It has taken five years of strutting and posing, and an annual fee believed to be worth £2 million, but China has achieved another of its global ambitions when a 23-year-old from Beijing was crowned Miss World.
Zi Lin Zhang, from Beijing, beat the other 105 contestants to become the first Chinese winner and the 57th Miss World, waving elegantly to her fans as the result was announced in Sanya, China.
Her victory vindicated the decision of the Chinese government to lift its former ban on beauty contests and pay the organisers of the competition to host it for four out of the last five years.
Miss Micaela from Angola and Miss Carolina from Mexico came in the second and the third place in the Pageant, respectively.
Space shuttle Atlantis landed safely at the Edwards Air Force Base, California at 0119 hrs (IST) after a two-week mission to the international space station.
Earlier, the Atlantis was directed for a landing at the backup location after rain and clouds over Florida ruled out Kennedy Space Center.
"You have no idea how it feels like, it's much better than winning the world cup perhaps. Years of work has gone into it and it's an overwhelming feeling," NASA scientist Amitabh Ghosh told CNN-IBN.
The mission control at NASA gave the go ahead for the space shuttle to enter atmosphere and it began its de-orbit burn 0013 IST for an expected 0119 IST touchdown at Edwards, California.
LONDON: A single British mother has said she had a four-month romance with Hollywood superstar George Clooney.
The woman, Sarah Talley, says Clooney fell for her after they met in a Las Vegas nightspot, pagesix.com website reported. Talley added that she was swept off her feet and Clooney flew her around on his private jet and dined with her at his Hollywood mansion.
Dailysnack.com reports that he also got up early to cook her breakfast and cuddled her as they watched movies and gave her young son gifts like a replica Live8 guitar.
She said: "He made me feel like a woman. He told me I was beautiful, kissed all down my neck and made me tingle. It was all I hoped it would be and better."
"I kind of bumped into him and said, 'You're George Clooney!' He smiled and said, 'Hey, come and hang out with us'. He was sweet and non-offensive. He liked that I was British and we talked about home a lot.
"We talked about his place in Lake Como, Italy, and he invited me and my friend there for summer. He was respectful and didn't even ask for a dance."
LOS ANGELES: Oscar-winning actress Julia Roberts gave birth to a baby boy, her third child with husband Danny Moder, People magazine reported on its website.
Roberts and Moder, who are also parents of two-year-old twins, welcomed Henry Daniel Moder at a Los Angeles hospital yesterday, her spokeswoman told People.
"The Moder family is doing great," Marcy Engelman said.
Engelman was not immediately available for further comment.
Roberts, 39, who won an Academy Award for playing the title role in the 2000 film 'Erin Brockovich,' married Moder, a 38-year-old cameraman, in 2002 at her ranch in New Mexico.
Roberts gave birth to twins Phinnaeus and Hazel in November of 2004.
A topless Britney Spears has thanked fans for their support during "the trying time" that has included the end of her marriage, a bizarre public meltdown and a spell in rehab.
In a message posted on her website www.britneyspears.com, a photo of Spears wearing nothing but a pair of elbow-length white gloves appears alongside a message to fans who have included the troubled pop princess in their prayers.
"The reason for this letter is to let everyone know that their prayers have truly helped me," Spears writes.
"I am so blessed that you care enough about me to be concerned and will continue to live in this brighter state with all of you by myself during this trying time," she said.
"We are all lights of the world and we all need to continuously inspire others and look to the higher power," she added.
Spears split from husband Kevin Federline last year, an event that triggered an avalanche of tabloid stories about the Oops! ... I Did It Again star.
She was photographed partying hard in Los Angeles and Las Vegas -- often pantyless -- and bizarrely shaved her head shortly before entering a rehabilitation clinic.
Jahnvi, model and actress, alleges that Abhishek Bachchan had promised to marry her and has ditched her. She changed her name from Haya after entering the glamour industry. According to her they met on the sets of the movie ‘DUS’. She attempted suicide by cutting her wrist outside Bachchan family's house 'Pratiksha' in Juhu contending she was in love with the junior Bachchan. and a case has been registered for the same at the Juhu Police station in Mumbai.
Jahnvi’s mother said that her daughter is in a state of depression. Jahnvi's parents are from Srinagar and are from a decent family. Jahnvi has a 9 year old son, could be from her previous marriage. They say that Abhi and Jahnvi were close.
Attempting to get into a running train, the man slipped and fell in between the train and the platform in Kandivli station, Mumbai on 16th of Apr 2007. But this guy was obviously more luckier than them. He was advised by the people on the platform not to move and he didn't move until the 8 bogies of train went over him. He survived.