David Banda’s grandmother dies

The woman Madonna has to thank for helping her to adopt David Banda, her Malawian son, has reportedly died. Asianati Mwale, David's grandmother, was the one responsible for placing him in the orphanage where the pop star eventually found him and started her long fight to be allowed to bring the boy (pictured with Madonna) to England.

Mwale, who once admitted that she hoped that she and other members of her family might one day benefit from David's new life as the son of one of the world's richest women, is thought to have died on Sunday aged 58 from pneumonia in her remote village in Malawi. She had twice been admitted to a mission hospital recently but had been discharged.

Madonna and her husband, the British film director Guy Ritchie, ran into opposition when human rights bodies attempted to block the adoption. Mwale played a key part in winning the day, saying: "Where were they [the organisations] when I and my son were trying to get someone to look after this child? Do they even know what we have had to go through to save the life of David?"

Three weeks ago, David's father, Yohane, had another son, Dingiswayo, by another woman. Living on £26 a year, he has told the Daily Mail that he is disappointed that the superstar hasn't considered adopting him as well so that the half-brothers can be brought up together. Yohane said: "She [Madonna] hasn't offered to support me. It would be nice, of course, but I can't force her."

Instead, Madonna is apparantly attempting to adopt another Malawian child, a three-year-old girl called Mercy James.