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Daily News & Analysis Lila Parulekar, a victim of conspiracy: Maneka Gandhi

Animal rights activist and BJP MP, Maneka Gandhi, has expressed concern over the condition of 75-year-old Lila Parulekar, the ailing daughter of the Sakal newspaper’s founder and editor, the legendary Nanasaheb Parulekar.

Gandhi has alleged that Parulekar has become the victim of a conspiracy to swindle her of her multi-crore assets. Many of Parulekar’s close associates and well-known citizens of Pune such as Dr Kunda Patki, Chandrashekhar Hari Joshi and Manoj Oswal share this concern and have spoken on record with DNA.

Parulekar’s lawyer, Sunil Kadam, refused to meet DNA when contacted for an appointment on Thursday last.

A spinster and the sole child of Nanasaheb, Parulekar, who is suffering from secondary Parkinson’s disease among other ailments, has vast assets in her name.

Joshi and Oswal told DNA that apart from 12.2% shares in Sakal Papers Pvt Ltd, the firm founded by her parents, Parulekar owns a bungalow on 3.3 acres of ultra-prime land at 4A Queen’s Garden, Pune, six acres of land in Mahabaleshwar, a one-acre plot on Baner Road, a property in France (her late mother, Shanta was French) and Rs3 crore in the bank.

Lila Parulekar, a victim of conspiracy: Maneka Gandhi

WRITTEN BY

Rahul Chandawarkar

Sunday 13 February 2011 10:25 IST

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Angelina Jolie has denied reports adoption of a child from Haiti

Angelina Jolie has denied reports adoption of a child from Haiti

Los Angeles : CA : USA | Feb 12, 2011 BY Mohamed Abd el Fattah 10

A spokesman for Angelina Jolie on Friday said that the actress does not intend to adopt any children of Haiti - hit by the earthquake in January 2010 - in spite of frequent reports in British newspapers as well as on the verge of a new baby to six young.

Said Adam Waldman - an adviser to Jolie in its humanitarian efforts - for the site (The Daily Beast) The Daily Beast news website that the U.S. winning actress Oscar was in Haiti to work on a project to improve the situation of children and their safety.

Waldman told the news website that Julie had never met the girl child orphan of four years, the so-called "crown", which alleged that British newspapers and other newspapers that represented the U.S. began to take measures to adopt.

LETTER OF THE DAY: Jamaica's agonising adoption process

LETTER OF THE DAY: Jamaica's agonising adoption process
Published: Saturday | February 12, 2011 8 Comments
THE EDITOR, Sir:
It is a crying shame to see that our children who have been neglected by their biological parents are also being neglected by the Government of this country. Families who are willing to give these children a proper home, love and a place in society are being frustrated by our uncaring leaders and the inefficient processes that they oversee.
I have been in the process of adopting a child since August 2009 and, to date, the process is yet to be completed notwithstanding the following:
All documents were submitted August 2009.
I have completed the required interview.
The mandatory home visit was completed by an officer of the Child Development Agency (CDA) in August 2010.
I have been told that all that remains to be done is for the committee/board to meet, review the case and sign off, and then it goes to the courts for ratification, Alas! Why is the process so slow? This is simply slackness and shame on the part of the minister of health and the Government, by extension.
There are many families who have the desire to adopt but have become so frustrated that many more of our children will be left to many ills like what took place at Armadale or the repeated incidents of children running away from children homes and ending up on Portmore's 'Back Road' in so-called massage parlours, or in gangs, partly because of the heartlessness of those who lead.
The best gift you can give, Mr Minister, is the chance of a better life to an abandoned child. Put the committee in place to review the cases that are now ready for closure. Or better yet, review the whole adoption process and save the life of a child.
I am, etc.,
FRUSTRATED
PROSPECTIVE
ADOPTIVE MOM

Prosecutor demands to the case of the adoption of children from Russia considered Court of Madrid

La fiscalía reclama que pase aMadrid el caso de las

adopciones rusas

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La fiscalía ha solicitado el traslado de la investigación sobre un presunto fraude en la adopción

