Madonna takes David to visit orphanage as she's branded a 'bully' over Mercy adoption bid

Madonna takes David to visit orphanage as she's branded a 'bully' over Mercy adoption bid




Madonna's adopted son David now lives a life of incredible privilege, but today the toddler reconnected with his roots at a centre for orphans in Malawi.

The pop star, who is awaiting the outcome of her adoption bid for Mercy James, took her son to visit a school which has been built by her Kaballah-influenced charity Raising Malawi.

He waved eagerly at the young pupils as he arrived and was keen to show off his guitar-playing skills, presumably taught to him by his musical mother.


VIP visit: Madonna took her son David to a centre for orphans in Malawi which she set up through her Raising Malawi charity


Nice to see you again: David gave an enthusiastic wave to the centre's children, who looked a little wary of his arrival

But the group of more than 20 children seemed unfazed, if a little wary, of his presence.

The visit was a stark example of the life he has left behind following his adoption by Madonna in 2006.

Earlier today, David was reunited with his biological father for the first time since he was taken to New York.

Yohane Banda, who had criticized Madonna for not bringing David to see him sooner, revealed the three-year-old Malawi native did not recognise him.


Look what I can do: David, who now counts one of the world's biggest pop star's as his mother, showed off his new skills on a toy guitar

‘I was very happy to see him,’ Mr Banda said, after spending two and a half hours with his son at the exclusive lodge where Madonna is staying. ‘He asked me who I was.’

Madonna's arrival in the country has been plagued by controversy.

She was today branded a ‘bully’ by an African human rights group over her plans to adopt a little girl.

The Human Rights Consultative Committee claimed the singer was using her power and money to speed up the adoption process and take four-year-old Mercy James out of Malawi.

‘We feel Madonna is behaving like a bully,’ chairman Undule Mwakusungura said.


Memorable moments: Madonna's daughter Lourdes was seen taking photographs during the visit

‘She has the money and the status to use her profile to manipulate, to fast-track the process.’

Madonna, 50, came under fire just hours after she attended a private court hearing in Malawi, to try and secure the adoption of her second African child.

The Material Girl singer spent an hour before a judge in the country’s capital, Lilongwe, only to be told there would be no decision before Friday.

Court official Thomson Ligowe confirmed that the singer’s application had been adjourned, but refused to reveal any further details.



Judgement day: Madonna arrived at a Malawi court today seeking permission to adopt a second child however the case has been adjourned until Friday

Madonna, who split from husband Guy Ritchie last year, faced a similar backlash during her adoption of David.

Children’s advocacy groups accused the singer of wielding her wealth and influence to circumvent Malawian adoption laws.

Her critics claimed she had avoided an 18 to 24-month assessment period which was usually required before an adoption could take place.

The pop star’s attempted adoption of Mercy has sparked more fury and concerns from children’s groups about her suitability as a now single parent.
Family values: Lourdes accompanied her mother on the trip to collect her new sister Mercy

Family affair: Madonna, seen here with her daughter, arrived in Malawi yesterday to collect her 'daughter' Mercy

The child’s grandmother and uncles have also claimed they do not want to let the youngster go and have been given no clear idea of what the future holds.

But the family said they had been persuaded to give her up for adoption over the last two years, ever since Madonna first clapped eyes on the little girl.

Madonna met Mercy at Kodanani Children’s Village in the southern town of Bvumbwe, during her first visit to Malawi in October 2006.

Mercy’s mother, Mwandida, died aged 18, five days after giving birth to her. Her father, James, denied responsibility for the baby and cannot be traced.

The court docket listed the four-year-old’s name as ‘Chifundo' James, which means ‘Mercy’ in the local language.
learning English: Madonna's daughter Mercy

Learning English: Madonna hopes to take four-year-old Mercy James back with her to New York
Mercy with her uncles John and Peter and grandmother Anaphiri

More controversy: Mercy's uncles John Ngalande, Peter Baneti and grandmother Anaphiri say they do not want Madonna to take the child away

Madonna arrived in Malawi with Lourdes, 12, Rocco, 8, and David on Sunday and toured the village of Chinkhota, where she is planning to build a school.

