Continued from here, where we were looking at possible changes in adoption from India.

It is beginning to appear that serious efforts to improve the likelihood of international adoption for some Indian children may be in the works. Cara's website (India's Central Adoption Resource Agency) was redesigned for ease of use, and work was beginning on efforts... more

Waves of often contradictory and confusing adoption-related news have been emanating from India over the past couple of months, making getting a handle on the situation there very difficult. For as long as I've been part of the international adoption world, adoption from India has been presented as problematic for non-Indians. Some in the country have even gone on record as being completely against foreigners ever raising Indian children.

Yes, there are those who've adopted from India on the ... more

With World AIDS Orphans day coming up one month from today, an occasion that resonates deeply within anyone touched by international adoption as I wrote in an earlier post today, Thabo Mbeki's recent comments that began with the trite, "An orphan is an orphan" line and went on from there sounded especially off... more

Continued from here ... While we're talking on things of a helpful nature with political connections, the Australian government is giving $12 million to Cambodia for landmine clearing.

There are around SIX MILLION landmines still scattered around Cambodia, and they kill and maim on a daily basis. Putting them in was a fairly... more

It's Friday, so time to wrap up the week's news from Cambodia for those of you who've come to count on me doing so.

I'll start out by mentioning that my dear friend Gay has arrived safely in Phnom Penh and will be heading out to the provinces soon to build houses with a Tabitha USA group like she did last year.

If you'd like to hear more about her 2006 trip, you can find posts here, and here, where she talks about her visit to the orphanage... more

The UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) released a report a few days ago on unsatisfactory conditions in orphanages in Liberia. Again. Sheesh! April must be their "trash Liberian adoption month". I wrote about the same darned thing this time last year!

Apparently,... more

Continued from here ...

This story on a large study ... almost 70,000 children of families with depressive parents ... will, I'm sure, be mentioned in connection with adoption in future. This could be a major concern, so I'm hoping the study will be looked at closely from many angles, and that the research gets a thorough... more

From a reader:

Question: Hi, I was wondering, regarding international adoption - which countries allow one parent to have been (in the past) taking anti-depressant meds? I understand China does not allow this. Are all international options off limits to those that this applies?

The upcoming imposition of new adoption regulations in China, starting the first of May, that preclude anyone with a history of... more

Tired of the barrage of bad press and concerned about adoption issues in the big picture, some well-known Hollywood Stars are banding together to take the media by the horns. Headed by internationally adoptive parents Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt and Madonna, the Star Power Adoption Network will be launched today in a small ceremony at a New Orleans playground built with seed funds from the organization.

SPAN, as the group will be known, already includes many stars whose families have been touched by adoption. Some, like Meg Ryan, have... more

Continued from here ...

Lest anyone get the idea that Cambodia is much more dangerous than its neighbors, take a look at this, that suggests otherwise.

Cambodia has banned its migrant laborers from working in insurgency-plagued southern Thailand due to safety concerns, an official said Thursday.

Thailand's southernmost... more