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Showing posts from December, 2016

Puerto Rico Wins Miss World 2016

Stephanie Del Valle , 19, of Puerto Rico was crowned Miss World 2016 on December 18  at the Theater at MGM National Harbor in Maryland, USA. She was crowned by her predecessor, Mireia Lalaguna of Spain. Del Valle is the second woman from her country to win the coveted title, which was initially won by Wilnelia Merced in 1975.  Del Valle's court includes 1st runner-up Yaritza Reyes , 23, of the Dominican Republic and 2nd runner-up Natasha Mannuela , 22, of Indonesia. The remaining two finalists were Catriona Gray , 22, of the Philippines and  Evelyn Njambi Thungu , 22, of Kenya. Completing the top 10 were the delegates from Belgium, Brazil, China, Korea and the United States. Mongolia, which won the People's Choice, became the 11th semi-finalist. Rounding up the top 20 were the delegates from Australia, Cook Islands, France, Ghana, Hungary, India, Japan, Slovakia and Thailand. Heavy favorite Catriona Gray of the Philippines, shows her disappointment for

Miss France 2017 Is From French Guiana

   Alicia Aylies , Miss Guyane, has been crowned Miss France 2017. She is 18 years old, and a first-year law student. She makes history by being crowned as the first Miss France from a French overseas territory located in South America.      Vaea Ferrand , Miss Tahiti, was runner-up, with Morgane Thérésine , Miss Guadeloupe, second-runner-up. Justine Kamara (Miss Lorraine) came fourth.    The competition was held at the Montpellier exhibition centre, as the jury and the public found a successor for Miss France 2016 Iris Mittenaere, with live coverage on TF1. Jean-Pierre Foucault hosted the ceremony for the 22nd time.    Thirty regional winners were selected during the past year to compete for the title of Miss France 2017. Twelve had been preselected by the jury, this year chaired by actress Arielle Dombasle, who replaces Jean-Paul Gaultier.    These 12 were Meggy Pyaneeandee (Miss Île-de-France), Ambre Nguyen (Miss Réunion), Esther Houdement (Miss Normandie),

Steve Harvey to Return as Miss Universe 2016 Host After Major 2015 Blunder

After his major -- and majorly embarrassing -- flub from the 2015 ceremony,  Steve Harvey  is hoping for some redemption: The comedian  has been confirmed  to return to emcee the 2016 Miss Universe pageant, set to take place in January. For those who were living under an internet-free rock at the time, Harvey made  the biggest mistake a pageant host can make  back in December 2015 when he announced the wrong winner for the Miss Universe title. The comedian accidentally said that Miss Colombia, Ariadna Gutiérrez , was the 2015 champ, when she was in fact the first runner-up to the real winner, Miss Phillippines, Pia Wurtzbach . Gutiérrez was given the crown, sash, and a giant bouquet of flowers before the mistake was realized. A sheepish Harvey had to return to the stage, interrupt Gutiérrez's celebration, and announce to the crowd that he had read the wrong name. He held up his cue cards as proof of his mistake, and immediately owned the error, telling the audience, &qu

Miss World Contestant Who Challenged China Is Allowed to Speak Once More

Anastasia Lin, Canada’s Miss World entrant, spoke out about murky, government-sanctioned organ transplant programs in China.   Credit Pablo Martinez Monsivais/Associated Press Anastasia Lin , the  Miss World contestant  whose advocacy for victims of human right abuses in  China  has infuriated Beijing, appears to have regained her voice. On Wednesday evening, pageant organizers gave Ms. Lin, a Chinese-born Canadian, the green light to speak to the news media, ending a three-week standoff in Washington that had drawn unflattering attention to a storied beauty pageant that has become increasingly dependent on Chinese corporate sponsors. According to friends and relatives of Ms. Lin’s, employees of the British-owned beauty pageant had warned her that she would be ejected from the competition if she spoke publicly about murky, government-sanctioned transplant programs that human rights advocates say rely heavily on the organs of murdered prisoners of conscience. China h

Miss Universe Tickets To Cost P8,000 to P50,000

Miss Universe candidates take a ‘groupie’ withTourism Secretary Wanda Teo in Rizal Park yesterday.   MIGUEL DE GUZMAN Get ready to shell out about P50,000 to see over 90 of the most beautiful women in the universe up close. Tickets for the 65th Miss Universe pageant coronation night will be available online starting Dec. 20, with prices ranging from $160 to $1,000, the Department of Tourism (DOT) announced yesterday. In a press briefing in Makati City, Tourism Secretary Wanda Teo revealed that fans could start buying tickets online through the Ticketnet website.     General admission tickets cost around $160 (approximately P8,000), while VIP tickets would more or less cost $1,000 (almost P50,000), Teo said. Prices for upper and lower box tickets have yet to be announced. Teo said only 200 tickets remain for the VIP section, as most of the seats have been reserved by the Miss Universe Organization (MUO). But she assured the public that many seats in other sections are

