Mercy Chifundo James, the 3-year-old toddler adopted by Madonna, was secretly flown from her home country of Malawi into London early Saturday morning. “A private jet flew in from South Africa and collected her at five minutes to six last evening,” an airport source tells PEOPLE. “She connected to London from Johannesburg at 10:30 p.m.” Mercy, who will be joining big sister, Lourdes, brothers Rocco and David Banda, – also a 3-year-old from Malawi – was accompany by a nanny, a child nurse and another aide. Madonna has homes in England and in the United States … Madonna, who was seen leaving London by private jet Friday afternoon after earlier flying in from New York’s JFK airport, was still expected in Malawi, but no one could confirm when she would arrive. “There are still preparation for her coming,” said a source at Raising Malawi, the charity the singer set up in the African nation. “We still have a two-week booking at Kumbali Lodge.” The Lodge is an exclusive ranch Madonna has been staying during all three of her visits to Malawi. Owner Guy Pickering confirmed his place has been booked for two weeks but could not divulge more. “We don’t discuss our clients; that’s private information,” he said.

HMMM … all of this seems … wrong. My guess is that the report that Mercy left Malawi is a ruse to throw people off track. It seems more likely to me that the little girl was flown to the Kumbali Lodge to meet up with Madonna and co. to begin the bonding process. If the family is scheduled to be in Malawi for a couple of weeks then I’m sure that’s where everyone is meeting up. Whatever the case may be, I am happy to know that the adoption process is moving forward and things appear to be on track. Mercy will return home with her new family soon enough … but for now, bonding. Sounds like a good plan to me.

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Madonna can get “Mercy,” Malawi’s highest court ruled Friday. The court overruled a lower court, saying the pop star can adopt 3-year-old Chifundo “Mercy” James. Madonna’s lawyer Alan Chinula said he called her with the news “in the wee hours of morning in New York, but she is excited at the news.” Chinula said he would now arrange a passport for Chifundo, which could take several days, and was awaiting word from Madonna on travel plans for the girl … Peter Baneti, an uncle, said the family welcomed Friday’s ruling. “We hope Mercy will be joining Madonna soon,” he said by phone from his village just outside Blantyre. Madonna adopted a son, David, from Malawi last year, but her request to adopt Mercy was originally rejected in April when a lower court that said the star had not spent enough time in Malawi. But Chief Justice Lovemore Munlo, reading the three-judge appeal court panel’s ruling on Friday, said that was a narrow interpretation based on old laws and that “in this global village a man can have more than one place at which he resides.” He said the singer’s commitment to helping disadvantaged children also should have been taken into account in the decision. Madonna has founded a charity, Raising Malawi, which helps feed, educate and provide medical care for some of Malawi’s more than 1 million orphans, half of whom have lost a parent to AIDS … Chinula said that with Friday’s ruling, the adoption was final, as he had requested of the court. This could not immediately be confirmed. When Madonna adopted David, the process took months and included a child welfare official’s visit to Madonna’s home, which then was in London, to review her fitness as a mother. Chinula said none of this would be necessary this time. “What the Supreme Court has done is grant a full adoption,” he said. The appeal court ruling took more than an hour to read in court. “The matter of residence should be determined at the time of application of the adoption,” Chief Justice Munlo read. “In this case, Madonna was in Malawi not by chance but by intention. She is looking after several orphans whose welfare depends on her. She can therefore not be described as a sojourner.” The ruling also said the judges saw only two options for Chifundo; “either to stay at the orphanage without the love of family and live with the possibility of destitution, or be with Madonna where she is assured of love. “Every child has the right to love,” it said. Madonna met the girl in 2006 at Kondanani Children’s Village, an orphanage in Bvumbwe, just south of Blantyre. It was the same year she began the process of adopting David, whom she found at another orphanage in central Malawi. The girl’s 18-year-old mother was unmarried and died soon after she gave birth.

This adoption was a long time coming … I understand that Mercy was Madonna’s initial pick for adoption back in ‘06 but because of circumstances at the time, she adopted David Banda first. While there are many that do not agree with the circumstances surrounding this adoption, there is no doubt that little Mercy James will be loved and cared for for the rest of her life. She will have an older sister and brothers to play with and a mother who will love her unconditionally. I’m sure Madonna and her entire family are over the moon with relief and happiness that they have been allowed to add Mercy to their family. Congrats, Maddy!! Take care of that little girl, ya hear?

