Madonna to adopt another African child

MADONNA is set to travel to Malawi this weekend to adopt a second child, it was revealed today.

Government officials said the singer will attend a procedural hearing at the High Court on Monday.

An official at the Malawian department of women and child welfare told the BBC that the pop star had already filed adoption papers and her case could be heard as early as next week.

Madonna's spokeswoman in New York, Liz Rosenberg, would not comment.

But a US government official speaking under condition of anonymity told Reuters news agency that an adoption bid was under way.

The star met David Banda at an orphanage in 2006 and brought him back to the UK. The adoption was confirmed last year.

The 50-year-old star has two biological children - Rocco, her son with former husband Guy Ritchie, and Lourdes, whose father is Carlos Leon.
Film director Ritchie and Madonna's divorce was finalised in November.

Malawi does not as a rule approve adoptions for single or divorced people, but the official at the country's welfare department said that each case was considered on merit.