5-Year-Old Syrian Boy Engaged to 3-Year-Old Girl

They "could be the youngest couple in the world to get engaged of their own free will," trumpets the Gulf News. It would be tough to beat: The Syrian boy is five and the girl is three. Their parents swear it's legit and even bought rings that have been exchanged. As the story goes, the boy, identified only as Khalid, met Hala while their families were on vacation. His father says the boy "fell in love" and was lonely upon returning home.

The family called Hala's family, who agreed to the marriage, which isn't supposed to happen until Khalid turns 15. By way of explanation, the father adds: "My wife and I got Khalid after 20 years of marriage, in a complicated pregnancy. I vowed to have my child engaged at the age of 5 if he was a boy and to marry him to a women of his choice at the age of 15." (The Gulf News, which says the story is the "talk of the country," has photos of the kids here.)