She has homes in the US and Britain and now it seems the Queen of Pop has a new land. Malawi is said to be making Madonna an honorary citizen in recognition of her work there.

As well as adopting her son David from the African country, the Four Minutes singer funds several orphanages in the land, feeding and educating thousands of youngsters. Caring Madonna is also setting up a girls’ school near the capital to help the underprivileged.

“We are proud as a country to be associated with such a megastar,” Billy Kaunda, Malawi’s deputy tourism and culture minister, was reported as saying.

“She will have freedom of all cities here. She won’t be bothered with issues like visas and other limitations.”

Earlier this week, Madonna’s documentary on Malawi, I Am Because We Are, premiered in Cannes to great acclaim.

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The annual amfAR Cinema Against AIDS benefit kicked off in the hills high above Cannes yesterday. Last year, George Clooney auctioned off a kiss for $300,000, but this year Madonna’s alligator Chanel purse was the star of the show.

The black alligator bag with a clasp studded with 334 diamonds was the actual purse she carried to the event, and that’s not all. She even gave up everything in the haute couture bag including Shu Uemura blotting paper, lip gloss — “It actually touched my lips”, Madonna noted — lip balm, a magnifying mirror, and throat lozenges. The only thing she took out was her blackberry and phone, explaining “I’m not going to give up my blackberry and phone because that’s too expensive for you.”

The final winning bid? 300,000 euros — that’s over $471,000 — for AIDS research! Sorry George, looks like Madonna’s chic purse is worth more than your kiss. As Madonna joked, “That’s cheap. Everyone’s kissed George Clooney.”

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Madonna is embracing the aging process, insisting she is only just reaching the peak of her attractiveness at 49.

The singer feels fitter, more toned and more attractive than she has ever been as she approaches her 50th birthday in August.

She explains, “I like the way I look better now. My thighs aren’t as chubby. I’m not kidding. I’m being perfectly honest.”

But Madonna insists she has never thought of herself as a natural beauty: “I see myself as practical and handsome, and useful. I don’t think of myself as a great beauty. But I think of myself as stylish.”

The Material Girl also reveals she never gets nostalgic and feels the need to look back at images of her past: “I don’t look at old pictures of myself. I don’t look at pictures of myself from last week. Once I’ve approved of them, they’re gone.”

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Madonna’s New Documentary Film: I AM BECAUSE WE ARE

A film describing the journey that Madonna embarks on, exploring the lives of children who have orphaned by AIDS, and have suffered more than one can sometimes imagine. Set in Malawi, Africa, Madonna leads us through many heart-wrenching stories that ultimately remind us how interconnected we are. We are introduced to a culture that at times will feel disturbing, but ultimately it will challenge us and call us to action.

Documentary features President Bill Clinton, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Prof. Jeffrey Sachs.

http://www.iambecauseweare.com/

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The final hearing in Madonna’s prolonged adoption case has been postponed after a new human rights report suggests the ruling could be illegal.

Malawi’s High Court was expected to finalize the pop star’s two-year-long adoption of David Banda, 2, on Thursday, but the Human Rights Commission (HRC) would like further review of the case that has been riddled with controversy from the start. Malawian laws prevent non-residents from adopting in the country, leading critics to accuse the government of giving Madonna special treatment.

“What we want is … consideration of certain procedures that conform with international conventions on child rights and what our law says, otherwise, as it stands, everything is illegal and the person who wants to adopt the child does not qualify until the judge finds solutions to it,” HRC Chairman Dorothy Nyasulu told Reuters.

Madonna, who announced Tuesday she wasn’t going to attend Thursday’s now-cancelled hearing, is not at all fazed by this delay, her lawyer says.

“I’m confident that the adoption will go through because my client has met all the requirements and the government is satisfied that she qualifies,” Alan Chinula said.

According to the non-binding HRC report, a person must live in Malawi for at least 18 months to qualify as a resident. Needless to say, the London-based, globetrotting Madonna has not been in the African country the past year and a half.

Following review, a new hearing will be held next week. An exact date was not announced.

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Madonna will not attend the final court ruling on her request to adopt a Malawian child because she is busy with other engagements, her lawyer said on Tuesday.

The High Court is expected to approve Madonna’s bid to formally adopt 2-year-old David Banda at a final session on Thursday. Malawi’s government and David’s father — his only surviving parent — have endorsed the adoption.

“We are going to court on Thursday, but Madonna will not be there because she is not coming,” Madonna’s lawyer, Alan Chinula told Reuters. “The judge has indicated that he cannot object to her being absent when making the ruling.”

Chinula said Madonna had “other engagements,” which he declined to disclose.

A court clerk said Madonna’s lawyer has asked for a later court date — the singer’s third request for a postponement — because their client “had other business matters to deal with.” He confirmed the judge could go ahead without her.

The adoption has been controversial, with critics accusing the government of skirting laws that ban non-residents from adopting children in Malawi, a southern African nation ravaged by an AIDS epidemic that has left more than 1 million orphans.

But one of Malawi’s fiercest critics of Madonna’s adoption bid, the Human Rights Consultative Committee, said on Monday it was no longer interested in pursuing the case, removing another obstacle.

Madonna began adoption proceedings in 2006, and David has been living with the singer and her husband, film director Guy Ritchie, in their London home since then. She took custody of David when he was 13 months old after his father had placed him in an orphanage following the death of his wife.

David’s father, Yohane Banda, told Reuters Television this week, “This is what I wanted, that Madonna should keep the child.”

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