Madonna’s application to adopt Chifundo “Mercy” James was rejected by a Malawi judge Friday morning in court. But why was the adoption rejected? Read more on this story below.

The Malawi judge rejected Madonna’s bid to adopt the little girl called Mercy James.

The judge cited requirements that adoptive parents must reside in the country for 18 to 24 months.

Madonna, 50, can appeal against the order. Madonna was granted the adoption of David Banda, 3, in 2006 without meeting the residency requirements, which caused outrage by non-governmental groups that felt she was using her celebrity status to bend the laws.

Most expected Judge Esme Chombo to grant the adoption at Lilongwe High Court.

“We support her adoption process,” Information Minister Patricia Kaliati said yesterday. “Madonna’s been good to us. She’s supporting over 25,000 orphans in this country, and she’s proved she can take care of David.”

Mercy’s uncles, Peter Baneti and John Ngalande, signed off on the papers Monday. They were also present at Madonna’s pre-adoption party at the luxe Kumbali Lodge Thursday night.

“Mercy is now assured of a good education away from the abject poverty of our village,” Baneti told Us yesterday. “Madonna has assured us she will not cut her ties with us.”

Madonna’s lawyer Alan Chinula told Us Wednesday: “I am not sleeping sleepless nights over this. I don’t see any law in Malawi that can stop this adoption.”

Chinula told Us the residency restriction law is over 50 years old and “archaic.”

Let’s hope Madonna can appeal this ruling and be able to give little Mercy James a better life.

Back for another round of The Fast and The Furious franchise, Paul Walker is more than happy to rev his engine on the race track; Once the excitement is over and the engines have cooled off, it’s back to playing dolls for the single father.

In a new interview with PARADE, Paul admits that his 10-year-old daughter Meadow Rain is a complete “girly girl” through and through and loves none other than to spend her days with two of her favorite people: her dad and Barbie! “She likes to bake stuff with me and I’ve even played Barbies,” he says.

With Paul often filming on location, Meadow has no problem packing up and jet-setting off to visit her dad. “She’s seen a lot of cool places and I love to hang out with her,” the proud papa, 35, gushes. Over the moon with parenthood, Paul admits that the greatest words of wisdom on the special father-daughter bond he has formed with his child were spoken by none other than his own mom.

    “I think my mom put it best. She said, ‘Little girls soften their daddy’s hearts.”

Meadow is Paul’s daughter with former girlfriend Rebecca. The new Fast & Furious – with the original castmembers! – hits theaters today.

Apparently,  isn’t feeling the music these days.

The High School Musical hunk tells EW.com that he backed out of the upcoming remake of the 1984 Kevin Bacon classic Footloose because he doesn’t want to be typecast as a song-and-dance man.

"I’m sure Footloose would have been a huge challenge," Efron offered while in Las Vegas to accept the ShoWest Breakthrough Performer of the Year award on Thursday, "but the actors that I love and the actors that work really hard in this industry are always shaking things up, trying new genres, acquiring new skill sets. That’s what’s always going to appeal to me: the unknown."

Efron, who had been attached to the project for a year and a half, announced that he was bowing out of it late last month. Since then, Gossip Girl hottie Chace Crawford has been mentioned as a possible replacement.

And if that doesn’t work out, maybe Efron’s new wax replica can step into the role. From the looks of the thing, it could really use some work.

Robert Pattinson is reportedly dating his Twilight co-star Nikki Reed. The couple has been seen on several dates in Vancouver, where they are filming the Twilight sequel New Moon. Read more on Robert Pattinson and Nikki Reed below.

Sources say they spotted Robert Pattinson and Nikki Reed out with co-star Kristen Stewart and her boyfriend Michael Angarano. “Rob and Nikki spent much of the time talking to each other, heads bent close together,” a source says of the double date.

After their night out, Pattinson and Reed reportedly went back to the British actor’s hotel room, where they spent the rest of the night together.

“Kristen and Michael hopped in a cab, and Nikki and Rob walked further up the black.arms wrapped around each other on their way home. She stayed with him overnight, was supposed to be back in LA on Monday.But never showed,” adds the insider.

Zooey Deschanel has an identity crisis.

Apparently, the musician/actress is constantly being mistaken for "I Kissed a Girl" singer Katy Perry, and she tells MTV.com that she’s had quite enough of it.

