LONDON:

Malawi judge has approved Madonna’s adoption of a Malawian boy she met in an orphanage in 2006. The 49-year-old pop star wasn’t in court for Wednesday’s ruling. Madonna and her husband, Guy Ritchie, have been caring for the boy, David Banda, in London. David turns three in November.

Critics have said Madonna used her celebrity status to circumvent Malawian adoption laws — allegations she denies.

Speaking to reporters last week at the Cannes Film Festival, Madonna said the criticism hurt. “It was a big struggle, and I didn’t understand it,” she said. “But in the end I rationalised that, when a woman has a child and goes through natural childbirth, she suffers an enormous amount.”

Madonna met David while establishing charity projects in Malawi. She is funding her own and six other orphanages in the country. Her Raising Malawi organisation also announced that the singer is funding a multimillion-dollar academy for disadvantaged children in Malawi.