A Malawian court has ruled that Madonna will not be allowed to adopt a second child from the country.
As previously reported, Madonna flew into Malawi on Sunday and applied to adopt four year old Chifundo 'Mercy' James the following day. Chifundo was living in the same orphanage as David Banda, the child the singer adopted from the country previously. But at a closed hearing this morning Judge Esmie Chondo told the court in Lilongwe: "I must have to decline to grant the application to Madonna".
According to the Associated Press, the application was rejected due to a rule that states parents wishing to adopt children from Malawi must have be resident in the country for 18 to 24 months. News that will please those against Madonna's second adoption, though they may be wondering why that rule wasn't applied first time round.
It is not yet known if Madonna plans to appeal the decision.