Madonna 'set to adopt second Malawian tot'

New York, Mar 30 (ANI): Madonna has arrived in Malawi and is expected to sign today adoption papers which will allow her to adopt a second child from the African nation.

The move, however, has been widely criticised by aid agencies as "exacerbating" the plight of children in impoverished countries.

The 50-year-old singer was accompanied by her oldest offspring, Lourdes Leon, 12. The pair strolled hand in hand through the village of Chinkhota, chatting with locals and soaking up the sun.

"Amazing," Madonna said of her return to Malawi, where she adopted a son, David Banda, 3, in 2006.

As for the adoption process, Madonna will go to court to sign adoption papers for a 4-year-old girl, Mercy James, who will become Lourdes' first sister, reports The New York Daily News.

Mercy is currently living at the Mchinji Home of Hope, the same orphanage where her soon-to-be-brother, David, once lived.

"She has no father and mother, they both died," a government official said of Mercy.

Besides Lourdes, Madonna has a second biological child, Rocco, 8, from her marriage to director Guy Ritchie, which ended in divorce in January. (ANI)