This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/entertainment/7980951.stm

The article has changed 12 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 1 Version 2
Madonna 'fails in adoption bid' Madonna loses Malawi adoption bid
(10 minutes later)
A Malawian court has ruled that US pop star Madonna has failed in her bid to adopt a second child from the country, it has been reported. A Malawian court has ruled that US pop star Madonna has failed in her bid to adopt a second child from the country.
The singer was due to return to court on Friday to learn if she could adopt four-year-old Chifundo James. "I must have to decline to grant the application to Madonna," judge Esmie Chondo said in a ruling following a closed-door hearing on Friday.
An official of the Malawian government had backed Madonna's bid to adopt the child, whose name translates as Mercy. According to reports, the application has been rejected over residency rules.
But the Associated Press said the application had been rejected over residency rules. The 50-year-old singer flew into the southern African state on Sunday and applied to adopt four-year-old Chifundo James the following day.
The legal requirement states that prospective parents be resident in the country for 18 to 24 months. The Associated Press news agency said Madonna's application had been rejected because of a requirement that prospective parents be resident in the country for 18 to 24 months.
The ruling was witnessed by a judge and lawyer unconnected to the case who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity, AP said. It is not clear if Madonna was in court to hear the ruling or whether she plans to appeal against it.
Had Madonna's application been successful, the 14-month-old baby would have been a sister to David Banda, the first child Madonna adopted from the African country.
Chifundo, whose name translates into English as Mercy, is in the same orphanage that previously housed David, now three years old.