Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Tánaiste Leo Varadkar have been dubbed a “sickening double act” over their respective statements about the mother and baby homes scandal.

The Chair of the Coalition of Mother And Baby home Survivors (CMABS) has attacked them for not committing outright to a referendum on access over adoption records.

Paul Redmond also described what both men had to say as little more than “political waffle”.

And he dismissed the Commission’s report as being both “deeply flawed” and a “contradictory mess”, and questioned whether there was any point in survivors giving any of their testimonies in the first place.

For his part, the Taoiseach has stated the Mother and Baby Homes Commission report was one “all of Irish society” needed to address.

Officials will shortly begin examining the scope and parameters of a financial redress scheme for the survivors of the mother and baby homes following the commitment by the Government in the wake of the report from the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes this week.

A group of senior officials from the relevant Government departments will be charged with producing proposals for a scheme which Minister for Children Roderic O’Gorman has promised will be brought to Government before April 30th this year. By the standards of Government, that will mean moving at warp speed.

Although the focus has been on the victims and survivors of the homes this week, there have already been exchanges within Government on the subject, with divisions emerging over the potential cost of any scheme.

The publication of the report and the prioritisation of the wishes of the survivors is likely to push the balance towards a more expansive, rather than minimalist, model. However, there is a high degree of caution in official circles after the experience of the residential institutions redress scheme, which cost more than six times its original estimate.

One of the first tasks will be to get a handle on the number of survivors who are eligible for compensation. That will involve some controversial decisions. The commission, in its report, expressed the view that women in the homes after 1973, when the unmarried mothers’ allowance was introduced, “do not have a case for financial redress”. However, it is highly questionable that there will be a political and public appetite to cut off compensation entirely after that date.

Coimbatore: A 4-year-old girl was allegedly subjected to torture and assault by a couple that adopted her illegally. The girl was allegedly beaten up and branded by the accused in Tamil Nadu's Coimbatore district. The case surfaced after the owner of the accused's house saw injury marks and burns on the girl's body.

After seeing the injuries, the owner contacted the cops and the child was rescued. Allegedly, the accused couple illegally adopted the child through a broker.

Girl's elder sister adopted by another family

A probe revealed that the 4-year-old child was adopted illegally by the couple, without any documentation and her elder sister was adopted by another family.

Reportedly, the accused used to assault the girl and brand her. To add to her woes, the heartless accused allegedly poured hot water on the girl. Initially, when some of the neighbours asked the accused about the marks, they claimed that the child had been assaulted by her biological parents, The Hindu reported.

A NUMBER OF babies who died at Cork County Home were buried in the same coffins as adults, or in coffins containing amputated limbs.

The revelation is included in the final report of the Mother and Baby Homes Commission of Investigation.

The report, which was released earlier this month, confirmed that about 9,000 children died in the 18 ‘homes’ under investigation.

The Commission had difficulty in locating certain burials records, if they existed, of several institutions such as Bessborough Mother and Baby Home.

The Commission also struggled to locate burial records for Cork County Home and District Hospital, a former workhouse that was subsequently renamed St Finbarr’s Hospital.

When Consul General Remco van Wijngaarden walks down the street with his family in his hometown of Shanghai, it sometimes happens that someone walks into a lamp post in surprise. It is therefore a special spectacle by Chinese standards: the tall, white Remco and his half-Vietnamese man Carter have three children: Ella (almost 4) has a dark skin color, the twins Lily and Cooper (almost 2). is mixed white-Asian.

It has been a few years since Remco and his husband Carter, together with daughter Ella, exchanged the 'safe Amsterdam-Center' for gay people for Shanghai. In China, a 'fascinating, beautiful country', according to Remco, homosexuality is not prohibited by law, but much remains to be done to ensure its acceptance. That is why Remco sometimes has to 'go back in the closet' to do his job properly.

'Every gay man experiences'

He puts that into perspective himself. "Everyone who is gay goes through that, I think, that you just hide that you are in a relationship with someone of the same sex. That certainly does not feel good, but then you have to think of the greater importance."

