'It is a kind of men's therapy', our barber always says.'

During a haircut in the MotionFades barbershop in Almere, 23-year-old Séun Steenken gets the idea that more is possible with the informal community that the hairdresser's clients form. He is impressed by the stories of the barber, thirty-something Malcolm Power, who organizes all kinds of things for the young people: barbecues, football matches, discussions. 'He paid for it all out of his own pocket. With a few hundred euros he reached more young people than when the municipality organizes something in the community center for 10K (10 thousand euros, ed. ).'

With Power and a third partner, he started the foundation The Next Way six months ago. The goal: to offer young people 'concrete tools' for daily life, such as tips and tricks for job interviews, by helping them develop their talents.

For Steenken, The Next Way is part of his broader social engagement. In addition to his studies in public administration and organizational science, he works an estimated forty hours a week in various areas: as an employee at the interest group Cliëntenbelang Amsterdam ('for vulnerable Amsterdammers'), as a spoken word artist and now also as a director of the hairdressing foundation. 'With that, I mainly want to create something beautiful for Almere, but it will not be my future. I see that in three areas: policy, culture and practical work. I want to have a social impact in all three. Maybe I will become the first mayor who is also a spoken word artist, haha.'

Navi Mumbai: Four days after a two-day-old girl was found abandoned in a basket outside a girls’ orphanage in Panvel, another case of infant abandonment has emerged—this time on a Harbour Line local train. A 15-day-old baby boy was reportedly abandoned by a woman on Tuesday, and the case has been registered at the Vashi Government Railway Police (GRP) station.
Kiran Undre, senior inspector at Vashi GRP, said that a woman, aged between 30 and 35 years, boarded the ladies’ coach of the CSMT–Panvel train at Sanpada station, carrying an infant boy. As she sat near the footboard with the baby, two women commuters asked her to move away for safety. The woman then struck up a conversation with the two passengers—identified as Divya Naidu and Bhoomika Mane, both 19 years old—and requested their help.
 

She told them she had a lot of luggage and asked if they could hold the baby while she got off at Seawoods station, Inspector Undre said.
Although Naidu and Mane were originally meant to get off at Juinagar, they agreed to help and stayed on till Seawoods. Around 12:30 pm, when the train stopped at Seawoods, the two women alighted with the baby, expecting the woman to follow. But she stayed inside the compartment and let the train leave, leaving the baby behind with the two women.

Naidu and Mane waited for the woman to return but when she didn’t, they took the infant to Mane’s home in Juinagar. After consulting Mane’s parents, they approached the local police station and then Vashi GRP. An offence has been registered against the woman for abandoning the child.
Inspector Undre added, “CCTV footage shows the woman getting off at Khandeshwar station. We have formed four teams to trace her. Her image and that of the baby have been circulated among autorickshaw drivers at Khandeshwar and in nearby residential and slum areas.”

The infant, who appeared weak, has been admitted to the ICU at NMMC Hospital, Vashi. A DNA test will be conducted to confirm whether the woman is the child’s biological mother.

Meanwhile, the two-day-old girl abandoned in Takka Colony, Panvel, on June 28 is currently under the care of Vatsalya Charitable Trust in Alibaug. The Panvel City Police had traced a couple claiming to be the child’s parents within 24 hours of the rescue. The Maharashtra child welfare committee has summoned them for an inquiry. Since the couple has expressed willingness to take the baby back, their DNA samples—along with the infant’s—have been sent for verification, said Nitin Thakare, senior inspector of Panvel.

Clarifying the term "certified copy," CARA said it refers to a digitally authenticated version bearing official attestation, and not a physical original or hard copy.

The Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) has clarified that adoptive parents do not need hard copies of adoption orders as digitally certified versions sent via e-mail are legally valid and sufficient under the current rules.

In a letter issued to all States, Union Territories, specialised adoption agencies, and District Child Protection Units (DCPUs), CARA addressed the confusion surrounding Regulation 13(8) of the Adoption Regulations, 2022, which outlines the procedure for delivering adoption orders.

The clarification comes amid reports that some adoption agencies and protection units were uncertain about the validity of e-mailed orders.

The regulation mandates that a certified copy of the adoption order — authenticated by the office of the District Magistrate — must be obtained by the SAA through the DCPU. This copy must then be sent to the adoptive parents via e-mail within 10 days and uploaded to the designated portal.

Collaboration with INEA 

The search possibilities for adoptees in Indonesia are strengthened by a collaboration between Ibu Indonesia and INEA. With this collaboration, Ibu Indonesia receives support to carry out more searches and to further professionalize its working methods.

James, manager of INEA came to Groningen especially for the start of the project to sign the cooperation agreement with Berber. Our board members Nani and Sonja and our coordinator Dadang Supardi from Yogyakarta were present online.

“Thanks to the collaboration, we can expand our work and make it futureproof. This way, no knowledge is lost and we can help even more adoptees and families.” – Berber, chairman of Ibu Indonesia

“We are pleased to support the work of Ibu Indonesia. Their knowledge of the local eld is essential for good search capabilities.” – James, Manager at INEA

More than 50 years after adoption, Jung Kyung-sook plans to sue the Norwegian government for human rights violations

For most of her life, Jung Kyung-sook, 57, lived with an unrelenting ache — a longing for people who looked like her and for the mother tongue she never had the chance to learn.

Sent from Korea to Norway in 1970 at the age of two, she was among the tens of thousands of Korean children sent to Western countries through a flawed adoption system operating from the 1970s to '90s.

Jung was adopted by a Norwegian couple who, she says, subjected her to years of abuse and neglect.

Now living in the rural town of Ramnes, Norway, Jung is among the 56 Korean adoptees who have received the results of a sweeping investigation by Korea's Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). The findings, announced in March and sent to applicants in June, revealed significant irregularities in past overseas adoption processes.

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Now your two hours begin.” The countdown started when Keira Alexandra Kronvold had just given birth in the early hours of 7 November 2024. Keira, 38, was originally granted just one hour with her daughter, Zammi, before her baby was to be removed from her and taken to foster parents – but the midwife begged authorities to give them more time. Before Zammi’s arrival, the midwife asked if Keira had any wishes. “I said, ‘I want hand and footprints. I want to grab her, I don’t want you to catch her when she is born. I want to catch her myself.’”

During labour – which lasted just an hour and a half – Keira kept checking whether her 20-year-old daughter, Zoe, who had never seen a birth before, was OK; and she was determined not to scream, to avoid waking up the other mothers and babies on the ward. But when Zammi arrived, everything else – the months of stress, worry and pressure – gave way to pure joy. “I just laid back,” she says, arms cradled and slowly reclining on her sofa, as she re-enacts the moment at home in the town of Thisted, northern Denmark, “because I had to keep her warm. She was so beautiful. That emotional feeling is indescribable. Right there: unconditional love, pure happiness, all that joy.” She wished Zammi a happy birthday and told her how much she loved her. She cried tears of joy, counted Zammi’s tiny fingers.

And then the mood shifted. “It feels like you come into the darkness,” says Keira, her body frozen. “Now I have to count the minutes. That pure joy was gone. And that moment I felt I could show my emotions.” She started to breastfeed Zammi. Even letting go for the midwife to do her checks was torturous.

Children adopted from China may have been the subject of human trafficking, the state adoption investigation has concluded.

Questions have been raised about what Ulf Kristersson knew about the alarms.

According to a board member, discussions were underway about what the money to China was actually used for.

– There was irritation that the fee was not transparent.

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