Cambodia is somewhere on the edge of worldwide media focus this week, what with the upcoming international golf classic getting almost hourly hype on CNN.

There is, of course, more going on in Cambodia than golf ... and just writing that sentence shows how much the country has changed recently.

For a look at how fast things are changing, ... more

I've been writing about India, its children, India international adoptions, Indian adoption laws, problems and more for a long time now. Over the past year-and-a-half-plus, I've posted on the nuts and bolts of the system, child labor, female infanticide... more

The US State Department has posted new information on international adoption from Nepal in the country section of their international adoption site.

Framed in a Question and Answer format, it addresses the current status of adoptions in Nepal, the US Embassy's role now for parents who are in the process, the present suspension of adoption imposed by the Government of Nepal, and what is expected to happen when adoptions resume.

Also of great interest, this article from the Nepali Times on internatinal... more

Starting off this week's wrap of news from Cambodia, a press release from the World Bank about their approval of a $36.25 million grant for decentralization and related reforms.

The World Bank’s Country Assistance Strategy for Cambodia 2005 - 2008, endorsed by the Board in May 2005, recognizes governance issues as the primary obstacle to growth, poverty reduction, and aid effectiveness,... more

A state-level orientation program on adoption was held recently in Lucknow, India, with the aim of increasing awareness locally on the issues of adoption in that country.

Domestic Indian adoptions continue to lack popularity, with most people determined to avoid adopting a child.

Also on the agenda, uniformity in adoption rules to remove much of what can be cumbersome when the many religions in the country approach the process.

Also... more

Continued from here.

In an interesting attempt to maintain cultural stability and prevent "insecurities in society", the Cambodian government has banned Christian proselytizers from knocking on peoples' doors.

Distribution of religious literature will be confined to churches, and no new churches are to be built without government approval.

While the ruling applies to all non-Buddhist groups, it is aimed at curbing Christian evangelical influence in largely... more

The week's news from Cambodia is all over the place, so where better to start than with happenings in Minnesota ...

Wat Munisotaram, a bit of Cambodian Buddhism on the prairie, was recently consecrated and its Buddha image blessed.

The $1.58 million temple has been years in the building, but according to some of the 7,000 visitors stopping by during the three-day open house, it is well worth the time and money. Constructed with the layout... more

Issues to do with children and adoption around the world range from the widely different to basically the same, as although cultural differences abound, we are at the base of it all humans.

For example, this story out of the UK illustrates how children of ethnic minorities there wait longer for placement in adoptive families ... up to three times longer ... and there are worries that placing children of color with white families can leave them "without a sense of cultural... more

I have no idea what is going on, if the cosmos is trying to tell me something or get me to tell someone else, but almost every time I've gone online the past couple of days, stories about Moldova have presented themselves before me; not just Moldova as a country, but Moldova as a country with orphans and people who adopt them.

Even yesterday's... more

Continued from here. I'm not saying Jo Rowling is intentionally bankrolling clapping with one hand and sacrificing children on the alter of 'Gee, the numbers look good', but the CHLG does make me very nervous, and she is a founder ... along with Emma Nicholson, and given her history she really breaks me out in hives of anxiety and has me worrying about the kids who just might end... more