Critical Beauty

Angelia Gabrena Ong ( center), 24, representing Manila, was crowned  Miss Philippines Earth 2015  on Sunday, May 31, at the Mall of Asia Arena. She will compete in the 2015 edition of Miss Earth whose date and venue have not yet been confirmed.  Completing the top 5 with their respective titles were: Chanel Olive Thomas -  Miss Philippines Air 2015 - San Antonio, Nueva Ecija  Catherine Joy Marin -  Miss Philippines Water 2015 - Bago City   Carla Angela Valderama   -  Miss Philippines Fire 2015 - Siniloan, Laguna  Jona Sweet -  Miss Philippines Ecotourism 2015 - Iloilo City  

PHOTOGRAPHY BY JM RECTO RANADA Seventeen young men from four corners of the world competed in the first Mister United Continents pageant which was held at the Tanghalang Pasigeño in Pasig City, Philippines on Friday, May 29th. Kamel Raad , a 28-year old fitness model from Beirut, Lebanon, was elected as the first winner by a distinguished panel consisting of 15 judges. In the photo above, Raad (carrying the Lebanese flag) is flanked by his court that includes (L-R): 5th runner up Dheeraj Sharma of India, 2nd runner up Kristian Diaz of Canada, 1st runner up Bobbi Teguh of Indonesia, 3rd runner-up Antonio Chimbanda of Angola, and 4th runner up Nguyen Quang Huan of Vietnam. Completing the top 12 were: Aldo Mecani of Albania, Michael Catayas of Australia, Lionel Mcintosh of the Bahamas, Larry Taveras of the Dominican Republic, Robert Davis of Guam and   Reynaldo Cataluña of the Philippines. The pageant is owned and produced by Blue Circle Events & Management. To se

PHOTOGRAPHY BY FADIL BERISHA  GIVE THREE ADJECTIVES THAT YOUR FRIENDS WOULD DESCRIBE YOU.       My friends would probably say I was funny, trustworthy and nurturing. I am supportive, compassionate, and affectionate and truly enjoy making people laugh.  Friendships are incredibly important to me, so whenever possible I make it a point to let my friends know how special they are to me.  HAVE YOU SEEN "50 SHADES OF GREY?" IF YOU HAVE, WHAT DID YOU THINK OF IT? IF YOU HAVEN'T, WOULD YOU SEE IT?       I just saw it this weekend! I found the movie to be intriguing yet disturbing at times.  I think there is a very fine line between desire and abuse, and at certain times during the movie the characters were dangerously close to crossing that line.  IF YOU WERE TO COME BACK AS AN ANIMAL IN THE NEXT LIFE, WHAT WOULD YOU BE AND WHY?      I would be a dolphin! Dolphins are incredibly smart, social and playful animals. They have very good vision and excellent

Heartbreaking end: Damarys Ruiz, 68, died on the streets after spending the last 15 years of her life homeless Damarys Ruiz , 68, shot to stardom in 1973 at the age of 26 when she entered the Miss Venezuela contest to represent her home state. But her body was found in a park in the country's capital Caracas this week, but none of her family  have  visited the hospital to identify her. Despite being just 5ft 2" tall, the beautiful Miss Sucre - a state in the north of Venezuela - impressed the judges with her intelligence and looks, including her hourglass figure.  Despite her fame and popularity, Ms Ruiz never made it to the big time. After deciding not to pursue a career in law, she began selling homemade crafts and junk jewellery in Caracas. She never had a proper boyfriend and instead lived with her brother, who according to friends was jealous of her and didn't allow her any freedom. In a rare interview in 2005, Ms Ruiz told local  media: 

Fatima Zahra El-Horre, a 23-year-old student of business law and taxation from Marrakech, was crowned Miss Maroc 2015 (Miss Morocco 2015) at Movenpick Hotel in Tangier. It is reported that she might compete in Miss World 2015, the first Moroccan candidate since 1968.  The first runner went to Tangiers’ Kawtar Benserghi, while the second and third runners were won respectively by Hafsa from Meknes and Feryal Ziani from Tetoua.

Paola  Núñez   Valdez, who emigrated from the Dominican Republic when she was 10 years old, was crowned Miss Universe Canada 2015, on Saturday May 23rd at the St Lawrence Centre for the Arts during the Miss Universe Canada 2015 Finals. She will now compete in the next edition of Miss Universe pageant. Her court includes 1st runner-up  Michelle McKay, 2nd runner-up Kathryn Kohut, 3rd runner-up Brynn Blackwood , and 4th runner-up Skye Nwaelleh.

