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Kids missing after outing with estranged father

Swedish police have issued a nationwide alert after two young children and their estranged father went missing on Saturday during a supervised visit to a popular Stockholm tourist attraction.

The two children, 5-year-old Ali and 7-year-old Amina, were visiting the Junibacken museum with their father Osama, the third such supervised visit they’ve had with him since June.

The children’s parents have been embroiled in a bitter custody battle since separating from one another in 2007.

“I just wanted my children back right now,” the children’s mother Anna, who has custody of Ali and Amina, told the Dagens Nyheter (DN) newspaper.

The mother’s attorney, Ia Sweger, told the newspaper that her client’s ex-husband had been handed a suspended sentence and fined for threatening the children’s mother and her new boyfriend last year.

The children have been living with their mother since May at an unlisted address.

But on a blog he maintains to highlight his struggle for his children, Osama claims that his ex-wife Anna took his children from him with Sweger’s help and that preparations began back in the summer of 2009.

He claims as well that her daughter was abused at the hands of his ex-wife's boyfriend.

According to information on his blog, the children’s father came to Sweden from Iraq in 1997 and met his now ex-wife in Stockholm in 1999.

He took Swedish citizenship in 2003, but has kept his Iraqi passport, raising fears on the part of his ex-wife, a native of Piteå in northern Sweden, that her ex-husband might attempt to flee with the children to Iraq.

“The whole time I’ve tried to get the authorities to understand that he could the kids and that it’s not enough to have one person as a supervisor,” Anna told DN.

But Osama claims that the notion he might flee to Iraq is a fabrication and that he has been discriminated against because of his background.

“An Iraqi non-practicing Muslim man with a name that people associate with one of our times biggest terrorists doesn’t have the same chances as a Swedish, unreligious woman,” he writes.

The man’s most recent blog post, dated October 7th, is a copy of a complaint letter he sent two days earlier to the Swedish Bar Association (Sveriges Advokatsamfundet) questioning Sweger’s credibility and professional competence.

Speaking with DN, Sweger disputed the version of events presented by her client’s ex husband.

“None of it’s true,” she said.

Swedish police on Saturday issued an arrest warrant for Osama, who is suspected of arbitrary conduct with a child. Authorities in Denmark, Norway, and Finland have been alerted, as has Interpol, according to the Expressen newspaper.

On Sunday, the children's father updated his blog and explained that his kids were safe and that he had no intention of leaving Sweden.

“I had a great time with my kids today; it's the first time in 190 days that the children have slept in my arms,” he wrote.

According to the Stockholm police, Amina was last seen wearing a red Hello Kitty dress and a black jacket, black boots, a red ribbon and a gray stocking hat. Ali had on jeans and a dark blue coat, tennis shoes and blue and orange stocking hat.

Police are asking anyone with information about the case to call the police tipline at 114 14.

 

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CHILDREN

What names do foreign nationals give their babies in Switzerland?

Each year for more than three decades, the Federal Statistical Office has been publishing the first names of infants born in Switzerland the previous year. It seems that foreigners favour names that are typical of their national background.

What names do foreign nationals give their babies in Switzerland?
Foreigners give their babies names that reflect their nationality. Photo by Keira Burton from Pexels

As The Local reported on Wednesday, the most popular names for newborn girls born in Switzerland in 2020 were Mia, Emma, and Mila.

For boys, Noah took the top spot, ahead of Liam and Matteo.

REVEALED: The most popular baby name in each Swiss canton

But what about the most popular names among various nationalities living in Switzerland?

The answers come from the same study.

Italy

The top name for boys of Italian parents is Giuseppe, followed by Antonio and Francesco. For girls, Maria is in the first place, Anna in the second, and Francesca in the third.

Portugal

There are many Portuguese immigrants living in Switzerland and, like their Italian counterparts, they like to give their children traditional names: José, Carlos and Manuel for boys, and Maria, Ana, and Sandra for girls.

Spain

Spanish names are similar to those of Portuguese babies.

José, Juan and Jose are most popular boy names, while Maria, Ana and Laura are in the top three spots for the girls.

Turkey

Most boys of Turkish descent are named Mehmet, Ali, and Mustafa. Among girls, Fatma, Ayse, and Elif dominate.

Kosovo

Arben, Vallon, and Bekim are top names for boys, and Fatime, Shquipe, and Merite for girls.

Macedonia

Bekim is in the first place for boys, followed by Muhamed and Fatmir. Among girls, Fatimr is in the lead, Sara in the second place, and Emine in the third.

Serbia

Aleksandar, Dragan and Nicola take the first three spots. For the girls, Jelena, Maria and Snezana are at the top.

Can you give your baby any name you want?

Not in Switzerland, you can’t. It’s important to keep in mind that the cantonal registry offices, where new births must be announced, don’t have to accept very unusual names.

Several years ago, for instance, a Zurich court ruled that parents can’t name their infant daughter ‘J’.

In another case, a couple in the canton of Bern were ordered to change the name of their newborn son because their choice – Jessico – was considered too feminine. 

Several names have been forbidden in Switzerland, including Judas, Chanel, Paris and Mercedes. 

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