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)

Dermot O'Leary upsets Celine Dion

Dermot O'Leary upsets Celine Dion

Television receiver sponsor Dermot O'Leary has admitted that singer Celine Dion was overturn when he burn her away as she was discussing the 'X Factor' contestants with him.
The giver told Heating system magazine that Dion was tidal bore to speak roughly wholly the contestants on the demo simply said that he didn't have time.
O'Leary said: "The thing was, she very wouldn't stop, and I had producers in my pinna relation me that if she carried on assignment every single act on the point and telling us what she view of them, we'd fall off the air before we got to the actual results."
"So I literally had to shut her up, and only had to say something. She has that real Quebecois stare. Her management weren't happy around it," he said.
O'Leary afterwards offered to apologize to Dion merely claims that his bosses told him non to, saying: "No mode. You were great with her".