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Miss Canada crowned Miss Universe 2005


Natalie Glebova, Miss Universe '05

Miss Canada Natalie Glebova was crowned Miss Universe 2005 in Bangkok yesterday.

Glebova, a 23-year-old motivational speaker from Toronto, succeeded last year's winner, Australian Jennifer Hawkins, after the usual evening gown and swimsuit parades that pull in TV viewers worldwide but outrage feminists and traditionalists.

Even though hotly tipped for the title, the final announcement appeared to stun Glebova, who moved to Canada from her native Russia only 11 years ago.

"This is all happening too fast and it's unreal. It's slowly starting to sink in," she told reporters moments after being crowned with the glittering, diamond-encrusted Miss Universe tiara.

Dressed in a long white evening dress, she hugged her parents on stage and then praised her new homeland for giving her and her family the chance to start a new life.

"When we came 11 years ago, we came with nothing, and now we've got so much," she said.

Miss Puerto Rico Cynthia Olavarria, a 12-1 favourite according to on-line betting service Sportsbook.com, came in second.

In all, 81 beauties from Albania to Zambia made it to Thailand, riding elephants, touring temples and frollicking on tsunami-hit beaches in the run-up to Tuesday's finale, which was broadcast live on Monday evening in North America.

In the middle of the show, the conference hall fell silent for a minute in memory of more than 228,000 dead or missing from the December 26 Indian Ocean tsunami. Nearly 5,400 of the victims were in Thailand.

The silence contrasted with some of the strident criticism levelled against the 54-year-old pageant in its earlier stages.

Photographs of bikini-clad contestants posing in front of Bangkok's famed "Wat Arun," or "Temple of the Dawn," caused outrage among religious traditionalists who said they were an affront to Buddhism.

Source: Reuters

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Miss Canada crowned Miss Universe 2005


Natalie Glebova, Miss Universe '05

Miss Canada Natalie Glebova was crowned Miss Universe 2005 in Bangkok yesterday.

Glebova, a 23-year-old motivational speaker from Toronto, succeeded last year's winner, Australian Jennifer Hawkins, after the usual evening gown and swimsuit parades that pull in TV viewers worldwide but outrage feminists and traditionalists.

Even though hotly tipped for the title, the final announcement appeared to stun Glebova, who moved to Canada from her native Russia only 11 years ago.

"This is all happening too fast and it's unreal. It's slowly starting to sink in," she told reporters moments after being crowned with the glittering, diamond-encrusted Miss Universe tiara.

Dressed in a long white evening dress, she hugged her parents on stage and then praised her new homeland for giving her and her family the chance to start a new life.

"When we came 11 years ago, we came with nothing, and now we've got so much," she said.

Miss Puerto Rico Cynthia Olavarria, a 12-1 favourite according to on-line betting service Sportsbook.com, came in second.

In all, 81 beauties from Albania to Zambia made it to Thailand, riding elephants, touring temples and frollicking on tsunami-hit beaches in the run-up to Tuesday's finale, which was broadcast live on Monday evening in North America.

In the middle of the show, the conference hall fell silent for a minute in memory of more than 228,000 dead or missing from the December 26 Indian Ocean tsunami. Nearly 5,400 of the victims were in Thailand.

The silence contrasted with some of the strident criticism levelled against the 54-year-old pageant in its earlier stages.

Photographs of bikini-clad contestants posing in front of Bangkok's famed "Wat Arun," or "Temple of the Dawn," caused outrage among religious traditionalists who said they were an affront to Buddhism.

Source: Reuters

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কানাডায় ভিড়ের মধ্যে ঢুকে পড়ল গাড়ি, বেশ কয়েকজনের মৃত্যুর আশঙ্কা

ভ্যাঙ্কুভার পুলিশ জানিয়েছে, শনিবার সন্ধ্যায় একটি স্ট্রিট ফেস্টিভ্যালে এ ঘটনায় ‘আরও অনেক’ আহত হয়েছেন।

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