The singer was photographed examining a 3D plan of the proposed building, but local residents were less than enthusiastic about the idea.

‘She has bought all this land and we are told everyone will lose their gardens and have their houses demolished,’ 43-year-old villager Lucy Chagoma said.


Malawi customs: The singer ordered her daughter to 'Say "Muli bwanji", which means 'How are you', as she greeted members of the village

Another resident, Esinati Nkhoma, said villagers were worried that they would not receive compensation for their land.

‘We are told to leave our gardens after this year's harvest, we are told our houses are to be pulled down but nobody is talking about compensation,’ she said. ‘Where will we move to?’

Charles Kalemba, the Lilongwe District Commissioner, said compensation was being handled by the government and officials from Madonna’s charity Raising Malawi.

‘Everyone will definitely be compensated,’ he insisted.
Madonna

Roaming free: Madonna recently split up with Jesus Luz, who was seen taking his dog for a walk in Ipanema, Rio de Janeiro, over the weekend

Forget Madonna's punishing exercise regime... the key to youthful looks is a healthy appetite

Forget Madonna's punishing exercise regime... the key to youthful looks is a healthy appetite



Forget punishing exercise routines and restrictive diets, the key to looking young is having a healthy appetite.

Research shows that being thin is what ages us most, with plump cheeks and soft features making women appear younger.

So strong is the link that the loss of just 10lb in weight - around a dress size - can age a woman by some four years.

Experts said the U.S. study showed that dieting does not always have the desired effects on looks.

Rajiv Grover, secretary of the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons, said: 'It's not wrinkles and lines that make people look older, it's changes in the shape of the face.

'People have this thing about being thin. It perhaps gives them a slimmer body but they certainly age in the face more quickly.'

The US researchers made the link between weight and perceived age after studying 200 pairs of identical twins for two years.

Identical twins share all their genes and so any differences in their looks had to be explained by their lifestyle, rather than their DNA.

The body mass index of each twin was calculated by dividing their weight in kilograms by their height in metres squared.

The ideal BMI for an adult is between 18.5 and 25. A BMI of below 18.5 is classed as underweight, while above 25 is considered overweight and above 30 obese.

The study showed a clear link between BMI and the age the women were perceived to be.

Researcher Dr Bahaman Guyuron said: ''The twins were divided into groups based on a four-point BMI difference.

'A BMI higher by four points was found to result in a younger appearance of between two and four years in women over 40 years old.'

In some cases, this meant that a difference in weight of as little as 10lb added four years to a woman's appearance, the Plastic and Reconstructive Journal reports.

Mr Grover, a consultant plastic surgeon at King Edward VII Hospital in London, said that while most people will find their cheeks start to lose their plumpness from around the age of 38, extreme dieters have the most to worry about.

He said: 'People who are trying to stay stick thin lose weight from their face sooner than they would otherwise and those is extremely ageing.


Drastic weight loss: Fern Britton has dropped from a size 22 (right) to a slimmer 14-16 (left) after having a gastric band operation in 2006

'This volume loss can be compounded by yo-yo dieting , where not only do you create volume loss, but also stretching of the facial supporting ligaments due to repeated facial volume gain and loss, which causes deeper nose to mouth lines and jowls.

'The more fat that is preserved in the face, particularly the cheeks, the more you will preserve the facial proportions of youth.'




Marital status was also found to impact on the ageing process, with women who were divorced looking older than their married or single counterparts.

'The twin who is divorced appears about 1.7 years older than the twin who is not divorced,' said Dr Guyuron, of Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio.

Suffering from depression also had an ageing effect, as did smoking, drinking and sunbathing.

But those going through tough times should not fret too much.

Dr Linda Papadopoulos, a psychologist and relationship expert, said: 'You shouldn't look at it and think, "I'm divorced and depressed etc, so that's it..."

'If you really turn it on its head, its encouraging because it suggests that if you learn to cope with stress and learn to accept your body, then you cannot only change the way you think, but the way you look too.'

Dr Guyuron said: 'What we've essentially discovered is that, when it comes to your face, it is possible to cheat your biological clock.'

