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Tag: Madonna

  • Madonna calls on Pope Leo to visit Gaza

    Madonna calls on Pope Leo to visit Gaza

    Pop icon Madonna has made an appeal to Pope Leo XIV, urging him to visit the blockaded Gaza Strip amid a starvation crisis that has sparked international outrage.

    “You are the only one of us that cannot be denied entry,” the U.S. singer wrote on social media platform X late on Monday.

    “We need the humanitarian gates to be fully opened to save these innocent children.

    “There is no more time,” she added.

    Marking the 25th birthday of her son Rocco Ritchie on Monday, Madonna also announced plans to donate to humanitarian organisations working in Gaza.

    “I feel the best gift I can give to him as a Mother is to ask everyone to do what they can to help save the innocent children caught in the crossfire in Gaza,” she wrote.

    A United Nations (UN) agency said late last week that “acute malnutrition among children in Gaza has reached the highest levels.”

    In July alone, nearly 12,000 children lower than five in age were identified as acutely malnourished, with another 2,500 found to suffer from severe acute malnutrition.

    According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), this is the most life-threatening form.

    Israel controls access roads to Gaza and has sealed off the coastal area.

    Read Also: Pope Leo renews call for ceasefire after Israeli attack on Gaza church

    Very little aid got into Gaza from March through May, when Israel began allowing in deliveries using a controversial private system that bypasses traditional UN agencies.

    Under pressure from allies, Israel recently began permitting larger convoys into the territory, as aid airdrops take place overhead.

    On Sunday, Irish rock band U2 issued a stinging critique of the Israeli government’s actions.

    “We know Hamas are using starvation as a weapon in the war, but now so too is Israel and I feel revulsion for the moral failure,” frontman Bono wrote.

    (dpa/NAN)

  • Madonna opens children’s ward at Malawi hospital

    Madonna opens children’s ward at Malawi hospital

     

    The Mercy James Paediatric Surgery and Intensive Care Ward, which could accommodate 50 patients at the Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital in the country’s second-largest city, Blantyre, was named after one of the four children Madonna adopted from Malawi.

    According to the UN, Raising Malawi, funded by Madonna’s charity, is the first specialised health unit for children in the country of 18 million residents, which is among the 20 poorest in the world.

    Madonna said at the opening ceremony that she started planning to build the ward a decade ago when she was doing a documentary on children with HIV in Malawi.

    The 58-year-old singer said her legal battle to adopt Mercy James in 2009 was a fight which she won, adding that “I fought for Mercy and I won.

    “I am here to say ‘never give up on your dream. Love conquers.

    “If you do things with love in your heart, you will conquer.”

    Madonna said the new paediatric ward would create superior learning environment for training Malawi’s next generation of doctors so that the country could be self-sufficient in that field.

    The President of Malawi, Peter Mutharika, described Madonna as “a loving mother.

    “We can now have our children with heart conditions undergo surgery; this centre is our national pride.”

  • Madonna in awkward kiss with Drake

    Madonna in awkward kiss with Drake

    Drake found himself in the most awkward position when queen of pop, Madonna, 56 pulled the 28-year-old singer back to kiss him on his lips, for about three seconds at the Coachella event.

    Right after the kiss, Drake looked horrified quickly wiping his mouth.

    Many wonder if Madonna might have done that in order to entertain the younger crowd which Coachella attracts riled. Wearing black a tank top that said Big As Madonna, hot pants with stockings that showed off her toned legs, and a pair of kinky boot heels, she sauntered over to Drake, who was sitting in a chair.

    She pulled back his head after caressing his cheek in and made the shocking move.

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    When Madonna finished her French Kiss, she walked off oblivious to the Truffle Butter singer’s reaction.

    The age difference may be a problem – he is 28 and she is 56 making them 28 years apart. She is exactly twice his age.
    Many also consider Coachella an odd place for Madonna to perform as it is known for attracting a younger crowd such as Katy Perry, Justin Bieber, Kendall Jenner and Gigi Hadid.  Madonna has desperately been selling her new album Rebel Heart.

    Also on stage was Christina Aguilera.

  • Madonna covers Cosmopolitan’s 50th Anniversary issue

    Madonna covers Cosmopolitan’s 50th Anniversary issue

    In May 1990, Madonna posed as the cover star of Cosmo’s 25th anniversary issue, Twenty five years later, The Queen of Pop, Madonna has been spotted back on the cover of Cosmopolitan’s magazine’s the 50th anniversary issue. Despite the passing of time, she says not much is different for women in 2015. The Legend celebrated 50 years of power, provocation, and living that Cosmo-girl life. The May issue of the magazine featured not one, but four different covers of Madonna, which will be on sold from April 14, 2015.

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  • Madonna fantasises about kissing Drake

    FOLLOWING the footsteps of celebrities like Kourtney Kardashian, Joe Manganiello, Nicole Richie, Blake Shelton, Britney Spears, Olivia Wilde and more, Madonna, whose 13th album, Rebel Heart, is out now, shared 25 things you don’t know about her in US Weekly’s March 30 issue.

    The songstress may be one of the most well-known women on the planet, but the music icon has plenty of secrets, too.

    “My all-time favourite Madonna song is Bitch, I’m Madonna,” the 56-year-old pop diva says, referring to a Rebel Heart track. “My least favourite is Material Girl. I never, ever want to hear it again.”

