Malawi court refuses Madonna adoption

Madonna's hopes of adding yet another child to her growing family have been dealt a major blow today after a Malawian judge refused the singer permission to adopt four-year-old Chifundo "Mercy" James.

The 50-year-old pop star arrived in Malawi earlier this week accompanied by her eldest daughter Lourdes in order to begin adoption proceedings for Mercy but was told this morning that she will not be able to take the four-year-old girl home with her. According to reports, a judge has rejected the application over residency rules.

The ruling will please those who have expressed concern over Madonna's attempts to adopt a second child from Malawi. In 2006, she famously adopted one-year-old David Banda from an impoverished Malawian village. Her decision to adopt another child has been criticised by human rights and child advocacy groups who say that she is abusing her wealth and power as one of the world’s most famous women to bypass the mandatory assessment period of between 18 and 24 months.

Although it is not known if Madonna will appeal against the ruling, those who have followed the singer's mission to adopt Mercy will expect her to do so. The mother of four, who recently divorced director Guy Ritchie before taking up with a toyboy half her age, reportedly sacrificed her relationship with 22-year-old model Jesus Luz in order to impress Malawian officials. She announced their split on the social networking site Twitter just last week after enjoying a very public romance with Jesus since the New Year. ·