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Despite today's earlier disappointment in her ongoing quest to adopt a Malawian orphan, Madonna is not giving up. She instructed her lawyer, Alan Chinula, today to file an appeal on the matter. There is no set date for further court action, but reports say that Madonna has had her eye on little 4-year-old Mercy James for over a year now, and is prepared to wait. If she really wants to take the girl home with her, she should settle down to wait nearby for about eighteen months, or the minimal residency requirement for international adoptions — which was the sticking point in today's court ruling — but we're not holding our breath. Meanwhile, continuing her public goodwill effort, Madonna visited a local village and even briefly took off her sunglasses. This would be a grand gesture if it only revealed her eyes without makeup, but the fact that it also betrayed even a hint of emotion, well, that's major, as they say in the U.K. Somebody get that woman a baby before she starts knitting, or worse, dressing her age!!

Madonna's Adoption Request Rejected, Appealed [People]