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Madonna will be allowed to adopt Malawian toddler Mercy James, 4, after all. Three Malawian appeal court judges will reverse the original verdict, blocking the singer’s bid in March, her lawyer said. Alan Chinula passed on the news after persuading two of the three appeal judges to alter their decisions. Madonna’s adoption application was originally rejected because she had not lived in the east African state for 18 months, as required – a ruling which her lawyer argued was out of date. Madonna, 50, is now said to have the backing of two of the judges with the third set to agree. The official ruling will be announced next Sunday at Malawi’s Supreme Court of Appeal.

I suspected all along that Madonna would eventually win her appeal to adopt little Miss Mercy James. There has been much talk from supposed fathers of the little girl but none have been able to actually prove that they are of any relation to her. It was my contention that barring a DNA test that categorically proved paternity for the little girl, Madonna would eventually be allowed to adopt Mercy James. I mean … c’mon … did anyone really think that Madonna would not be allowed to get her way? At least we can be sure that Madonna will welcome this precious little girl into her life and will love her unconditionally. Congrats to the happy expanding family!

UPDATE: Madonna’s rep is clarifying that she has not received word that the Malawian Appeals Court has ruled in her favor, saying:

“Madonna has not been informed that a ruling has been made. We remain hopeful.”

It looks like the congrats are a bit premature … but, I too am hopeful.

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A three-judge Supreme Court of Appeal panel will convene on May 4 to hear an appeal filed by Madonna against an April 3 Malawi High Court decision to stop her from adopting 3-year-old Malawian girl Chifundo “Mercy” James. Joseph Chigona, registrar of the High Court and the Supreme Court of Appeal, said Monday, “As with all court cases involving infants, this one will be in chambers, not in an open court.” Alan Chinula, Madonna’s Malawian lawyer, said he already has presented grounds for his appeal to the Supreme Court of Appeal and was hopeful. “We believe the lower court judge erred by basing her judgment on an archaic law of over 50 years ago,” he said. According to Chigona and Chinula, the singer is not required to be present during the appeal, which may last for two weeks.

Now, I’m not entirely versed in the ways of the Malawian court system but in our country the Supreme Court is the final arbiter of any legal dispute that is brought before them so I assume the same rings true in Malawi. That would mean that whatever decision is handed down by the Supreme Court will be the final say in this matter, period. I suppose the matter of the little girl’s paternity still needs to be determined since at least one man, James Kambewa, has stepped forward to claim her as his biological daughter in the wake of Madonna’s adoption bid. I’ve not heard if Kambewa passed DNA tests to prove his paternity but barring any of that, I suppose the Supreme Court will have to rule whether or not the residency requirement in place for adoptions in that country should stand or not. Since the court can take two weeks to deliver their decision after the case is brought before them (on May 4), we should have answer once and for all concerning this adoption by the end of next month.

In other Madonna news, we learned yesterday that Maddy suffered a horse-riding accident when she fell off the horse she was riding while in the Hamptons, NY. Madonna’s camp is blaming the accident on the paparazzi who they say “spooked” the horse by taking photos. TMZ spoke with the sole paparazzo who was there and he vehemently denies that he had anything to do with Madonna’s accident. After the jump, check out a couple photos of Madonna’s accident got by The New York Post (who broke the story of Madonna’s accident on Saturday night) and the denial by the pap of his involvement in her accident …

Madonna was one “Lucky Star” yesterday, miraculously suffering only minor injuries after taking a nasty spill while horseback riding at a celebrity photographer’s Hamptons manse. The 50-year-old pop queen, decked out in full riding gear and helmet, was enjoying the beautiful spring day at famed lensman Steven Klein’s horse farm in Bridgehampton … In the wake of the titanic tumble, more than 10 people, including her Brazilian boy toy Jesus Luz, 22, rushed to her side. Rescue workers, who arrived minutes later, scooped up the “Like a Virgin” songstress and gingerly carried her on a backboard to a waiting ambulance, which raced to Southampton Hospital. Klein was by her side. She suffered only minor injuries and bruises but will undergo further tests and will remain under doctor’s observations, her spokeswoman said. There were no photographers near Madonna at the time of the stumble.