Star's angry ex nanny reveals: "I couldn't take any more ****"

It's just all too Madge




Star's angry ex nanny reveals: "I couldn't take any more ****"



THE nanny who walked out on Madonna has revealed the torment she suffered working for the fiery star.

Angela Jacobsen said she suddenly quit last week because she couldn't put up with "this s*** any more".

Now the 29-year-old Australian is taking legal advice over the confidentiality agreement she says she was forced to sign.

Angela-who looked after the star's adopted son David Banda-says she handed in her notice only to be sacked by Madonna, 50, a few days later.

She is now back at her Melbourne home after spilling out the nightmare of working 24 hours a day, seven days a week for the diva on her Facebook page.

"Not putting up (with) this s*** any more. Never have, never will," Angela wrote.

"Standing up for my rights regardless of consequence. Sick of always being the one who compromises."

Her website posting on March 19 said the decision "was sudden and unexpected".

Angela-who has also worked for a tennis star-added: "Highly qualified and experienced nanny seeking work! Who wants me?! I'll survive, they breed them tough in Australia!"

Angela's internet revelations paint Madge in poor light as she prepares to fly to Malawi to adopt a second African child-a baby girl.



She is already hugely dependent on a team of carers who look after her three children-Lourdes, Rocco and David.

Angela is understood to have been under contract until the end of June. She arrived home on Friday with her new boyfriend, after holidaying in Thailand and has engaged a lawyer to help her negotiate a settlement with Madonna.

A friend said: "She was sick of traipsing around the world looking after other people's children.

"Her plan was to be home and be settled by the time she was 30."

Angela's brother, Brad, has revealed his sister is too frightened to speak out for fear of being sued. "Madonna is a pretty private sort of person," Brad Jacobsen said.

"Angela was coming up to the end of her two year contract and had made the decision not to continue.

"She hasn't said much about it because she is very worried about getting sued. She told me a while ago that she didn't want to go back to Madonna."

But a friend said it was still a shock when Madonna told her to leave immediately two hours before she was due to go on her annual month-long leave.

"Angela was incredibly upset and very surprised because she had been told about the second adoption and thought she was badly needed for a few more months," said a friend.

"She had previously handed in her notice and always planned to leave anyway, but she was shocked to have her employment terminated so abruptly.".

Madonna is known to be a demanding boss.

"All Madonna's employees work incredibly long hours, so it's no surprise that Angela had had enough," a source said.

"If you work for Madonna you are on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week. There's no such thing as a weekend."

A spokesman for the star said: "I do not comment on household issues but I can assure you that David and Madonna's other two children are very well taken care of at all times."

Officials Confirm Madonna Is Adopting 3-Year-Old Girl, Mercy

Officials Confirm Madonna Is Adopting 3-Year-Old Girl, Mercy





Officials have confirmed Madonna is adopting a 3-year-old girl, Mercy James, from Malawi.

"The adoption is going ahead," Malawi's Director of Child Welfare Services, Penstone Kilembe, tells Usmagazine.com. "It has been at an advanced stage for some time."

Mercy will be Madonna's fourth child, and second child from the African country. David Banda, 3, was adopted in 2006.



Although the Associated Press reports that the girl's father is alive, an official at the ministry of Gender and Child Development told Reuters that she "has no father and mother, they both died...We finished the assessment yesterday in readiness for the courts next week."



Madonna is due in court Monday. Her rep Liz Rosenberg has yet to comment.

Earlier this week, New York's Daily News reported that Madonna's attempts to adopt again could be hindered due to her love life.

"Our official policy is that we do not encourage our children to be sent into broken homes," a senior official from Malawi's Ministry of Women and Child Welfare Development said of the singer, who has romanced 22-year-old model Jesus Luz and Alex Rodriguez since divorcing Guy Ritchie last year. "Her relationships may negatively affect the adoption of Mercy."



Madonna has expressed interest in wanting to adopt another child.

"Many people - especially our Malawian friends - say that David should have a Malawian brother or sister," she recently told Malawi's The Nation newspaper. "It's something I have been considering but would only do if I had the support of the Malawian people and the government."