La cour du Malawi retarde la décision sur l'adoption de Madonna à la semaine prochaine.


Malawi court delays Madonna adoption ruling

LILONGWE (Reuters) - Malawi's High Court has delayed its final ruling on whether U.S. pop diva Madonna may adopt a two-year-old Malawian boy until next week, her lawyer said on Thursday.
"We are finished with the proceedings today from our side, and the judge has decided to reserve his ruling on the case until next week because he has to review the recommendations from the Malawi Human Rights Commission on the adoption laws of Malawi," Alan Chinula said.
The Human Rights Commission is set up by the government. Its position on the adoption of toddler David Banda has not been made public. An exact date for next week's ruling was not announced.
The adoption has been controversial, with critics accusing the government of skirting laws that ban non-residents from adopting children in Malawi, which has been ravaged by an AIDS epidemic leaving more than one million orphans.
But Malawi's government and David's father -- his only surviving parent -- had endorsed the adoption, and a local rights group that had opposed the case said earlier this week it was no longer interested in pursuing the case, removing another obstacle.
Madonna could not attend the court session on Thursday because she was too busy with other engagements, her lawyer said earlier this week.
Madonna began adoption proceedings for David in 2006 and the boy has been living with her and her film director husband Guy Ritchie in their London home since then. She took David when he was 13 months old after his father had placed him in an orphanage following the death of his wife.
(Editing by Caroline Drees)

Source: Reuters.


Malawi court to rule on Madonna adoption bid next week

LILONGWE (AFP) - A court in Malawi will not deliver its ruling on whether Madonna can permanently adopt a three-year-old boy from one of Africa's poorest countries until next week, the star's lawyer said Thursday.
High court Judge Andrew Nyirenda had been expected to hand down his verdict after a closed-door hearing in the capital Lilongwe but Madonna's attorney told reporters that the outcome would now be known next week.
"The ruling will be made next week," said Alan Chinula.
"Today all arguments were presented in the court and the social welfare officer also presented his report to the court.
"The court said there were favourable reports and I am hopeful that the ruling will be favourable as well."
Madonna has had temporary custody of the youngster, David Banda, since October 2006 but she wants the interim order to be made permanent.
A report compiled after a social worker visited David at the London home of Madonna and her British film-maker husband Guy Ritchie has recommended that the adoption be allowed.

Source: AFP.


Ruling on Madonna adoption bid is postponed
By Raphael Tenthani, Associated Press

LILONGWE, Malawi — Madonna won't know until next week whether a Malawian boy she found in an orphanage in 2006 will become a permanent member of her family, her lawyer said Wednesday.
Lawyer Alan Chinula had expected the judge to rule on the adoption Wednesday but said the hearing was delayed after a Malawian human rights group presented arguments on "shortcomings" in the southern African nation's adoption laws.
Chinula said the group was not challenging the adoption and he expected it to be approved next week.
The pop star and her husband, film director Guy Ritchie, were not present at Thursday's hearing in the Malawian capital. They have been caring for the boy, David Banda, in London. He turns 3 in November.
Chief Social Welfare Officer Simon Chisale, the official overseeing the adoption, paid the Ritchies two home visits, writing in a report that Madonna was a "perfect mum" for David.
Malawi Human Rights Commission lawyer Grace Malera confirmed that she argued before the judge on anomalies in the current adoption laws, but refused to give details. Local human rights activists have accused the government of bending Malawi's strict adoption laws because of Madonna's celebrity status.
David's mother died when he was just a month old. His father has said he believed he could not care for him alone, and that placing him in an orphanage was the best way to ensure David's survival. The father has said he did not object to Madonna adopting David.
Madonna found David while establishing charity projects in Malawi. She is currently funding her own and six other orphanages in the country.
Her Raising Malawi organization also announced that the singer is funding a multimillion-dollar academy for disadvantaged children in Malawi.
I Am Because We Are, a new documentary Madonna produced and narrated, shows poverty and disease devastating the lives of Malawi's children, and urges people to volunteer.

Source: AP.

Journal du Royaume-Uni: Madonna recherche une fille au Cambodge.
 

"THE SUN"

Le cas d'adoption de Madonna au Malawi proche de la conclusion.


Tue May 13, 4:55 PM ET

BLANTYRE, Malawi - Madonna's bid to adopt a Malawian toddler she found in an orphanage in 2006 is likely to be approved in court this week, her lawyer said Tuesday.
Alan Chinula said Madonna's legal team and government representatives would be in Lilongwe High Court on Thursday.
The pop star and her husband, film director Guy Ritchie, are not required to be present. Judge Andrew Nyirenda will review two reports by Malawian officials overseeing the adoption of 2-year-old David Banda.
"We are confident he will grant the Ritchies permanent custody order," said Chinula.
Chief social welfare officer Simon Chisale wrote two glowing reports, describing Madonna a "perfect mum" for David, who was sickly and malnourished when she found him at the Home of Hope Orphanage. His mother died shortly after childbirth and his father was too poor to take care of him. He has since been with Madonna and her family in Britain.
Nyirenda said in court proceedings in October 2006 that he would automatically revoke the temporary custody order if he was convinced David was being treated differently from the Ritchies' other children, Lourdes and Rocco, or that his human rights were being violated in any way.
Some child's rights groups have criticized the adoption, saying it would be better to provide more resources so that children can be cared for in their native countries.
Madonna has set out to prove she is helping to do that. She has set up a charity called Raising Malawi, and she is funding six more orphanages outside the capital, Lilongwe, that provide education and food for about 4,000 children.
She produced a documentary "I Am Because We Are," which shows poverty and disease devastating the lives of Malawi's children, and urges people to volunteer to help.