HMMM … since there were no photogs near her these photos must’ve been snapped from a long way off with a telephoto lens both before and after her accident, which would support the paparazzo’s claim to TMZ that he had nothing to do with her accident:

The paparazzo who claims he was the only pap around when Madonna fell off her horse on Saturday says he isn’t to blame for her fall — and he claims Madonna’s peeps are straight up lying about what went down. We spoke with the photog who tells us he shot Madonna before and after she fell — but was not there for the actual fall. He tells us he took pics of her riding and then left. About 30 minutes later, he says he got a tip about an ambulance being sent out for a 50-year-old woman — so he put two and two together and went back to snap pics of her being tended to. He says all his photos were taken from a public road and the only other photog around was Stephen Klein — the famous photographer whose house Madonna was at.

Whatever the case, here’s hoping that Madonna quickly recovers from her reported minor injuries so that she can get back on the horse, as it were, and bounce back from this accident … after all, she’s got an adoption appeal to tend to in Malawi. Rest well, Maddy! Get well soon!!

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Madonna has spoken for the first time about her failed attempt to adopt three-year-old Mercy James from Malawi, as a photo of the two was released to the press. The undated picture of the singer cradling the sleeping child was released to a news agency today as her appeal over the legal ruling neared. It shows a young-looking Madonna, on one of her trips to the country, sitting and smiling as a sleeping Mercy nestles into her arm. The singer made a public plea for the toddler in an email to Malawi’s Nation newspaper:

Madonna adopted David Banda from the impoverished African country in 2006 despite critics claiming she had used her celebrity status to bend the country’s laws. Judge Esime Chombo turned down the singer’s latest adoption application because she didn’t meet the country’s 18 to 24-month residency requirement. Her lawyer Alan Chinula confirmed last week that she has filed an appeal.

It would seem that Madonna hopes to court favor with the Malawian people (and Supreme Court) by showing that she is capable of stepping into the role of Mercy’s mother at a moment’s notice. It seems odd that, in her statement, Madonna would emphasize that she is not allowed to talk about the adoption by releasing a statement and photo to a Malawian newspaper. It, obviously, remains to be seen if this public plea will help her in any way but you cannot fault her for trying everything she can in order to convince the court to overturn the first ruling and allow her to adopt Mercy James.

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Madonna left Malawi early Sunday after her failed adoption bid for a 3-year-old girl named Mercy James, who was preparing to return to the orphanage where the singer found her. Madonna’s plans received a massive setback Friday when a judge rejected her bid to adopt. The singer, 50, has since filed an appeal against the ruling. “We are ready with our grounds challenging [High Court judge] Chombo’s ruling,” Madonna’s Malawian lawyer Alan Chinula told PEOPLE Sunday. A staffer at the singer’s Raising Malawi charity said Anne Chikhwaza, Director of the Kondanani Children’s Village, drove to Kumbali Lodge, where the singer had been staying, Sunday morning to collect Mercy to take her back to the orphanage. “Madonna spent some time with Mercy; she looked sad but Lourdes, who had clicked with the little girl, looked devastated,” said the staffer. Madonna is believed to be headed for London to celebrate Passover, which would allow her children to reunite with the singer’s ex-husband, Guy Ritchie. Ritchie, for his part, has shown his support for Madonna, issuing a statement Friday following the singer’s adoption setback praising her as a mother and showing his heartfelt support in her adoption case.

While Madge may be heartbroken and chagrined, I’m convinced that this is not the end of her attempt to adopt little Mercy James. The question becomes, tho, just how hard and long will she continue the fight if her appeal is denied? I can understand her need to follow thru in her attempt to adopt the little girl that she loves but does it make sense for her to wage a battle that seems so unpopular with everyone else? The thing that bothers me most is that this poor little girl who has been living in an orphanage for the first 3 years of her life is caught in the middle. There is so much outcry that she is being “stolen away” from her family but if they really could care for her then she wouldn’t be in an orphanage. I will not believe that life in an orphanage is better than life in a home with a family. The saddest thing about this whole scenario to me is that Mercy will continue to live in an orphanage until this matter is settled once and for all. If Madonna is now allowed to adopt her, who will? The whole thing is just sad. I just hope that in the end, there will be a happy ending for all involved.

