http://www.timesofindia.com/today/01indu1.htm
India
Priyanka Chopra claims the crown
LONDON: Miss India, paying tribute to Mother Theresa as the woman she
most admired, was crowned Miss World on Thursday - the second
consecutive year India has carried away the title.
Priyanka Chopra, 18, was chosen from among 95 contestants who posed in
swimsuits in recorded footage from the Maldives, and in evening gowns on
a chilly night at London's Millennium Dome.
The tall and slender Chopra said she would use her success as "a
platform to influence people's thoughts, minds and actions". She won
$100,000 in prize money.
Mother Theresa, she said, was someone "I admire from the bottom of my
heart for being so considerate, passionate and kind ... giving up her
life to put smiles on people's faces".
It was Miss World's 50th annual beauty pageant, and the first since the
death of its creator, Eric Morley, in November.
In some countries - such as India, home of last year's winner Yukta
Mookhey - the event remains enormously popular. But in Britain, the
pageant is widely seen as a quaint, kitsch spectacle.
Bookmakers William Hill said bets slumped this year to an all-time low
of 2,570 pounds ($3,600), a far cry from the mid-1970s when takings in
the region of 250,000 pounds ($350,000) were normal.
The five finalists were Miss India, Miss Kazhakstan, Miss Italy, Miss
Uruguay and Miss Turkey.
At the semifinal stage, when only 10 contestants remained, Miss India
said she didn't feel any tension.
"I work best under pressure," she said. "Without expectation I wouldn't
strive for enthusiasm."
She was clearly the audience's favourite, raucously cheered whenever she
stepped on stage and took the microphone.
The panel of judges, including Hot Chocolate lead singer Errol Brown,
had said it was not only looking for beauty - but also women who "speak
on behalf of humanity and charity".
In its 1970s heyday, Miss World was a focus of feminine protests, which
helped spur the show's move outside Britain. Demonstrators flour-bombed
the 1970 event at the Royal Albert Hall.
There were echoes of that protest again on Thursday, when about 200
members of the National Union of Students Women's Campaign heckled
people as they entered the Millennium Dome in south London. (AP)
India
Priyanka Chopra claims the crown
World
Hrithik: there already is a thread in this forum on this topic…so i am closing this one, and will post ur replies to that thread…thanx for the link btw
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~ It is difficult to say what is impossible, for the dream of yesterday is the hope of today and the reality of tomorrow… ~