PAPA

130,000 malnourished kids in one decade
July 28, 2010 (Wednesday)

More than 130,000 children in Malaysia were malnourished between 2000 and last year.

Deputy Health Minister Datuk Rosnah Abdul Rashid Shirlin said of the 130,888 children, 2,882 were found to be undernourished last year and given food baskets with 45.9% of them being orang asli.

She said that RM2.4mil was allocated to provide nutritious food to 77,659 malnourished children aged below five years.

Rosnah said the allocation was part of the programme to ensure that children obtained the right food intake to ensure good growth.

“Of the number, 53,229 cases have been provided with food baskets and 24.3% of them have shown good progress,” she said, at a food basket distribution programme in Kampung Penderas in Kuala Krau here on Monday.

Her speech was read by the ministry’s management division deputy secretary-general Datuk Ahmad Shafii Saidin.

Rosnah also said the country’s children food status for those aged five and below was found to be good registering 93% and of normal body weight.

As for the orang asli children from the same age group in Kuala Krau, Rosnah said they were medium-sized with 73% having normal body weight.

“Since there are means to improve their condition, the ministry has put in place programmes and activities to enhance their awareness and knowledge on the importance of providing nutritious food to the children.

“The programme is conducted for orang asli nationwide,” she added. Source

Malaysia mulls pregnant teen school to curb dumping
July 27, 2010 (Tuesday)

A Malaysian state is considering establishing a school for pregnant teenagers, to curb an alarming epidemic of "baby dumping", a report said Monday.

The chief minister of Malacca state, Mohamad Ali Rustam, said according to the New Straits Times that the school was among strategies including encouraging pregnant girls to marry.

Only married teens will be allowed to attend the school.

"For unmarried teenagers, they also can be part of the school but with one condition -- they must marry the baby's father," Ali said.

Authorities in Muslim-majority Malaysia are grappling with the problem of rising numbers of abandoned infants, often dumped dead or dying in the streets or on rubbish dumps.

"This problem has become a disease of sorts. We cannot just turn our backs and think that this is not our problem," Ali said according to the English-language daily.

"Baby dumping cases usually happen among the Muslim community as teenagers were desperate to conceal their pregnancies. Some of the girls were also disowned by their families," he said.

"They do not perform abortions as this is prohibited in Islam. So, they take the shortcut to solve their problem by dumping their newborns. We do not want this to continue. It has to be stopped."

The chief minister said Malacca was considering establishing a special school for pregnant girls to encourage them to continue with their education and to protect their unborn children.

"In the event normal schools cannot accept pregnant girls, we are going to build a school just for them," he reportedly said, adding that youngsters from other states could also attend.

"This school will cater to those who are legitimately married." Source

Windows Shoppers
July 26, 2010 (Monday)

Credit: Central Image Agency

The family that shops together, stays together! Katie Holmes treats daughter Suri, 4 and stepdaughter Isabella, 17, to a shopping excursion Sunday in Toronto. Holmes has been in town filming the History Channel's miniseries The Kennedys. Source

Inception
July 18, 2010 (Sunday)

Datuk, wife and six others held in baby trafficking probe
July 16, 2010 (Friday)

KUCHING: A luxury car dealer who is a Datuk, his wife and six others involved in a suspected baby trafficking ring have been remanded for six days as two more children were rescued yesterday.

Magistrate Nelson W. Angang granted the remand order after considering the request by the police to carry out investigations under the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act, 2007 and to identify the children involved.

Police yesterday found a three-year-old toddler and 12-year-old girl in a house in Batu Kawa. This brings the number of rescued children to six.

The children were all brought to court yesterday and some of the babies were crying uncontrollably.

It is learnt that they were initially supposed to be sent to a shelter in Kuala Lumpur but were later placed under the custody of the state Welfare Department.

Police believe the 43-year-old Datin could be the mastermind of the alleged syndicate.

She and her husband, who is 65, were detained at their house at Jalan Stampin Tengah on Wednesday morning when the police “rescued” three children at their residence.

All three children have documentation; one infant girl was registered with a couple, while two boys were registered under another couple.

The two couples, who were also remanded, are believed to be the Datin’s relatives. Red more

Kids 'rescued' in suspected baby trafficking case
July 15, 2010 (Thursday)

KUCHING: Barely 48 hours after rescuing a three-week old baby, police here “rescued” three more children in a suspected baby trafficking case.

A 27-day-old girl, a seven-month-old boy and another 35-month-old boy – were found in a house here during a raid yesterday morning.

A well-known local businessman and his wife have been called in to give their statements together with five others.

Sarawak CID chief SAC II Huzir Mohamed said all three babies found yesterday had documentation.

“The children all have birth certificates and a check with the National Registration Department confirmed it.

“However, we want to be very sure and will conduct a DNA test to ascertain if the couple detained are the biological parents,’’ he said, adding that if they were the real parents, they would be released.

SAC Huzir said initial investigations revealed that the 27-da old girl was registered with a couple while the two boys were registered under another couple.

The two couples and another man who were at the scene were taken to the police station to facilitate investigations.

“We are still investigating whether any crime was committed. We need to investigate and wait for the DNA results to establish if there is any link among the suspects,” he said.