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A judge who barred Madonna’s second adoption from Malawi on Friday said she had “a gripping temptation” to approve the adoption, but decided doing so would open doors to child trafficking, court records show. The American pop star had filed a petition to adopt a girl, Chifundo James, 3. The rejection was based on a residency requirement and the judge’s belief that the child was in good hands at an orphanage. “There is a gripping temptation to throw caution to the wind and grant an adoption in the hope that there will be a difference in the life of even just one child,” Justice E.J. Chombo wrote in a ruling. “But removing the very safeguard that is supposed to protect our children … could actually facilitate trafficking of children by some unscrupulous individuals.” Video Watch why court refused adoption bid » Chombo was referring to a residency requirement in Malawi law that requires people to live in the country for some time before adopting. If Madonna was granted the adoption without established residency, critics argue it could open the door for others to adopt children and leave the country. “Anyone could come to Malawi and quickly arrange for an adoption that might have grave consequences on the very children that the law seeks to protect,” the judge wrote. Court papers provided to CNN also revealed that the judge considered the petition different from that of David Banda, whom Madonna adopted from Malawi in 2006. David “was to be returned to his biological father within a period of six months from the time that Mchinji Orphanage had admitted him,” Chombo wrote. “This is the same father that had desperately appealed for help after the death of his wife because of his incapacity to look after David and the unwillingness of wife’s family to care for the child.” In the case of Chifundo, the orphanage taking care of her was able and willing, according to Chombo, who did not handle the first adoption. Court records show her 14-year-old mother died days after her birth. The ruling followed weeks of criticism by human rights activists, who accused the mother of three of using her fame to circumvent a residency law for foreigners adopting in the country. Save the Children UK had also urged Madonna to let the child be raised by her relatives in her home community. The denial was applauded by a coalition of local nonprofits. “Inter-country adoption is not the best way of providing protection to children … supporting children from outside our country only helps five of the 1.5 million orphans we have,” said Mavuto Bamusi, the national coordinator of Malawi Human Rights Consultative Committee. Malawi government officials said Thursday that they supported Madonna’s second adoption … Madonna’s lawyer has filed a notice to appeal the ruling with the Supreme Court, according to Ken Manda, high court registrar.

It’s unclear if Madonna plans to stay in Malawi for the duration of her appeal as it is also unclear just how long that appeal will take but Maddy has yet to leave the country so it’s possible she may stay there for a while. She’s even planning a big party in Malawi — possibly to try and offset her disappointment:

Madonna is apparently throwing a party in Malawi in a bid to swallow her disappointment that a judge rejected her application to adopt a young orphan. Traditional dancers have arrived at the luxury lodge where the pop diva is staying, as well as government officials and members of staff of her Raising Malawi charity. Amid strict security, there was no immediate confirmation on whether it was a farewell party. Air traffic control authorities granted clearance for Madonna’s jet to depart Saturday but the star stayed in the lodge all day.

As I said yesterday, Madge is not the kind of person who takes no for an answer. If there is a chance that the initial denial could be overturned by the Malawian Supreme Court then I’m sure she is going to pursue every avenue to ensure that she wins in the end. If the appeals process is a quick one, I imagine she will stay in Malawi to see it thru … tho, if we’re talking weeks here, she’ll prolly return to her home in NY and just come back to Malawi later on. I was fairly certain that Madonna would be successful in adopting her second child from Malawi … now, I’m not so sure. One thing I am sure about, tho — Madonna will not give up. We shall see if her persistence pays off.

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Popstar Madonna has appealed a court ruling preventing her from adopting a second child from Malawi, her lawyer said on Friday. “I just filed the notice of appeal this afternoon on instructions from my client,” Alan Chinula told Reuters. A high court ruled earlier on Friday that Madonna would not be allowed to adopt a second child, a 4-year-old girl named Mercy James, from the country.

It remains to be seen what will come from Madonna’s appeal to overturn the ruling but, as I’ve said all along, Madonna usually gets what Madonna wants. If we know anything about Madonna it’s that she is deffo a fighter and she rarely takes no for an answer. Will Maddy be successful in her bid to become Mercy James’s mother? We shall soon see.

