Madonna Granted Permission to Adopt Son

Madonna is now the official permanent guardian of son David Banda, who she adopted from Malawi, a judge there ruled Wednesday. Though Banda, 3, has been staying with Madonna and husband Guy Ritchie since October 2006, the adoption process is just now complete. ( These stars have also adopted .) "We are very happy with what the judge has ruled," the singer's lawyer told reporters in the country's capital of Lilongwe. Madonna recently premiered a documentary she made about orphans in Malawi . "I was allowed to view footage and photographs of a lot of the children," she told Oprah Winfrey in 2006. "An 8-year-old girl who is living with HIV was holding this child. I became transfixed by him. … But I didn't yet know I was going to adopt him. I was just drawn to him." Madonna said David had survived malaria and tuberculosis but "no one looking after [his] welfare." Madonna, 49, and Ritchie have two other children: Lourdes, 11, and Rocco, 7. (link)