SHAKIRA HAILS PIQUE

Pop singer Shakira has praised the fighting spirit of her boyfriend Gerard Pique. Shakira made mention of the Spanish soccer club again when she recalled that some of the hundreds of Israeli and Arab children who on Tuesday welcomed her to a bilingual school in Jerusalem were wearing Barcelona jerseys.

“This visit is an opportunity to emphasize the importance of how to raise our children,” the superstar said.

Shakira is participating in the inaugural session of a forum of conferences sponsored by Israeli President Shimon Peres and entitled “Facing the 2011 of tomorrow,” an initiative that – among other things – provides a forum for discussing strategies to guarantee protection and education for children.