Miss Venezuela wins Miss Universe 2008
Miss Venezuela, 22-year-old Dayana Mendoza, won the Miss Universe pageant held in Vietnam, beating runners-up from three other Latin American countries and Russia. Read on...
By HT Correspondent | AFP, Nha Trang (vietnam)
UPDATED ON JUL 14, 2008 01:22 PM IST
Miss Venezuela, 22-year-old Dayana Mendoza, won the Miss Universe pageant held in Vietnam on Monday, beating runners-up from three other Latin American countries and Russia.
Mendoza, who had been the favourite of many pageant watchers and online bookmakers, clinched the diamond-studded gold crown after answering a question on the difference between men and women.
"Men think that the fastest way to go to a point is to go straight," explained the trilingual beauty from Amazonas state. "Women know that the faster way to go to a point is to go to the curves."
Wearing a yellow evening gown, she burst into tears of joy when the presenter, US talkshow host Jerry Springer, announced she had won, beating runners-up up from Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Russia and Mexico.
Her prize package includes cash, a year-long contract promoting Miss Universe, world travel, a rent-free New York City luxury apartment and a giftbag stuffed with free designer shoes, dresses and beauty products.
In the world of beauty contests, Venezuela -- where beauty contests are held in schools, villages and even prisons -- is considered a "pageant superpower" with four previous Miss Universe and five Miss World winners.
Britain tightens borders to keep out new Covid-19 strains
Reuters
PUBLISHED ON JAN 15, 2021 11:12 PM IST
The change comes into force at 0400 GMT on Monday and means all passengers must have a recent negative coronavirus test and transfer immediately into isolation upon arrival.
Nearly 60,000 have fled Central African Republic violence: UN
Reuters
PUBLISHED ON JAN 15, 2021 10:38 PM IST
CAR's government has been battling rebel groups seeking to overturn a Dec. 27 vote in which President Faustin-Archange Touadera was declared victor despite fraud claims.
WHO stops short of advising proof of COVID shots for travel
Reuters, Geneva
PUBLISHED ON JAN 15, 2021 10:34 PM IST
The 19-member panel of independent experts held their sixth meeting in a year under the chairmanship of French expert Didier Houssin, as the death toll from the pandemic neared two million.
Six EU nations express 'severe concern' over vaccine delays
AFP, Vilnius, Lithuania
PUBLISHED ON JAN 15, 2021 10:06 PM IST
- Ministers from Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania and Sweden said in their letter that the situation was "unacceptable" and "decreases the credibility of the vaccination process".
Biden appoints David Cohen once more as deputy CIA director
Reuters, Washington
PUBLISHED ON JAN 15, 2021 10:01 PM IST
Cohen previously served as the deputy director for the Central Intelligence Agency from 2015 to 2017 under Democratic then-President Barack Obama, when Biden served as vice president.
US imposes fresh sanctions on Iran in final days of Trump presidency
Reuters, Washington
UPDATED ON JAN 15, 2021 09:55 PM IST
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in statements said Washington blacklisted 7 entities and 2 individuals in sanctions related to the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines and Iranian shipping entities, as well as slapping sanctions on Iranian entities for activities related to conventional arms proliferation.
Eyes on Nancy Pelosi as Donald Trump's impeachment trial timing up in the air
Reuters, Washington
UPDATED ON JAN 15, 2021 09:50 PM IST
The Democratic-led House of Representatives voted 232-197 on Wednesday to impeach Trump on a charge of incitement one week after his supporters rampaged in the Capitol following a speech in which the outgoing Republican president urged them to fight Democrat Joe Biden's Nov. 3 election victory.
Covid: China honours 'Bat Woman' of controversial Wuhan lab
PTI, Beijing
UPDATED ON JAN 15, 2021 09:40 PM IST
Shi Zhengli from the Wuhan Institute of Virology who has earned the moniker of 'Bat Woman' for her passionate research into bats and viruses was honoured as an "advanced worker of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS)", the state-run Global Times reported, citing a WIV announcement on Friday.
US plans fresh Iran sanctions related to metals, conventional arms
Reuters
PUBLISHED ON JAN 15, 2021 09:26 PM IST
Trump in 2018 abandoned the Iran nuclear agreement that Tehran struck with six major powers in 2015 to rein in its nuclear program in return for relief from US and international sanctions that had crippled its economy.
Pentagon says US has dropped to 2,500 troops in Afghanistan
AP, Washington
PUBLISHED ON JAN 15, 2021 08:56 PM IST
Senior US commanders are skeptical of the Taliban's stated commitment to peace.
Joe Biden urges swift action on giant aid plan with Republicans wary
Bloomberg
PUBLISHED ON JAN 15, 2021 08:35 PM IST
Joe Biden’s hand was bolstered by Friday’s release of US retail sales data for December, which showed a third straight monthly decline as the pandemic sapped activity.
Man convicted in 3 killings to be last executed under Trump administration
AP
UPDATED ON JAN 15, 2021 08:28 PM IST
Dustin Higgs, 48, who is scheduled to be executed on Friday at the federal prison in Terre Haute, Indiana, says nobody alleges he pulled the trigger.
Trump administration takes final swipes at China and its companies
Reuters
PUBLISHED ON JAN 15, 2021 08:24 PM IST
The moves come just days before Trump steps down and President-elect Joe Biden takes office.
Joe Biden is told trump may be Going but Trumpism lives on in Brazil
Bloomberg
PUBLISHED ON JAN 15, 2021 08:17 PM IST
Bolsonaro, who styled himself a Brazilian version of Trump, publicly supported his candidacy and was one of the last world leaders to congratulate Biden for his victory.
Chinese authorities ask people to cut down on travel as Covid rises again
By Sutirtho Patranobis , edited by Vinod Janardhanan
PUBLISHED ON JAN 15, 2021 07:52 PM IST
A total of 144 new Covid-19 cases were reported for January 14, the National Health Commission said, with the numbers pushed up by 90 locally transmitted infections in the worst-hit northern province of Hebei.