Court opens Madonna adoption hearing

BLANTYRE, Malawi: Malawi's highest court began deliberating on Madonna's bid to adopt a 3-year-old girl from the southern African country, as a dispute erupted over whether a man trying to stop the proceedings is the girl's father.

Madonna was not at yesterday's closed-door hearing at the Malawi Supreme Court of Appeal, and a ruling may not be announced for several days.

The 50-year-old pop star is fighting a lower court's decision that she cannot adopt Chifundo "Mercy" James because she had not been screened over time by Malawi authorities. The court said the rules were bent when Madonna adopted her son David from Malawi last year.