     The brouhaha began when the eccentric president of  the Thailand-based Miss Grand International Organization (MGI), Nawat Itsaragirisl , posted on the official Facebook page of MGI on May 19, 2015 the following announcement - that he would take the current titleholder, Lees Garcia , and Miss Grand Kurdistan 2014 Dalia Hassan , with him to the Middle East to promote the organization's platform, "Stop The War And Violence" by visiting refugee camps in Kurdistan. Minutes after he posted the announcement, pageant fans rushed to express their major concern for the MGI team: would the team be guaranteed safety from any possible attack by the Islamic jihadist group, ISIS?       A day later, on May 20th, Lees Garcia posted on her Facebook page a statement reassuring her fans that she trusts the MGI organization in its risky endeavor. She sounds sincere, but she is also sincerely naive and foolish:      As I write this article, ISIS  has just conquered the s

Liz Arevalos (center), a 21-year-old medical student from Paraguay was crowned Miss Progress International 2015 on May 16 in Puglia, Italy. Her court includes Kelly Van Den Dungen from Netherlands (left) who won the title Miss Progress Environment 2015, Susanna Shkrabak (right) from USA who won the title of Miss Progress Human Rights 2015, and Neidy Robles from Mexico won the title Miss Progress Integration of Cultures 2015. Arevalos was also awarded the title of Miss Progress Health 2015. Laila Khan Niazi of Pakistan won the National Costume award, Daiane Rosa of Brazil won Miss Internet. Nearly 20 contestants competed in the third edition of the pageant. .

Jinder Atwal, 27, won the Mr. World Canada 2015 title while Anastasia Lin, 25, was crowned Miss World Canada 2015 during a joint Miss & Mr. World Canada 2015 pageant at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre in Vancouver on Saturday, May 16. Atwal will compete in the next edition of Mr. World and Lin will compete in Miss World 2015. It was Lin's second attempt for the crown (she placed third in 2013). The show was marred by controversy when one of the male contestants berated the pageant by calling it "unfair" which prompted the host to grab the microphone. A member of the audience was able to videotape the entire incident and uploaded it on YouTube: ANASTASIA LIN JINDER ATWAL PHOTO CREDIT: MISS WORLD CANADA

FANNEY INGSVARSDOTTIR / Arnor Halldorsson Photography      Ungfrú Ísland (Miss Iceland) pageant is returning to international pageantry. The country was absent in 2014 Miss World pageant and has not competed in Miss Universe since 2009 when  Ingibjörg Raghnheidur Egils dóttir  placed in the Top 15.  The Icelandic franchise for both Miss World and Miss Universe has been bought by the owners of World Class, Björn Leifsson and Hafdís Jónsdóttir, with former Miss Iceland Fanney Ingsvars dóttir  serving as the national director. Fanney succeeds  Íris Telma Jónsdóttir, another former Miss Iceland, who was the director in 2013.  The national finals of Ungfrú Ísland 2015 will be held on September 5 at Harpa Concert Hall and Conference Centre in Reykjavik. The winner will succeed the reigning Ungfrú Ísland 2013,Tanja Ýr Ástþórsdóttir, and represent Iceland in Miss World 2015. It is reported that the 1st runner-up will compete in Miss Universe 2015.      For a small country of nearl

Leanne McDowell,  a 19-year-old marketing student from Cookstown was crowned Miss Northern Ireland 2015 at Europa Hotel in Belfast on May 11.  She will now represent Northern Ireland in Miss World 2015 whose date and venue have yet to be announced. 

Miri City Mayor Lawrence Lai has warned organisers not to hold drag queen pageants for any festivals in the city.  MIRI, May 9 ― Organisers of drag queen pageants have been given a stern warning not to hold such events in Miri City for any festivals including the annual city day celebration. Miri City Mayor Lawrence Lai said Miri City Council would not endorse or support any application for such an event here as it understood local religious and cultural sensitivities. He also denied the allegation by some quarters that the rising trend of drag queen competitions here were part of Miri City's tenth year anniversary bash that would be celebrated on May 20. “MCC never approved or authorised such events and it is not part of our Miri City day celebrations,” he told Bernama here today. Lai was commenting on the Miss Transuniverse Miri 2015 that would be held today at one of hotels here that created an uproar among the local community. Upon checking with his officer

     Miss World Zimbabwe Emily Kachote could be stripped of her crown should allegations about her purported appearance in leaked nude photographs prove to be true, the pageant organizer said Tuesday. Photos supposedly showing the newly crowned pageant queen drunk and naked surfaced on social media over the weekend. Kachote’s ex-boyfriend claimed he took the pictures, the Chronicle newspaper in Bulawayo said.       The Miss Zimbabwe Trust said it would not dethrone the reigning queen without an investigation. But if the allegations are true, then the pageant organizer would have to revoke her crown. “When we sit down with Emily to get her side of the story and if our investigations find that this is true, then we’ve no option but to dethrone her and replace her with the first princess Anne-Grace [Mutambu],” the Chronicle quoted trust representative Tendai Chirau as saying.       Competitors in the Miss World Zimbabwe pageant had signed statements saying they had never p

Natalia Fogelund, 21, from Gothenburg was crowned Miss Sweden World 2015 at the Sheraton Stockholm Hotel on May 2. She will represent Sweden in Miss World 2015 whose date and venue have not yet been confirmed. The first runner-up was  Stina Nordlander  a ndthe  second runner-up was Issabella Georgsson. Miss Sweden World pageant was organized by Miss Queen of Scandinavia.