Ethiopia: U.S. Adoption Agency Involved in Child Trafficking

February 10, 2011 4:10 PM
Ethiopia: U.S. Adoption Agency Involved in Child Trafficking
Posted by Michael Rey

Children in Ethiopia. (Credit: CBS) A Minnesota-based adoption agency had its license to work in Ethiopia revoked by the government there, according to a letter posted this week on the U.S. State Department's website here.
The letter, dated December 8, 2010, says the agency Better Futures Adoption Services (BFAS), "has been involved in child trafficking." The letter is signed by the director general of the Charities and Society Agency. That agency and the Ministry of Women's Affairs, which both oversee international adoptions of Ethiopian children, had been "researching" allegations into BFAS activities.

According to the letter the adoption agency was, "Falsifying documents of children with biological parents, in collaboration with orphanages involved in illegal acts to show that they are abandoned and using these documents to obtain final court decision for international adoption, on top of many illegal acts that are still being investigated, were confirmed [sic]."

BFAS has the motto, "The child you lift today will lift the world tomorrow!" and calls itself a "unique Christian international adoption agency focusing on adoptions solely from Ethiopia" and has been licensed by the government there as a non-governmental organization since 2007. The agency displays its motto

In e-mails sent to CBS News and posted on its site, BFAS says the accusations against it are false. One email, written by Agitu Wodajo, executive director of BFAS in Ethiopia, says the revocation letter is retaliation for a lawsuit they filed locally against the Ministry of Women's Affairs and that the minister of that agency does not support the charges in the letter.

But the US State Department deemed the allegations strong enough to issue an adoption alert on its website, to notify American families who were using or planning to use the agency to adopt a child from Ethiopia. The alert "strongly recommends" that those Americans seek legal counsel. State Department officials did not respond to a request for comment.

There were 2277 adoptions of Ethiopian children to the US in 2009, up from just 731 three years earlier. As CBS News reported last April, that dramatic spike in the number of foreign adoptions from that country has opened the country up to cases of adoption fraud and trafficking in children.

Adoption Moratorium Lifted

Adoption Notice

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Bureau of Consular Affairs
Office of Children’s Issues

Adoption Moratorium Lifted

February 10, 2011

Kenya and the United States are party to the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption (“Hague”).  As such, all adoptions between Kenya and the United States initiated after April 1, 2008, must meet the requirements of the Hague Convention and its U.S. and Kenya law counterparts.  The Government of Kenya is still in the process of amending its laws to mirror the procedural requirements of the Convention.  In late 2010, Kenya adopted a new constitution and the government is currently drafting hundreds of pieces of legislation required to implement the provisions of the new constitution.  Due to this legislative back-log, legislation that will bring Kenya into full compliance with the Hague Convention may not be enacted for quite some time.  
new 
Until it is, Kenya’s Department of Children’s Services is willing to make administrative adjustments that will allow it to follow the procedural framework required by the Hague Convention.  International adoptions that meet Hague Convention requirements can now be processed in Kenya.  However, until Kenya’s international adoption laws are finalized, serious delays, expense, uncertainly, and difficulties could still arise with the Hague adoption process.  The Department of State therefore advises American citizens to proceed with caution when deciding whether or not to adopt from Kenya.

Madonna's adoptive daughter's family has no legal right to see her: Lawyer

Madonna's adoptive daughter's family has no legal right to see her: Lawyer

London, Feb 10 : Madonna's lawyer has said that the family of singer's
adopted daughter has no legal right to see the five-year-old.

The claim comes after James family, led by Mercy Chifundo James''
biological uncle Peter Baneti and grandmother Lucy Chekechiwa,
approached the Cicil Liberties Committee (CILIC) of leading human
rights campaigner Emmie Chanika to sue Madonna for breach of trust.

Chanika conceded no visitation rights were included in the adoption
agreement, which saw Mercy James leave Malawi for a new life with
Madonna, 52, two years ago.

She admitted there is no written agreement but insisted the family has
reasonable cause to push for the visitation.

"It was like a gentleman''s agreement," she said.

'They have a strong recollection that Ms. Madonna (sic) assured them
they would be able to see Mercy on a regular basis," she added.

