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LONDON: Madonna has urged the pope to travel to Gaza and “bring your light to the children before it’s too late.”

The superstar posted her appeal to the pontiff on social media Monday, saying her son Rocco’s birthday prompted her to make the post. Rocco turned 25 Monday.

Addressing Pope Leo XIV, she wrote: “Most Holy Father. Please go to Gaza and bring your light to the children before it’s too late. As a mother, I cannot bear to watch their suffering.

“The children of the world belong to everyone. You are the only one of us who cannot be denied entry," she added. "We need the humanitarian gates to be fully opened to save these innocent children. There is no more time. Please say you will go. Love, Madonna.”

The singer added that she wasn’t taking sides in the war. “I am not pointing fingers, placing blame or taking sides. Everyone is suffering. Including the mothers of the hostages,” she wrote. “I pray that they are released as well. I am merely trying to do what I can to keep these children from dying of starvation.”

The pope recently renewed his call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, asking the international community to respect humanitarian laws and the obligation to protect civilians.

“I once again call for an immediate end to the barbarity of this war and for a peaceful resolution to the conflict,” the pontiff said last month. 

Aid workers and doctors have said that after months of Israeli blockade and turmoil in the distribution of supplies, children in Gaza with no previous conditions are starting to die from malnutrition.

The United Nations said that across Gaza, more than 5,000 children were diagnosed with malnutrition in May, though that is likely an undercount. Malnutrition was virtually nonexistent before the war. Doctors struggle to treat the children because many supplies have run out, the UN says.

Israel denies a famine is taking place or that children are starving. It says it has supplied enough food throughout the war and accuses Hamas of causing shortages by stealing aid and trying to control food distribution.

DUBAI: Argentine model Georgina Rodriguez and her longtime partner, Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo, have shared a romance that has captured hearts for nearly a decade.

The ��������-based couple announced their engagement this week in Riyadh, with Rodriguez posting on Instagram: “Yes I do. In this and in all my lives.”

This was alongside a photo of a breathtaking oval-cut diamond ring resting on Ronaldo’s hand.

The ring has quickly become a topic of global fascination. Jewelry experts estimate the center stone to weigh between 22 and 37 carats, flanked by smaller side stones, all set in platinum or white gold.

Messages of congratulations from friends, family and fans have poured in, filling the couple’s comments section and, no doubt, their inboxes and phones.

Their story began in 2016 at a Gucci boutique in Madrid, where Rodriguez worked as a sales assistant. By late 2016, they went public, photographed strolling through Disneyland Paris.

In 2017, they welcomed twins Eva Maria and Mateo, followed later that year by their daughter Alana Martina. In April 2022, the couple had another set of twins, Bella and Angel, though Angel tragically passed away at birth.

Ronaldo’s eldest son, Cristiano Jr., from a previous relationship, also lives with the couple.

When Ronaldo transferred to Juventus in 2018, the family moved to Turin. In 2022, Ronaldo made a career-defining move to ��������’s Al-Nassr, officially relocating to Riyadh in January 2023 with Rodriguez and the children.

The couple have shared glimpses of their life in �������� with fans, from romantic dinners in Riyadh to family getaways by the Red Sea.

Over the years, fans have repeatedly speculated about secret wedding plans, particularly in 2020 when Rodriguez was seen wearing a large diamond ring.

And again in 2024 at the Globe Soccer Awards in Dubai, when Ronaldo referred to her as “my wife” during his acceptance speech.

Both have consistently brushed off the speculation. In her Netflix series “I Am Georgina,” Ronaldo said he was “1,000 percent sure” they would wed when the moment felt right.