Critical Beauty

Merve Buyuksarac      A former Miss Turkey could be jailed for two years for posting a satirical poem on social media that criticised her country's president.      The arrest of Merve Buyuksarac , 26, follows a crackdown in the country on critical media in the wake of the Charlie Hebdo shootings in Paris as well as a increasing curbs on press freedoms in the country.  Miss Buyuksarac is the latest person to face trial for insulting Recep Tayyip Erdogan - who recently said women are not equal to men - amid fears that the country is in danger of coming under authoritarian rule.  Emre Telci , who is representing the former Miss Turkey, said an Istanbul prosecutor is demanding that Merve Buyuksarac be prosecuted on charges of insulting a public official.  If she is convicted she could face a two year prison sentence.        Her case comes amid further controls being placed on people in Turkey - with curbs on press freedoms and social media posts. Hundreds of people who

UPDATE: February 24, 2015.  The Daily Star Lebanon published an  article  written by  Mazin Sidahmed  exposing  Asra Shahid's  husband,  Dr. Mohammed Shahid Khan , as a fake goodwill ambassador who is not related with the United Nations Organization as he claims on his website. It also mentions Asra Shahid as the founder of a bogus pageant, Miss Universal Peace and Humanity, and mentions Critical Beauty as the pageant blog that "posted several complaints of potential candidates..."  Read more .

The new Miss Universe Indonesia 2015 (Puteri Indonesia 2015 is Anindya Kusuma Putri , 23, representing Jawa Tengah. She was crowned on February 20th at the Jakarta Convention Center. Assisting in her coronation was the current Miss Universe Paulina Vega . Anindya will represent Indonesia in the 2015 Miss Universe pageant whose date and venue have yet to be confirmed.  The finalists were Chintya Fabyola of Kalimantan Barat who was named Miss International Indonesia 2015 and Gresya Amanda Maaliwuga of Sulawesi Utra who was named Miss Supranational Indonesia 2015. 

Photo courtesy: Miss World Ltd. 23-year-old Maria Harfanti,    Miss DI Yogyakarta,   was crowned Miss Indonesia 2015 on February 16th in Jakarta. Harfanti was also the winner of the Beauty with a Purpose sub contest. Harfanti will compete in the 2015 Miss World pageant whose date and venue have not been confirmed. Assisting in the coronation was outgoing Miss Indonesia 2014 Maria Rahajeng and Miss World 2014 Rolene Strauss who spent four days in Indonesia, taking part in a press conference alongside Miss World Chairman Julia Morley on Sunday as well as appearances on national television. 

A Miss Indonesia beauty contestant photo of Ratna Nurlia Alfiandini. (Ratna Nurlia Alfiandini’s Instagram page) J AKARTA –- A contestant representing the devoutly Muslim Aceh province in the Miss Indonesia beauty pageant has been criticised for not wearing a headscarf, media reports said Monday.  Ratna Nurlia Alfiandini's participation in the contest has not been approved by the Acehnese government, the  Jawa Pos  news website reported. "We don't want the name of Aceh to be used by people who don't represent its values," provincial government spokesman Mahyuzar was quoted as saying. "Aceh has no interest in a beauty contest and the like but since there is a contestant claiming to represent it, we have to make clear our stance so as not to create a polemic," said Mahyuzar, who like many Indonesians goes by one name. Aceh is the only Indonesian province allowed to impose Islamic sharia law, as part of the central government's attempt

Touching moment: police officer Neil Perez of the Philippines gives a salute after winning the Mister International title. The salute is his gesture to honor  the 44 Filipino police officers who were killed last January 25th.       Neil Perez (real name  Mariano Flormata, Jr.) , a 29-year-old police officer and a trained bomb and explosives technician from Manila, Philippines, won the 2014/2015 Mister International title at the Hotel Inter-Burgo Grand Ballroom in Ansan, Korea on February 14. He received his sash and trophy from the 2013 winner,  José Anmer Paredes   of Venezuela. Perez's victory marks his country's first win of the coveted male beauty pageant. His court includes 1st runner-up  Rabih El Zein of Lebanon, 2nd runner-up  Tomáš Dumbrovský of the Czech Republic, 3rd runner-up  Rafał Maślak of Poland, and 4th runner-up  Mitja Nadizar of Slovenia.      Completing the top 10 were the delegates from Brazil, Mexico, Japan, Korea and Thailand. And completing

On his Facebook page dated February 7, 2015, Oscar Leopold Espinoza accused Alan Sim , the president of the Mister International Organization (MIO), of being a thief, as well as incriminating Korea's national director (whom he did not name). He also defended Julio Matute Rodriguez , Venezuela's national director, whose franchise has been taken away by Sim after Rodriguez opted to expose the truth about what is happening in Sim's organization. Here's a screeshot of Espinoza's tirade: Here's my English translation: "Who is this character in the world and especially in Latin America? It’s Julio Rodriguez Matute , from our brother country Venezuela, who really is the International Director for all Latinos. Now I wonder who would be foolish enough to quarrel with him; none of us Latino directors would do that, but there is a STUPID MAN IN ASIA, who did quarrel with him knowing that Julio is the one who mentors us and who advices us to which As

Miss Universe 2015, Colombian beauty Paulina Vega , says that she is in the ready to help out in whichever way she can to foster peace in her home country. In a statement to Fox News Latino, Vega responded to an invitation posted over the weekend  by the FARC peace delegation headquartered in Havana, Cuba. The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) are a guerilla organization involved in a continuing armed conflict since 1964. "We have read with interest your desire to contribute with your good works to reaching peace," the online statement read. "We salute your willingness to travel to Havana, and we invite you to … visit to update you about the development of the peace talks, the progress and the enormous contribution that you and the majorities who desire peace can make." Vega's representatives told Fox News Latino that they were not certain about whether or not any such visit by Vega, 22, would be permitted by the pageant’s guideline

Stephanie Cruz of Puerto Rico (center), was crowned Supermodel International 2014/2015 on January 31, 2015. The 4th annual competition was held at the Hilton Convention Center of Grand Hilton Seoul in Seoul, Korea. Throughout the two-hour event, models from nearly 30 countries around the world competed in various categories, including swimsuit and evening gown. The other finalists include the delegates from Vietnam (1st runner-up), Colombia (2nd runner-up), Finland (3rd runner-up), and Korea (4th runner-up). The pageant originally started in 2011 in Bangkok as Supermodel of Asia Pacific but became international in 2012. During its debut in 2011, it had 33 entries and peaked to 38 in 2012. In 2013, the number of entries dipped to 25 but increased to 28 in the latest edition. The contest is owned and produced by Pradit Pradinunt , the managing director of PDN Co., LTD.  Photo credit: Pradit Pradinunt Facebook Page