    The singer’s revelations aren’t music-specific, however. Madonna also discusses what she learned from being married to actor Sean Penn (1985-1989) and director Guy Ritchie (2000-2008). “I have found marriages don’t last if you share bathrooms. The best thing about being single is there’s no one to throw out of the bathroom when I want privacy,” she says.

  • Madonna, 56, poses topless

    Madonna, 56, poses topless

    56 year old Queen of Pop, Madonna has posed nude for Interview magazine to everyone’s shock. Even though Madonna is no stranger to nudity, many are shocked that she chose to do this at 56.
    Kim Kardashian came in a bare all shoot for Paper magazine and now the queen of pop music may just be reminding everyone that she’s still sitting on her throne. With this new trend sweeping fast the international scene, we can only wonder what’s going to come next.

     

  • Madonna’s daughter graduates from high school

    LOURDE Leons, Madonna’s daughter graduated from high school on June 25.    The 17-year-old designer looked all grown up in a chic yellow sundress as she arrived for her big day at Lincoln Center in New York City. The teen then donned a white cap and gown as she received her diploma from Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts in New York City

    Despite feeling “slightly saddened” as she looked back on her four years in high school, Madge’s daughter’s education isn’t done she is going to college.

    Lourdes, who goes by Lola, has enrolled as a freshman at the University of Michigan, Madonna’s alma mater. The “Like a Prayer” singer’s daughter, with ex Carlos Leon, registered in the university’s directory as a student in the undergraduate music, theatre, and dance program, in pursuit of a bachelor’s degree in fine arts in musical theatre.

  • Madonna varsity alumni support the blind

    Thanks to the Lagos State chapter of the Madonna University Alumni Association (MUAALAG), students of the Vocational Training Centre for the Blind in Oshodi, Lagos have a new supply of vital materials for their learning.

    The association donated guide sticks, writing frames and stylus, midget, packs of Braille paper to further empower the students during a charity visit to the centre.

    Its President, Gerald Obakhume, noted that the visit aligned with the motto of the association, which is to show the light.

    “This will be our commitment to the society by assisting people of our society who are visually impaired. We believe in saving and serving mankind as an expression of love for God. By helping the needy, we dedicate our small efforts towards repaying a fraction of what we are getting from the society,” he said.

    Thanking the association for its support, President of the centre, Sola Ogunsiji represented by the Librarian, Clement Obasoro said since its establishment in 1956 the centre has trained over 2,000 blind men and women to acquire skills in Braille writing and reading, typewriting, handicrafts, telephone switchboard operation, computer operation, mobility skills, tie and dye and various crafts to enable them get jobs or be self-employed.

    He, however, lamented that the path for people with special needs is still lined with thorns and hardship as not much support comes from the government.

    “Apart from support of philanthropists, corporate organisations like yours, religious bodies, we have no subvention of any kind from either state or Federal Government,” he said.

    Some of the students also expressed their gratitude to the association, emphasising that they need the help of everyone to be fully integrated into the society at the end of their training.

    They appealed for more initiatives that will further enhance the revenue of the school so as to meet the needs of the students.

     

  • November date for Madonna’s nude photos

    November date for Madonna’s nude photos

    I’m Going To Tell You A Secret is a must-see for every fan, even only to see how much Madonna has changed (in a good way) since 1990,” is an hype line of a 2005 documentary, directed by Jonas Åkerlund, on American singer-songwriter, actress, Madonna Louise Ciccone, but the popular Williams Shakespeare’s maxim, ‘The evil that men do lives after them’, may just be a smear on whatever new lifestyle the singer may have adopted.

    Madonna’s old pictures, where she had modeled naked are up for grabs for collectors, with November 9, 2013 already fixed for the auction date. The multi-talented artiste has enjoyed the celebrity status since she was a little girl, but started off by posing nude at age 18 for photographer Herman Kulkens.

    The photos from the shoot were acquired by Penthouse founder Bob Guccione, who died of cancer in 2010, and are now owned by Jeremy Frommer, who bought Guccione’s entire estate from his creditors last year. Though he’s best known for his legacy at Penthouse, Guccione was also founder of Omni, a science fiction magazine, which ran from 1978 until 1998.

  • Madonna is highest-earning celebrity

    Madonna is highest-earning celebrity

    Pop star Madonna was the world’s top-earning celebrity over the past year, trumping the likes of Steven Spielberg and Oprah Winfrey.

    The 55-year-old Material Girl made an estimated $125m (£80m) thanks to her MDNA tour, clothing and fragrance lines, according to Forbes.

    The magazine said it was the most money Madonna had made in a single year since it began tracking earnings in 1999.

    BBC says director Steven Spielberg was at number two with $100m (£64m).

    Most of his earnings came from his back catalogue of film hits such as ET and Jurassic Park – which has just been released in 3D to mark its 20th anniversary – as well as last year’s Oscar winning Lincoln.

    The director also takes a cut of all ticket sales at Universal Studios theme parks.

    Third place was a three-way tie between 50 Shades of Grey author EL James, Simon Cowell and shock jock Howard Stern, with earnings of $95m (£61m).

    Thriller writer James Patterson follows with $91m (£58.5m), while TV and radio host Glenn Beck earned $90m (£57.8m).

    Others in the top 10 included Transformers director Michael Bay ($82m, £52.7m) producer Jerry Bruckheimer ($80m, £51.4m) and pop star Lady Gaga ($80m).

    Forbes compiles its annual list of celebrity earnings using input from agents, managers, producers and others to calculate its estimates for each celebrity’s entertainment-related earnings.