Madonna's plans to adopt another child are in tatters because she is getting divorced.
The "4 Minutes" singer - who announced her split from director Guy Ritchie last month - has been in negotiations with officials in Malawi for two years to care for three-year-old Mercy James but has now reportedly been told she will not be allowed to adopt the girl because they do not approve of children being placed with single or recently divorced parents.
Penston Kilembe, Malawi's director of Child Welfare Services, told Grazia magazine: "One fundamental condition in scrutinizing adoptions is the connectedness of a family. We can't approve a child to go into a broken family because the divorce could be the result of the behavior of the party trying to adopt."
"Madonna should forget this one."
Madonna - who adopted another Malawian tot, David Banda, now three, in 2005 - became aware of Mercy's plight when she met her at an orphanage in 2006.
The child's family have been opposed to her adoption, insisting they want her back "when she is no longer a baby."
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