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte Will Not Be Miss Universe Judge

Miss Universe Organization (MUO) president Paula Shugart on Monday quashed possibilities that President Rodrigo Duterte would sit as a judge in the international beauty tilt in Manila next month. In a press conference in Makati with 12 Miss Universe candidates already in the country, Shugart reiterated the organization’s policy of not having any government official in the board of judges.  “It’s very hard to be a government official and to be (a judge). We established the policy a long time ago. They have to be neutral,” Shugart said. The Department of Tourism earlier expressed optimism that the MUO would flex its rules and welcome Duterte’s participation in judging the pageant. “I think Miss Universe Organization is very much welcome to have him in the show. Apparently, it is a rule for the Miss Universe Organization not to have a judge from the host country but I think if it’s the President, I think they will make an exception to the rule,” DOT undersecretary

Steve Harvey on His Infamous Miss Universe Mistake: "It Was Pure Hell"

Steve hosting Miss Universe on Dec. 20. (Photo Credit: Getty Images) Steve Harvey  is getting candid about his infamous  Miss Universe  blunder. Nearly one year after the TV host  mistakenly announced the wrong winner of the beauty pageant , he's opening up about how uncomfortable the unfortunate situation was for him at the time. “It didn’t happen that quick,” Steve revealed during  The Tonight Show  on Monday, Dec. 5. “It wasn’t that quick. It was four minutes of pure hell.” The 59-year-old announced Miss Colombia,  Ariadna Gutiérrez , as the winner, when it was really Miss Philippines,  Pia Wurtzbach . The falsity left both finalists and the audience noticeably in shock! “It was crazy, man, because, look, I’m a smart guy. I can read,” he told host  Jimmy Fallon . “I read the teleprompter, but the guy in my ear said, ‘Read the next name,’ and the teleprompter just said, ‘And the new 2015 Miss Universe is,’ and the next he said was, ‘Read the next name now,

Mexico Wins Mister Supranational 2016

Diego Garcy , a 26-year-old graduate of Business Administration and professional model from Mexico, won the first edition of Mister Supranational contest held in Krynica, Sdroj in Poland on December 3rd. Garcy was crowned by the new Miss Supranational 2016 Srinidhi Shetty of India who had just competed the night before.  Garcy's court includes 1st runner-up Sergey Bindalov , 29, of Belarus whom many pageant fans had predicted as the winner; 2nd runner-up Jitesh Narush Thakur , 27, of India; 3rd runner-up Bruno Vanin , 27, of Brazil; and 4th runner-up Catalin Prinza , 27, of Romania.  Diego Garcy Rounding up the top 10 were the delegates from Poland, Denmark, Panama, Japan, and Venezuela. Competing the top 20 were the contestants from Puerto Rico, United Kingdom, Belgium, Czech Republic, Sweden, France, Malta, Spain, Slovia and the Philippines. Some of the top 20 semifinalists wear the colors of their nations during the "Boxers" segment

India Wins Miss Supranational 2016

Srinidhi Ramesh Shetty , 24, of India was crowned Miss Supranational 2016 during a live telecast   in Krynica Zdrój, Poland on December 2nd.  Shetty's victory marks her country's second crown in only two years. In 2014, her compatriot Asha Bhat was crowned the first Indian winner.  Shetty's court includes  1st runner-up   Valeria Alejandra Vespoli Figuera of Venezuela,  2nd runner-up   Jaleesa Pigot of Suriname,  3rd runner-up   Ornella Mariam Jayasiri Gunesekere of Sri Lanka, and  4th runner-up   Korinna Kocsis of Hungary. Completing the top 10 were the delegates from    Belarus, Indonesia, Myanmar, Poland and Slovakia.  Rounding up the top 25 were the contestants from  Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Japan, Mauritius, Mexico, Netherlands, Panama, Paraguay, Philippines, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Ukraine and Vietnam. Photo credit: Miss Supranational 

Miss Iraq Regrets Pageant Win, Decries Lack Of Support

Photo: Courtesy of Shaima Qassem.      In an interview with Rudaw, Shaima Qassem , the Kurdish winner of Miss Iraq in 2015 expressed her regret for being crowned with the title as she claimed she did not receive any financial support from the Iraqi government or any other group to support her activities. She said she did her charity activities on her own.        Qassem, 20, was born in the Kurdish oil rich city of Kirkuk. She was crowned Miss Iraq in January 2016 in Baghdad.   Rudaw: You became Miss Iraq nearly a year ago, what have you done so far? Shaima Qassem : When I was crowned, I wanted to get involved in charity activities for refugees and children suffering from cancer. Every month, I provided necessities for children and food for the refugees and Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) as well as chemotherapy for children suffering cancer at my own expense. I have also helped in elderly care houses.   Have the government, officials, or Iraqi companies assisted you?