It also happens that he receives a gift 'for his wife' through his work. "But that also happens in the Netherlands. The first time I received an invitation in China for me and my 'husband', it felt like a small victory."

Ganjam: An Italian couple adopted an orphan girl, Sneha, from the Utkal Balashram in Berhampur city of Ganjam district in Odisha today.

The Italian couple from Genoa were identified as Nicola Gambaro and Elisa Ubegio.

The couple took custody of the child after completing necessary formalities in presence of the district collector Vijay Amruta Kulange and District Welfare Officer.

According to reports, Sneha was rescued from an abandoned place on December 4, 2017.

After the rescue, the information was uploaded on the portal site of Central Adoption Center for adoption through the Special Adoption Agency. Later, she was declared free by the Ganjam Child Welfare Committee.

Eight women, including five expectant mothers, have been arrested for suspected child trafficking in Oba, Anambra State.

Police spokesman Haruna Mohammed who disclosed this on Wednesday, said the suspects were arrested in the house of one Melvina Uju Uba during a police raid.

He said eight children, including five newborns, were rescued during the operation.

He said, “On 26/1/2021 about 7:am, following an intelligence report, police operatives attached to the SIB and Area Command, Oraifite, coordinated by the Area Commander, ACP Afolabi Wilfred, raided the house of one Melvina Uju Uba, ‘f’, located opposite Nnamdi Azikiwe Orthopaedic Teaching Hospital Oba in Idemili South LGA of Anambra State.

“The place was raided following credible information that teenage girls were being impregnated and the babies sold out by human traffickers.

Barwani: The officials of Childline have succeeded in reuniting a seven-year-old boy with his family on Friday.

The boy got lost in the haat bazaar after his grandfather who got fully intoxicated, forgot to take him back to Sawarda village from where they had come. The lost boy Rakesh was brought to the police station of Rajpur. As soon as the officials of Childline got the news about a lost child being brought to the police station by the Station Incharge of Rajpur police station Triveni Rajput, Project Coordinator of Childline Sanjay Arya and Ravindra Singh Rathod reached Rajpur police station immediately and took the boy in their custody. After enquiring they came to know how the child got lost in the haat bazaar.

Childline officials did successful counseling of the child and after searching his home called his parents and then handed over the child to them.

Childline India Foundation is said to be the best NGO in India working for child labour, child trafficking, child abuse and violence, sexual abuse, child marriage, homeless child, conflict with the law, missing children, runaways, child health, education-related, homeless and addiction. Their efforts in the direction of child welfare are praiseworthy.

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As per the petition, one Narayan Dash of Ganjam district had kidnapped an eight-year-old girl from her village while she was witnessing a festival on the occasion of Kartika Purnima in 2015.

BHUBANESWAR: The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has summoned the Home Secretary and SP of Crime Branch-CID, Cuttack seeking their personal appearance with detailed report in connection with rising human trafficking and sexual exploitation of children in Odisha.

Acting on a petition and subsequent submissions filed by rights activist Radhakanta Tripathy, the apex human rights panel has served conditional summons directing the two officers to appear before the Commission on March 17.

As per the petition, one Narayan Dash of Ganjam district had kidnapped an eight-year-old girl from her village while she was witnessing a festival on the occasion of Kartika Purnima in 2015. Narayan took the girl to Burupada and allegedly exploited her sexually. Next day, he engaged her for begging at different places after selling her ear-ring for `2000 to buy a cell phone.

“A former model was spotted while engaging minors from a Bhubaneswar-based slum in begging and extorting money from them. It is failure of the State government in dealing with children being used for begging, sexual abuse and drugs trade,” the petition stated.

HYDERABAD: Making it clear that the states leading lone battles against

child traffickers may not yield better results and that they should make the

central government an integral part in the battle against the inhuman

trafficking mafia, the Telangana high court on Thursday made the union

women and child welfare ministry as a necessary party to a batch of cases