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A residency requirement in Malawi has prevented Madonna from adopting a second child from that African nation, a judge and a lawyer told the Associated Press on Friday. The news service described the judge as a witness not involved in Friday’s court ruling, and the lawyer as another who was present at the time of the decision. Both the judge and the lawyer spoke on conditions of anonymity. The residency requirement for prospective parents is 18 to 24 months in Malawi. Madonna has homes in New York and London. The singer, a single mother, was planning to adopt 3½-year-old Mercy James, whom she first met in an orphanage in 2006. Her other children are daughter Lourdes, 12, and son Rocco, 8. There has been no word on whether Madonna intends to appeal the ruling. When her Malawian lawyer, Alan Chinula, broke the news that High Court judge Esme Chombo had rejected her petition to adopt a Malawian toddler, an incredulous Madonna “kept wringing her hands,” a source at Kumbali Lodge, where the pop star is staying, tells PEOPLE. Madonna, who filed her adoption papers on Monday, was not present in court. At the hearing, the judge said child welfare officers are required to find suitable prospective parents and “not someone who just flies in and out.” In terms of the child, “I think the welfare of Chifundo [African for 'Mercy'] will be better served if she grows within the environment of the culture of Malawi,” she said. The judge also said that because Madonna is already assisting other orphans, Chifundo will still benefit from star’s generosity.

Wow. I, too, am shocked at this ruling … I’m not sure there were many folks who guessed that the Malawian court would rule against Madonna. While I think it’s important that residency laws are upheld in matters like these (after all, those requirements become laws for a reason), I really hope the court was ruling in Mercy’s best interests … and not for the sake of making an example out of Madonna. True, Mercy will still be able to benefit from “Madonna’s generosity” without being adopted, but I cannot believe the little girl will be better served in an orphanage (even if it was the best orphanage in the world) rather than in an adopted home. I suppose we’ll hear soon what Madonna’s next step is. I wouldn’t be surprised if she gave up her bid to adopt from Malawi altogether … but, I suppose, on the contrary I’d prolly not be surprised if she ended up buying a home in Malawi for the express purpose of establishing residency in order to try to adopt again.

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LITTLE Mercy James looks back at her orphanage home as she walks away to prepare for her new life as MADONNA’s adopted daughter. The Queen of Pop was pictured with Mercy for the first time yesterday as authorities began finalising the adoption arrangements. Four-year-old Mercy held the hand of new sister Lourdes, 12, as she enjoyed her first family outing. They were surrounded by a posse of minders, but Mercy — wearing a blue dress — was seen laughing and smiling as she joined her new family. Madonna spent over an hour in Malawi’s High Court on Monday, when she told Judge Esme Chombo she would be “a deeply loving mother” to Mercy, whose Malawian name is Chifundo. In adoption papers seen by The Sun, Madonna says: “To deny Chifundo the opportunity to be adopted by me could expose her to hardship and emotional trauma which is otherwise avoidable.” The judge will give an official ruling on Friday — but Madonna, 50, has already been told that her application will succeed. The pop queen is due to fly to Britain on Saturday — and has told staff at her London home to “prepare for the arrival of my new little girl”. Madonna celebrated Monday’s successful meeting by throwing a dinner party at her luxury lodge. A charity worker who attended the bash said Madge was drinking wine and hugging her staff — while her adopted son David held Mercy’s hand and ran around excitedly telling guests: “This is my new sister.” The source said: “Madonna looked incredibly proud and happy, and David was so funny — he couldn’t leave Mercy alone and pulled her around all the guests.” Eight-year-old brother Rocco — Madonna’s son with ex-hubby GUY RITCHIE — has also been helping to welcome Mercy into the family by playing with her in the gardens of the lodge. A senior Malawian official yesterday confirmed that Madonna had been told Mercy was hers. The official told The Sun: “This is all very confidential, and Judge Chombo must still make her ruling — but that ruling will be in favour of Madonna. “Madonna is a very good mother and ambassador for Malawi. She has improved the lives of thousands of orphans.” The approval comes after The Sun told how Madonna had recruited two of Malawi’s leading politicians to help secure her second adoption.

Whether or not this report of Madonna’s adoption being a “done deal” is true, I think it’s very telling that Madonna and her children are being allowed to spend time with Mercy James. If officials are fine with the little girl getting to know and spend time with her prospective new family then it seems to me that they’re pretty much on board with approving the adoption. I can’t believe that they would be OK with letting the little girl get close to her possible new family if there was any chance that the adoption might not go thru. Not that I really doubted that Madonna would be approved for her adoption but the photo says more to me than this report does. This may be the first photo of Madonna and Mercy but it surely won’t be the last. What a beautiful family Madonna is making for herself. Madge and her children are very lucky to call Mercy James one of their own.

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