It’s already been a big year for celebrity engagements and we’re not even halfway through 2022.
From Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck’s jaw-dropping second engagement to Simon Cowell’s surprise capitulation after years spent insisting he would never wed. And from Josh Duhamel’s sweet “message in a bottle” proposal to girlfriend Audra Mari to Megan Fox and Machine Gun Kelly’s characteristically over the top proclamations, here are 13 celebrities who got engaged this year …
Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez
The actor proposed to J-Lo in April with an 8.5-carat green diamond ring. The engagement is the second for the pair, who first got engaged in November 2002, before splitting in 2004.
Avril Lavinge and Mod Sun
The Canadian singer shared her engagement joy on Instagram, writing: “Oui! Je t’aime pour toujours Dimanche. 27. Mars. 2022.” (Yes! I love you forever. Sunday March 27, 2022.).
She’s set to tie the knot with singer-songwriter Derek Ryan Smith, who goes by the stage name Mod Sun.
Megan Fox and Machine Gun Kelly
Actress and model Megan Fox and rapper Machine Gun Kelly — who refer to themselves as “twin flames” — got engaged at the Ritz-Carlton in Puerto Rico in January.
Fox later wrote on Instagram: “And just as in every lifetime before this one, and as in every lifetime that will follow it, I said yes.”
Sydney Sweeney and Jonathan Davino
The Euphoria and Handmaid’s Tale actress got engaged to her long-time boyfriend, Jonathan Davino, in February.
Sweeney, 24, was spotted sporting a large diamond on her ring finger, presented to her by the 37-year-old restaurateur.
Abigail Breslin and Ira Kunyansky
The Little Miss Sunshine actress said “I do” when her Ukrainian businessman boyfriend of five years popped the question in February.
“I was like, ‘duh,” Breslin wrote on Instagram.
Sofia Richie and Elliot Grainge
Nicole Richie’s model sister got engaged to her music executive man, Elliot Grainge after more than one year of dating. Grainge popped the question in April at Hawaii’s Four Seasons Hualalai.
“Forever isn’t long enough @elliot,” Richie wrote on Instagram.
Josh Duhamel and Audra Mari
The Transformers actor found a novel way to propose to his girlfriend. He put a message in a bottle, which she found when they went down to the beach.
“It’s on!” he wrote on social media, sharing the news. “She found a message in a bottle that washed ashore and said yes!”
Simone Biles and Jonathan Owens
The Olympic gymnast announced her engagement to her American football player boyfriend in February, showing off a 3-carat ring.
“I can’t wait to spend forever & ever with you, you’re everything I dreamed of and more! Let’s get married fiance,” Biles wrote on Instagram.
Lana Condor and Anthony De La Torre
The star of the To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before trilogy got engaged to actor and singer Anthony De La Torre.
“Saying yes was the easiest decision I’ve ever made. I consider myself the absolute luckiest woman alive to live in your sphere,” she wrote on social media.
Joey King and Steven Piet
After two-and-a-half years of dating, the Kissing Booth actress got engaged to her producer boyfriend, Steven Piet, after they met on the set of drama series The Act.
“I love you more than an Instagram caption could ever do justice,” wrote King. “Hanging out with you forever sounds like a real dream, so let’s do it.”
Romee Strijd and Laurens van Leeuwen
Model and consultant Laurens van Leeuwen popped the question to his Victoria’s Secret model girlfriend Romee Strijd after 12 years together.
Presenting her with a diamond, van Leeuwen got down on one knee in Switzerland. “I said yes,” Strijd wrote on Instagram.
Simon Cowell and Lauren Silverman
The American Idol and Britain's Got Talent judge asked his long-term girlfriend Lauren Silverman to marry him during a holiday to Barbados in January. The couple have a son, Eric.
Michelle Dockery and Jasper Waller-Bridge
The TV producer brother of Fleabag star Phoebe Waller-Bridge popped the question to Downton Abbey actress Michelle Dockery early this year. The pair began dating back in 2019.
Muslim Council of Elders condemns terrorism on religious sites
The Muslim Council of Elders has strongly condemned the criminal attacks on religious sites in Britain.
It firmly rejected “acts of terrorism, which constitute a flagrant violation of the sanctity of houses of worship”.
“Attacking places of worship is a form of terrorism and extremism that threatens peace and stability within societies,” it said.
The council also warned against the rise of hate speech, racism, extremism and Islamophobia. It urged the international community to join efforts to promote tolerance and peaceful coexistence.
What are NFTs?
Are non-fungible tokens a currency, asset, or a licensing instrument? Arnab Das, global market strategist EMEA at Invesco, says they are mix of all of three.
You can buy, hold and use NFTs just like US dollars and Bitcoins. “They can appreciate in value and even produce cash flows.”
However, while money is fungible, NFTs are not. “One Bitcoin, dollar, euro or dirham is largely indistinguishable from the next. Nothing ties a dollar bill to a particular owner, for example. Nor does it tie you to to any goods, services or assets you bought with that currency. In contrast, NFTs confer specific ownership,” Mr Das says.
This makes NFTs closer to a piece of intellectual property such as a work of art or licence, as you can claim royalties or profit by exchanging it at a higher value later, Mr Das says. “They could provide a sustainable income stream.”