"It’s a little bit annoying, to be totally blunt. The only similarity that we have is that we look a little bit alike," Deschanel grouses. "I used to get, ‘I heard you were out at such-and-such club drinking whiskey!’ [when] I was at home watching TV. I think we lead very different lives."

Personally, we don’t see the resemblance at all, but our friends at Buzznet have thoughtfully compiled a massive photo gallery of the two to help shed more light on the subject.

Readers, have your say in the comments section: Were Katy Perry and Zoey Deschanel separated at birth, or is Zooey making too much of a passing resemblance?

The Malawi government is backing Madonna’s controversial decision to adopt a second child, Mercy James, 4, because of the help she’s given the African country. Read more on Madonna’s adoption below.

There was quite a bit of controversy surrounding Madonna’s desire to adopt a second child from Malawi. But the government there is allowing the adoption to proceed and tells of how good Madonna has been to them.

“Madonna has been good to us,” Information Minister Patricia Kaliati said Thursday.

“Very few rich and famous people can take time to fly all the way to Malawi to support our children. We support her adoption process.”

Kaliati said Madonna has provided support for 25,000 Malawian orphans and has proven she can take care of her first adopted child, David Banda.

The country’s high court is expected to rule Friday on whether Madonna can adopt a 4-year-old girl named Mercy James.

Many rights groups have verbally bashed Madonna for her attempt to take a second child from a nation that normally does not permit foreigners to adopt. But why would these groups not want a child to have a better life?

Madonna, who arrived in Malawi on Sunday, has denied breaking any laws.

Madonna’s adopted son David Banda’s father, Yohane Banda, said he is pleased with Madonna’s plans. Yohane was forced to place David in an orphanage after the death of his mother.

“Mercy and David will grow up together and remind each other that they come from a poor country called Malawi and hope they will do something about it,” Yohane Banda said.

What do you guys think of Madonna’s decision to adopt a second child from Malawi?

Kristen Stewart is still adjusting to life as a movie star.

The young actress has seen her career take off thanks to Twilight, and it won’t be slowing down any time soon. She plays one of the lead characters in the new, critically-acclaimed comedy Adventureland.

Along with fame and fortune, Stewart must now deal with scrutiny in every aspect of her life.

He’s definitely one of the hottest dads in Hollywood, and in a recent interview on the “Rachel Ray” show Matthew McCoanughey conveyed that he loves taking his 8-month-old son Levi with him wherever he goes.

The “Fool’s Gold” stud revealed on the Rachel Ray show, “Levi is doing well, man. Five stamps on the passport.  Check this out, perfect tank of gas before he wakes up and is ready to eat. So as soon as it gets below a quarter of a tank and I gotta pull off to get gas, Levi’s waking up. So far so good. We’re having a good time – he’s an easy traveler.”

Matthew also dished on what he’d like to pursue as a career if he wasn’t an actor.  “I think I’d either want to coach a college program, football.  Or go off and do like what Steve Irwin did. Or be a chef.”

As for his cooking style, “A lot of times we’ll make a pasta, and we’ll make a salad, and we’ll make a meat dish.  We end up putting pasta on the bottom because of the heat and layer in the salad and the meat on top. I love merging like that.”

t seems that Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens have a power couple they look up to. They adore the Beckhams.

Efron explained how he “loves” the soccer celeb’s fashion sense. But when it comes to being compared to the couple with girlfriend Hudgens, he finds it silly.

The “17 Again” star says, “Vanessa and I would love to be like the US David and Victoria Beckham. It’s funny when we’re compared to them, I just can’t believe it. I totally love the way David dresses.”

And when it comes to the 21-year-old’s work, he’s still going strong. Efron is starring in the upcoming film, “The Death & Life of Charlie St Cloud.” The movie is about a cemetery caretaker who is able to talk with his dead younger brother.

About the film, Efron says, “It sounds very grim, but it’s a fantastic story. It’s a little bit more grown-up. It deals with some heavy material.”

Out for a Big Apple retail romp, Hilary Duff was spotted out shopping at Barney’s on Madison Ave in New york City on Tuesday (March 31).

The former “Lizzie McGuire” actress was joined by gal pal Summer Terry, looking to e enjoying time off of work, as she’s been shooting a guest spot on “Law and Order: SVU”.

Grabbing a taxi after finishing up their retail outing, Miss Duff walked along with a bag of presents, getting something special for her hockey star beau Mike Comrie.

Speaking of Mike, Hil’s boyfriend takes the ice alter on tonight – as his Ottawa Senators are facing off against the Florida Panthers at 7:30PM.