On the involvement of the prominent businessman and his wife, Huzir said they had come voluntarily to clarify certain issues. Read more

Céline Dion Expecting Twin Boys
July 12, 2010 (Monday)

Lilly Palmberger/CelebrityPhoto

Come November, Céline Dion will be mom to a brood of boys.

The singer, 42, and husband René Angelil, who announced that they were expecting twins after a sixth in-vitro fertilization attempt earlier this year, confirmed on Dion's official Web site Friday that she will have two more sons.

"Céline first announced the upcoming new additions to the Angelil-Dion family back in May, and now she just revealed that she is expecting twin boys," the statement reads. Source

Megan Fox might be pregnant, hence sudden marriage
July 12, 2010 (Monday)

AP File Photo

Now, that explains why hottie Megan Fox and on-off boyfriend-now-husband Brian Austin Green suddenly decided to get hitched: she might be expecting a baby.

According to tabloid The Star, eyewitnesses claimed that the 24-year-old was 'glowing' when she was on her honeymoon with Brian in Hawaii recently, fuelling rumours that it was actually a pregnancy glow and they got married because she was pregnant. Brian was also seen giving Megan's little pats on her tummy on several occasions.

An eyewitness said: "Brian patted Megan's tummy and gave her a long, loving look... It made me think that she's carrying his baby!" Wait, did we just hear hearts breaking? Source

Pregnant Alicia Keys Falls On the Stage
July 09, 2010 (Friday)

Baby hatch boy gets new home
July 07, 2010 (Wednesday)

The baby boy abandoned at the baby hatch last week has been adopted.

“The adoptive couple was carefully selected from some 80 shortlisted eligible parents,” said OrphanCARE president Datuk Adnan Mohd.

The baby hatch, set up on May 29 by OrphanCARE, received its first baby on June 27 when an unmarried couple in their early 20s left the newborn there.

“The baby’s parents were counselled and they decided that the baby would be better off with OrphanCARE,” Adnan said in a statement yesterday, adding that the baby was released to the adoptive couple yesterday.

To maintain the confidentiality of both the biological and adoptive parents, no other infor­mation pertaining to the adoption and the baby would be released, he said.

Adnan said Welfare Department officers would make regular visits to the adoptive family to ensure the well-being of the baby.

The baby hatch, located at 6, Jalan SS1/24A, Kampung Tunku here, is run by OrphanCARE, a partner of the Women, Family and Com­munity Development Ministry.

It is a non-profit organisation whose objective is to give orphans and abandoned babies the love, care and security of a family in line with its tagline “Every Child Needs a Family”.

With the establishment of the baby hatch, Adnan hoped there would be a reduction in the number of babies being dumped.

OrphanCARE’s aim is to discourage women, especially young unwed mothers, from abandoning their newborn and instead have them placed with caring parents. Source

Cristiano Ronaldo is a baby daddy!
July 05, 2010 (Monday)

AP File Photo

After a shocking defeat to Spain in the on-going World Cup, Portuguese winger Cristiano Ronaldo has made another shocking revelation: he has just become the father of a baby boy!

The 25-year-old made the announcement on his Facebook page as well as his Twitter account in the wee hours of Sunday morning (04.07.2010), and in the message, the flamboyant footie hunk has indicated that that he would bring up the child without the unnamed mother.

Cristiano said: "It is with great joy and emotion that I inform I have recently become father to a baby boy. As agreed with the baby's mother, who prefers to have her identity kept confidential, my son will be under my exclusive guardianship."

According to sources, the baby is very likely to be brought up by CR's family in his native Portugal and Ronaldo's mom and sis were preparing the documentation to take the child to Portugal. However, no one knows for sure whether CR had a fling with the mysterious woman or through a Michael Jackson-style arrangement.

The world's most expensive footballer - who is currently dating Russian lingerie model Irina Shayk - was linked to several beauties in the past: tennis player Maria Sharapova, 'Big Brother' star Imogen Thomas, socialite Paris Hilton and even reality TV star Kim Kardashian. But rumours are rife that the mysterious baby mama could well be 21-year-old Spanish model Raffaella Fico, who CR dated last September. Source

The Back-up Plan
July 04, 2010 (Sunday)

Safe haven for unwanted babies welcomes first infant
July 01, 2010 (Thursday)

The one-day-old baby was born to a young, unmarried couple in their early 20s yesterday.

“The couple, who concealed the pregnancy from their families, were at a loss whether to keep the baby but decided that he would be better off with OrphanCare.

“However, they will come to a decision soon whether the baby should be put up for adoption,” OrphanCare president Datuk Adnan Tahir said in a statement yesterday.

He said the centre had over 300 potential adoptive parents and he was confident of finding good parents for the baby should his biological parents decide not to keep him.

He appealed to other couples facing a similar predicament to approach the centre for counselling and assistance. OrphanCARE is a non-profit and non-governmental organisation whose objective is to give orphans and abandoned babies in Malaysia the love, care and security of a family in line with its tagline “Every Child Needs a Family”.

Located at 6, SS1/24A, Kampung Tunku here, the hatch is run by OrphanCARE, a partner of the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry.

Adnan had said women who dropped off their babies were encouraged to sign a consent form and leave their identification card numbers, which would be kept confidential.

The forms are placed outside the centre next to the hatch, he said.

“The mothers’ details are important for the future of the babies,” he added. Source