This income will depend on future demand and use, which makes NFTs difficult to value. “However, there is a credible use case for many forms of intellectual property, notably art, songs, videos,” Mr Das says.
Skoda Superb Specs
Engine: 2-litre TSI petrol
Power: 190hp
Torque: 320Nm
Price: From Dh147,000
Available: Now
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
Match info
Who: India v Afghanistan
What: One-off Test match, Bengaluru
When: June 14 to 18
TV: OSN Sports Cricket HD, 8am starts
Online: OSN Play (subscribers only)
Islamophobia definition
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
WWE TLC results
Asuka won the SmackDown Women's title in a TLC triple threat with Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair
Dean Ambrose won the Intercontinental title against Seth Rollins
Daniel Bryan retained the WWE World Heavyweight Championship against AJ Styles
Ronda Rousey retained the Raw Women's Championship against Nia Jax
Rey Mysterio beat Randy Orton in a chairs match
Finn Balor defeated Drew McIntyre
Natalya beat Ruby Riott in a tables match
Braun Strowman beat Baron Corbin in a TLC match
Sheamus and Cesaro retained the SmackDown Tag Titles against The Usos and New Day
R-Truth and Carmella won the Mixed Match Challenge by beating Jinder Mahal and Alicia Fox
Libya's Gold
UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves.
The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.
Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.
Company profile
Date started: 2015
Founder: John Tsioris and Ioanna Angelidaki
Based: Dubai
Sector: Online grocery delivery
Staff: 200
Funding: Undisclosed, but investors include the Jabbar Internet Group and Venture Friends
The Case For Trump
By Victor Davis Hanson
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League quarter-final (first-leg score):
Juventus (1) v Ajax (1), Tuesday, 11pm UAE
Match will be shown on BeIN Sports
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MATCH INFO
Champions League quarter-final, first leg
Tottenham Hotspur v Manchester City, Tuesday, 11pm (UAE)
Matches can be watched on BeIN Sports
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
European arms
Known EU weapons transfers to Ukraine since the war began: Germany 1,000 anti-tank weapons and 500 Stinger surface-to-air missiles. Luxembourg 100 NLAW anti-tank weapons, jeeps and 15 military tents as well as air transport capacity. Belgium 2,000 machine guns, 3,800 tons of fuel. Netherlands 200 Stinger missiles. Poland 100 mortars, 8 drones, Javelin anti-tank weapons, Grot assault rifles, munitions. Slovakia 12,000 pieces of artillery ammunition, 10 million litres of fuel, 2.4 million litres of aviation fuel and 2 Bozena de-mining systems. Estonia Javelin anti-tank weapons. Latvia Stinger surface to air missiles. Czech Republic machine guns, assault rifles, other light weapons and ammunition worth $8.57 million.
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
Electric scooters: some rules to remember
- Riders must be 14-years-old or over
- Wear a protective helmet
- Park the electric scooter in designated parking lots (if any)
- Do not leave electric scooter in locations that obstruct traffic or pedestrians
- Solo riders only, no passengers allowed
- Do not drive outside designated lanes
Six tips to secure your smart home
Most smart home devices are controlled via the owner's smartphone. Therefore, if you are using public wi-fi on your phone, always use a VPN (virtual private network) that offers strong security features and anonymises your internet connection.
Keep your smart home devices’ software up-to-date. Device makers often send regular updates - follow them without fail as they could provide protection from a new security risk.
Use two-factor authentication so that in addition to a password, your identity is authenticated by a second sign-in step like a code sent to your mobile number.
Set up a separate guest network for acquaintances and visitors to ensure the privacy of your IoT devices’ network.
Change the default privacy and security settings of your IoT devices to take extra steps to secure yourself and your home.
Always give your router a unique name, replacing the one generated by the manufacturer, to ensure a hacker cannot ascertain its make or model number.
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SPECS
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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
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Where to buy
Limited-edition art prints of The Sofa Series: Sultani can be acquired from Reem El Mutwalli at www.reemelmutwalli.com
Poacher
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The story in numbers
18
This is how many recognised sects Lebanon is home to, along with about four million citizens
450,000
More than this many Palestinian refugees are registered with UNRWA in Lebanon, with about 45 per cent of them living in the country’s 12 refugee camps
1.5 million
There are just under 1 million Syrian refugees registered with the UN, although the government puts the figure upwards of 1.5m
73
The percentage of stateless people in Lebanon, who are not of Palestinian origin, born to a Lebanese mother, according to a 2012-2013 study by human rights organisation Frontiers Ruwad Association
18,000
The number of marriages recorded between Lebanese women and foreigners between the years 1995 and 2008, according to a 2009 study backed by the UN Development Programme
77,400
The number of people believed to be affected by the current nationality law, according to the 2009 UN study
4,926
This is how many Lebanese-Palestinian households there were in Lebanon in 2016, according to a census by the Lebanese-Palestinian dialogue committee
The specs
Engine: 1.6-litre 4-cyl turbo and dual electric motors
Power: 300hp at 6,000rpm
Torque: 520Nm at 1,500-3,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 8.0L/100km
Price: from Dh199,900
On sale: now