Madonna’s recently announced divorce from Guy Ritchie has foiled her plans to adopt another Malawi child, so says the country’s Child Welfare Services director who says the child can’t go into a broken family. The singer has wanted to adopt a girl, Mercy James, who she was introduced to during an orphanage visit in 2006.

But Malawian official Penston Kilembe says the split with Guy, means the adoption cannot be approved. ‘One fundamental condition in scrutinizing adoptions is the connectedness of a family,’ he says.