Pop diva Beyonce and her rap mogul husband Jay Z have welcomed twins, according to US media reports. The babies take music’s royal family to five and are siblings for 5-year-old Blue Ivy.
News that the songstress had given birth, reported by entertainment outlets including People magazine and US Weekly, ignited social media, with the so-called "Bey hive" fan group buzzing over the yet unrevealed sexes and names of the latest additions to the Carter Clan.
US Weekly cited multiple unidentified sources as saying the twins were born last week. Entertainment news outlet E!, also citing unidentified sources, said the couple had been spotted at a Los Angeles area hospital on Thursday.
Speculation grew when an unidentified woman was photographed on Friday carrying a large bouquet of pink, blue and purple flowers - complete with a card that appeared to read “B + J” - along with twin pink and blue balloons in the shape of feet that read “Baby Girl” and “Baby Boy.”
A representative for Beyonce did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Superstar Beyonce in February made the blockbuster reveal that she was expecting. Clad in panties and a bra under a flowing veil, she commanded control of the internet by posting a picture of herself kneeling beside a human-size floral arrangement, her hands cradling her rounded belly.
“We would like to share our love and happiness. We have been blessed two times over,” the 35-year-old singer wrote. “We are incredibly grateful that our family will be growing by two, and we thank you for all your well wishes,” she added, signing with Jay Z.
Speculation that Beyonce’s due date had approached was fueled last week when husband Jay Z, 47, was absent at the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
The rapper, who grew up as Sean Carter, took to Twitter to thank artists who had influenced him as well as former US president Barack Obama.
Obama hailed the hip-hop mogul - who campaigned actively with Beyonce for the first African-American president - as a kindred spirit at the event in a surprise appearance by video.
“Jay and I are also fools for our daughters, although he’s going to have me beat once those twins show up,” the former president and father of two joked.
Some fans clamoring for details on the twins took Obama’s aside as a hint that the babies might be girls. But despite rumblings and guessing games no concrete details regarding sexes or names of the babies have been revealed.
Beyonce and Jay Z are among the most commercially successful figures in music, with a combined net worth estimated at $1 billion.
As an expectant mother Beyonce made a New Age celebration of women at the Grammy Awards earlier this year - putting on an extravagant, abstract performance while proudly displaying her baby bump cloaked in a flowing gold gown.
She pulled out of her headlining spot at April’s Coachella music festival in southern California, however, on the advice of her doctors.
She still made a number of red carpet appearances while carrying the twins and documented her pregnancy via social media - to the joy of her adoring fans.
Beyonce's mic-drop pregnancy announcement had triggered intrigue over the fact that it came a little more than nine months after her last album Lemonade in which she strongly hinted that Jay Z was unfaithful.
One lyric warns an unfaithful man of a “final warning” that he’s “gonna lose your wife” if his behaviour doesn’t change.
A sullen Jay Z appears at the end of the film to embrace her, suggesting reconciliation. And on the couple's ninth wedding anniversary in April, Beyonce released an updated video for her romantic ballad Die With You.
It features home video-esque footage of tender moments between the couple as well as clips from Blue Ivy’s birth and toddler years, ending with a scene of the new big sister of the family kissing her mother’s pregnant belly.
Agence France Presse
UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
Match info
Manchester City 3 (Jesus 22', 50', Sterling 69')
Everton 1 (Calvert-Lewin 65')
Tips to stay safe during hot weather
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Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
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Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
Director: Romany Saad
Starring: Mirfat Amin, Boumi Fouad and Tariq Al Ibyari
The years Ramadan fell in May
From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
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The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
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KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
The five pillars of Islam
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
Rafael Nadal's record at the MWTC
2009 Finalist
2010 Champion
Jan 2011 Champion
Dec 2011 Semi-finalist
Dec 2012 Did not play
Dec 2013 Semi-finalist
2015 Semi-finalist
Jan 2016 Champion
Dec 2016 Champion
2017 Did not play
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- Choose cars with GCC specifications
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- If you are planning to sell the car soon, buy one with a good resale value. The two most popular cars in the UAE are black or white in colour and other colours are harder to sell
Tarek Kabrit, chief executive of Seez, and Imad Hammad, chief executive and co-founder of CarSwitch.com
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
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- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
Singham Again
Director: Rohit Shetty
Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone
Rating: 3/5