Source: AP.

La cour du Malawi va approuver l'adoption de Madonna; présence de Madonna incertaine.


Malawi court set to approve Madonna adoption
by Felix Mponda
Tue May 13, 10:27 AM ET

LILONGWE (AFP) - Pop star Madonna is expected to hear from a court in Malawi this week that her controversial application to adopt a three-year-old boy from one of Africa's poorest countries has been approved.
More than 18 months after the US singer and her British film-maker husband Guy Ritchie began the process of trying to add young David Banda to their family, the high court in Lilongwe was expected to grant permanent custody at a hearing on Thursday despite a previous lack of rules on international adoption.
According to a document compiled by a social worker that will be presented to the court, the ministry of women and child development has recommended a temporary 18-month custody order be turned into a permanent adoption.
"Mr and Mrs Ritchie have shown a strong commitment in providing the infant with all essential needs like love, safe home environment, care, protection, material as well as emotional support," said the report which was compiled after visits to the family home in London, and which has been leaked to AFP.
The document said David, who was placed in an orphanage by his peasant farmer Yohane Banda after his mother died in childbirth, had "bonded well with the couple as other key members of the household" and "continues to develop into a happy thriving toddler."
"His survival, growth and development is excellent," it said.
The father, who comes from a dusty rural outpost in the central region of Mchinji near the Zambian border, has given his backing to the adoption so that his son can escape a life of grinding poverty.
"Madonna is helping to take David out of poverty and possible death from diseases, and yet these people want to spoil everything," Yohane Banda told AFP in an interview after Madonna first applied for custody.
More than half of Malawi's population live on less than a dollar a day and the country is one of the world's worst affected by AIDS with about 14 percent of its 12 million people infected with HIV.
Madonna meanwhile is the world's highest paid female singer, and recently signed a 120-million-dollar (78-million-euro) deal with the concert promoter Live Nation to handle all her artistic output over the next 10 years.
Having given birth to a daughter, Lourdes, and a son, Rocco, Madonna was won over by tiny David on a visit to an AIDS orphanage in October 2006.
Critics have accused her of using her vast wealth to fast-track the adoption process, a charge she has vigorously denied.
"I assure you it doesn't matter who you are or how much money you have, nothing goes fast in Africa," she told chat show host Oprah Winfrey.
Although Madonna herself has been widely praised for her charity work in Malawi, the adoption case triggered a storm of controversy in the southeast African nation.
A coalition of 67 local rights groups have challenged the interim custody order on the grounds that existing laws in Malawi do not allow for international adoptions.
Maxwell Matewere, a spokesman of the group, wants the court to impose tough conditions on Madonna until new laws are passed allowing foreigners to easily adopt children.
"We fear other foreigners might take advantage of the current laws and adopt children using Madonna as an example for trafficking and sex abuses," he said.
Alan Chinula, Madonna's attorney in Malawi who has handled six previous adoptions by foreigners, insists that "we followed the law to the letter."
It was not immediately clear whether Madonna herself would be present in court as she can in theory sign the adoption documents at a later stage.

Source: AFP.

Magazine de France: Madonna au Festival du Film de Tribeca à NY.

World Premiere of "I Am Because We Are".  Première mondiale de "I Am Because We Are".

"Oops!"
 

Tuesday, May 13 2008, 12:45 BST
By Simon Reynolds, Entertainment Reporter

Kelly Rowland has defended Madonna's recent diva behaviour.
The ex-Destiny's Child singer insisted that Madonna has every right to be a diva because "she's freakin' Madonna".
The pop icon reportedly angered organisers and fellow artists at last weekend's Radio 1 Big Weekend event after she landed by helicopter on a nearby cricket pitch during a game, demanded Kabbalah water backstage and allowed her huge entourage to take food and alcohol reserved for other artists.
Rowland is quoted as saying: "Madonna can have anything she wants. If she only wants red Skittles then get her red Skittles, she's freakin' Madonna! And if she wants a huge trailer, get her a huge trailer."
Madonna's Big Weekend appearance followed shows in New York and Paris to support her Hard Candy album.

Source: Digital Spy.


Kelly Rowland soutient les demandes de diva de Madonna.

Kelly Rowland a défendu le récent comportement de diva de Madonna.
L'ex-chanteuse des Destiny's Child a insisté sur le fait que Madonna a tous les droits d'être une diva car "elle est Madonna".
L'icône de la pop a irrité les organisateurs et les artistes à l'événement du Grand Week-end de Radio 1 du week-end dernier après qu'elle ait atterri  par hélicoptère sur un cricket voisin pendant un jeu, a exigé l'eau de Kabbalah en coulisses et a permis à son énorme entourage de prendre l'alimentation et l'alcool réservé pour d'autres artistes.
Rowland est citée disant: "Madonna peut avoir tout ce qu'elle veut. Si elle veut seulement des Quilles rouges alors donnez-lui ses Quilles rouges, elle est Madonna! Et si elle veut une caravane énorme, donnez-lui une caravane énorme."
L'apparition de Madonna au Grand Week-end a suivi des shows à New York et Paris pour soutenir son album Hard Candy.