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MADONNA'S BABY BOY ARRIVES IN LONDON

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17 OCTOBER 2006

Madonna has been reunited with the baby boy she is trying to adopt after the infant was flown into Britain late last night. After several days of legal wrangling and intense media interest, little David Banda has been delivered to his prospective parents at their luxurious home in London.

News of his arrival in the UK came after the superstar singer's attempt to adopt him ran into legal trouble. Children's charities in Malawi filed papers to block her petition, claiming that it was unlawful as she had not lived in the country, and in the end the 48-year-old performer and her British husband Guy Ritchie were forced to return home without him.

The Material Girl released a statement on Monday night saying she had been granted an interim adoption and that a passport and visa had been secured for the 18-month-old boy, however. And representatives for the Human Rights Consultative Committee, which had been opposing the child's expatriation, have decided to defer their actions, saying they need more time to talk with his relatives.

David eventually touched down at Heathrow Airport at 6.30am on Tuesday after catching an overnight flight from Johannesburg with the singer's personal assistant and one of her bodyguards. An 18-month period of evaluation will now begin during which Malawian court officials will decide whether to grant permanent custody to the US star.

Child welfare authorities in the UK have meanwhile allayed concerns that the A-list chanteuse had not satisfied Britain's strict adoption guidelines. "The process did not start today," revealed a government representative. "Madonna's people have been pushing the papers for some time."