Chanika said legal action would not be necessary if Madonna allows the
family to see James.

Madonna''s lawyer Alan Chinula has also denied claims that she
ever-promised regular visits.

"There was no such agreement," the Daily Mail quoted Chinula as saying.

--ANI

CICIG is the complainant in the case of illegal adoptions

CICIG is the complainant in the case of illegal adoptions
Guatemala, February 10, 2011. The International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG) was accepted by the Third Court of First Instance Criminal Court as a plaintiff in the case of Mario Fernando Peralta Castañeda, judge of the Children and Young Escuintla Department , accused of participating in various processes of illegal adoption.

The Supreme Court withdrew the immunity Peralta Castaneda, November 3, 2010, that he be investigated for evidence of his alleged involvement in illegal adoptions while serving as judge of the Children and Adolescents in Escuintla.

In this case also acts as accuser's mother of the children who were given up for adoption in an irregular manner, with the support of the Survivor Foundation, an institution that helped to locate the whereabouts of her daughter.

Norma Cruz, director of the organization, said that there is enough evidence against the judge to be processed, which is checked with the participation of other judicial officers in illegal adoptions. "Also involved are other judges that while they had no direct involvement, they have played a cover-up by not allowing justice to be done and helped to make these structures trafficking act with impunity," he said.

However, he expressed the hope that other judges do not engage in influence peddling, and to resolve attached to Guatemalan law, for this type of case progress in the courts.

Another case
Also, the October 6, 2010, the Supreme Court withdrew the immunity to that court for investigation for having declared abandoned two other children, despite the adoption records showed a series of irregularities.

This case is pending court to appoint the Comptroller of the investigation, that the MP initiated legal action against the judge.

 

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CICIG es querellante en caso de adopciones ilegales

Guatemala, febrero 10 de 2011. La Comisión Internacional contra la Impunidad en Guatemala (CICIG) fue aceptada por el Juzgado Tercero de Primera Instancia Penal como querellante adhesiva en el caso de Mario Fernando Peralta Castañeda, juez de la Niñez y Adolescencia del departamento de Escuintla, sindicado de participar en varios procesos ilegales de adopción.

La Corte Suprema de Justicia retiró la inmunidad a Peralta Castañeda, el 3 de noviembre de 2010, para que se le investigue por haber indicios de su probable participación en adopciones irregulares mientras se desempeñaba como juez de la Niñez y Adolescencia en Escuintla.

En este caso también actúa como querellante adhesiva la madre de una de las menores que fueron entregadas en adopción de manera irregular, con el apoyo de la Fundación Sobrevivientes, institución que le ayudó a localizar el paradero de su hija.

Norma Cruz, directora de esta institución, manifestó que sí hay suficientes evidencias contra el juez para que sea procesado, con las cuales se comprueba la participación de otros operadores de justicia en adopciones irregulares. "También están involucrados otros jueces que si bien no tuvieron una participación directa, sí han jugado un papel de encubrimiento al no permitir que se haga justicia y han colaborado para que estas estructuras de trata de personas actúen de manera impune", aseveró.

No obstante, manifestó su esperanza de que otros juzgadores no incurran en tráfico de influencias y que resuelvan apegados a las leyes guatemaltecas, para que este tipo de casos avancen en los tribunales de justicia.

Otro caso
Asimismo, el 6 de octubre del 2010, la Corte Suprema de Justicia le retiró la inmunidad al citado juez para que sea investigado por haber declarado en abandono a otros dos niños, a pesar de que los expedientes de adopción presentaban una serie de irregularidades.

Este caso está pendiente de que se designe al Juzgado contralor de la investigación, para que el MP inicie las acciones legales contra el juez.

Ethiopia Revokes License of US Adoption Agency

Ethiopia Revokes License of US Adoption Agency

February 10, 2011

Ethiopia has revoked the license of an American adoption agency, accusing it of child trafficking. The agency has responded sharply, charging it is the victim of government retaliation.

Ethiopia’s Charities and Societies Agency has notified the Minnesota-based Better Future Adoptions Services that its license to operate in the country has been revoked.

The revocation could effectively shut down the agency, which specializes in adoptions from Ethiopia.