Madonna to appeal for Mercy!

....I like this headline, I think it is worthy of a Sun sub-editor :-) .

Well you have all probably heard the news by now, a Malawian Judge has turned down Madonna's plea to adopt Mercy James, the Malawian baby girl.

Madonna had hopped over to Malawi to pick up a baby sister for her son David Banda (also from Malawi) and things seemed to be going according to plan. There was the expected outrage from civil groups both in Malawi and abroad, but nothing she hadn't dealt with before. The Malawian government seemed happy with the whole arrangement, so what was there to worry about?

Or so it seemed, then enter Judge Esme Chombo. It seems this esteemed member of Malawian judiciary wasn't with the plan. The Judge turned down Madonna's application saying

"It is necessary that we look beyond the petitioner ... and consider the consequences of opening the doors too wide, by removing the very safeguard that is supposed to protect our children, the courts ... could actually facilitate trafficking of children by some unscrupulous individuals."

Chombo said while other foreigners have adopted children from Malawi, but the only case in which some residency requirement was waived was Madonna's when she took David Banda out of the Malawi in 2006 before the adoption was finalized in 2008.

The battle is not over as Madonna is allowed an appeal, and an appeal is just what she intends as her Malawian lawyer Alan Chinula has already filed notice to appeal for Mercy.

Madonna and her Malawian babies...

Another year and another Malawian baby adoption by Madonna. It looks like the pop star cannot get enough of cute Malawian babies. In 2006 in controversial circumstances it is alleged by some that she bulldozed her way through Malawian law to adopt David Banda, despite David's father still being alive.

Development charities and talking heads were outraged, Malawians were divided and the Paparazzi added a new name to the list of celebrity kids they needed to keep tabs on. As is the case with such things the controversy faded away. Baby David settled into his new multi-millionaire lifestyle with new superstar parents Guy Ritchie and Madonna.

Tow years later and Madonna developed a new adoption itch, reports have it that Guy Ritchie was having none of this and it is cited as one of the reason their marriage broke up. With no Guy to put a dampener of her plans, Madonna has thrown herself into her new adoption and has her sights on a four-year old Mercy James.

Again the the adoption is proving controversial, but Madonna seems undeterred as she has stormed Malawi with her entire brood, Lourdes, Rocco and David and has attended court hearings to formalise the adoption. With the Malawian government backing her it all looks pretty much sewn up.