Ex-secretary moves SC against Priyanka Chopra

Priyanka Chopra’s private secretary has filed a petition in the SC challenging the star’s discharge by the Madhya Pradesh HC. (AP Photo)

NEW DELHI: Prakash Jaju, the estranged private secretary of Bollywood star Priyanka Chopra, has filed a petition in the Supreme Court challenging her discharge by the Madhya Pradesh High Court in a criminal intimidation case filed by him.

In the special leave petition filed through counsel Abhijit Sengupta and Anand Dey, the petitioner submitted that the High Court had erroneously discharged the actress of criminal intimidation charges while acknowleding the same against her father Ashok Chopra and underworld don Chhota Shakeel.

Jaju had filed a case of criminal intimidation in January this year before a magistrate in Mhow, Madhya Pradesh against Priyanka, Ashok Chopra and Chhota Shakeel after the actress and her father allegedly used the services of the don to intimidate him in a financial dispute.

According to Jaju, the don at the behest of the Chopras called him up from Malayasia and threated to eliminate him if he failed to withdraw the civil suit filed by him against the actress.

The suit filed two years ago related to arrears to the tune of more than Rs 1 crore due to Jaju from Priyanka.

Following the threat, Jaju filed a case of criminal intimidation before a magistrate in Mhow who took cognizance of the complaint and framed charges under IPC sections 506 IPC (criminal intimidation) and 34 (common intention).

However, the Chopras moved the Madhya Pradesh High Court which while approving the charges framed against Shakeel and Ashok Chopra, discharged Priyanka of the charges on the ground that no case was made against her.

Incidentally, Priyanka had last week filed a caveat before the apex court pleading that she should be heard before any orders are passed on the SLP sought to be filed by Jaju.

Source: The Times of India

Venezuela pageant attack

Minutes after Miss Venezuela 2007 was crowned, a young man attacked one of the runners-up

Minutes after a 21-year-old from the state of Amazonas was enthroned Miss Venezuela 2007, a young man from the live audience took to the stage and attacked one of the runners-up.

28 Venezuelan women lit up the stage at the Miss Venezuela contest but it took just one man to steal the show. Just minutes after a 21-year old from the state of Amazonas was crowned Miss Venezuela, a very eager fan jumped out from the live audience, and attacked one of the runners-up and snatched her crown.

He then tried to sit down on the winner's throne but was stopped by the security. As he was escorted away, the man said he wanted the crown for his state of Zulia.

This surely was one crowning moment, that no one will forget.

Source: Times Now

Jennifer Hawkins in Seven heaven

SEVENTH HEAVEN: Former Miss Universe Jennifer Hawkins was in Perth this week, out on the Swan River. Picture: Karin Calvert-Borshoff

JENNIFER Hawkins will continue her globetrotting ways with Channel 7 - for now.

In Perth this week, the 23-year-old yesterday ended months of speculation about her television career, confirming to The Sunday Times she had renewed a 12-month contract with Channel 7.

"Seven offered me a longer contract but I decided to go with 12 months,'' Hawkins said.

"It was right for me at the moment and then I can reassess at the end of the 12 months and see where I'm going.''

Hawkins aims to brighten her star at Seven, adding to her present work on The Great Outdoors with a presenting gig at the upcoming spring racing carnival and other projects.

"I think I've got another 12 months of Great Outdoors left in me. It won't be as full-on as it has been in previous years, so I'll be able to do things like spring racing and other projects that come along.''

While Hawkins remained unsure about her other options at Seven, she admitted Channel 9 had tried to lure her.

Jennifer Hawkins as you've never seen her: In STM

Source: The Sunday Times

Ugandan Wins Miss East Africa UK Crown

Anthony Nyongesa
Nairobi

Twenty-one-year-old Maureen Nyakaira of Uganda has been crowned Miss East Africa UK 2007.

Nyakaira had faced stiff competition from representatives from Tanzania, Malawi, Kenya, Somalia, Ethiopia and Eritrea, and takes over the crown from Brenda Akot who won it last year when the pageant was inaugurated.

A medical physics student at Cardiff University, Wales, she said it was a pleasant surprise to be declared the winner. "I will remember this night for the rest of my life; at first I was shocked and asked myself: 'Is it me really? But then that was my number they called,'" she said.

The crowd cheered as the beauty claimed the prestigious title. Head judge Rachel Ritfeld described her as humble, graceful and very natural, saying that she would go along way in raising East Africans' awareness about under-privileged children.

The much anticipated pageantry took place at the prestigious Conway Hall, London, a fortnight ago.

Speaking by phone from UK, Miss East Africa competition chief executive Pauline Long said the event was attended by guests from not only the East African region, but also other parts of Africa and Europe.

Special guests

The special guests of the evening were former child soldier Emmanuel Jal and Cindy of the famous Ugandan girls-only band Blue3. The highlight was a performance by Jal who electrified the crowd with his unique gospel rap.

Jal grew up in Kenya after being smuggled out of war-torn motherland- Sudan. "I'm honoured to be here to support a good cause, and I commend Pauline for standing up for vulnerable children orphaned by HIV/Aids and genocide in countries like Rwanda," said the musician when he delivered in his speech.

Pauline, a Kenyan, established the pageant to highlight issues affecting the African child in the eastern African region, while Jal is the founder of GUA Africa - a charity organisation that works with individuals, families and communities to enable them to overcome the effects of war.

Jal, in a telephone interview, said he looked forward to working with the new beauty queen for the betterment of the African child's life.

Nyakaira, officially the second title winner, is expected to emulate her predecessor's accomplishments in charity work.

Source: All Africa

Miss Guyana World set on helping abused women

By Oluatoyin Alleyne

At age 16, Candace Charles has jumped in at the deep end. Having entered and won the Miss Guyana World Pageant, her short-term focus is representing Guyana ably at the Miss World 2007 Pageant to be held in the Crown of Beauty Theatre, Sanya, China on December 1.

But she tells us she is "still the same Candace when I am at home, nothing really has changed. I still want to become a criminal lawyer and help abused women." Her long-term focus has not changed.

When The Scene caught up with the teenager this week, she said she knew the local pageant would have been a tall order as soon as she realised that she was the youngest contestant - months shy of her 17th birthday which she will celebrate next month. But she had the support of her mother and three older sisters and they boosted her confidence.

In fact, she said, it was on her mother's insistence that she actually entered the pageant, since at first she was not interested and rather was "totally against it." She recalled that she had just finished writing her Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations and was doing work study at the Government Information Agency (GINA), when her mother made the suggestion.

"I had just gone there and I was enjoying it. Because even though I want to become a lawyer I would not mind doing journalism, so I had no interest in entering the pageant," she said. But her mother was determined and Candace said she was eventually worn down and decided to enter the pageant.

Candace Charle

"I am just glad that I have been able to live up to her expectations because she was very confident that I would have won," the young woman said.

It was not her first pageant. Last year she entered the Mother and Daughter Pageant with her mother, but she admits that Miss Guyana World was nothing like the Mother and Daughter Pageant so she had no real experience to take from that pageant.

After entering, she said, she was "a little nervous because I knew I had to work harder. But I said I would not focus on the age I would focus on the competition." Her focus paid off and she won.

Candace said winning has not changed her as her mother, sisters, other relatives and friends along with franchise holder, Derek Moore and his team have helped her to remain firmly grounded. The new queen says she is enjoying the level of support she has been receiving from members of the public. "Up to this morning [Thursday] in the bus a man was congratulating me and that is how it has been. No one has given me any negative response or comment," she said.

However, she is well aware that there are persons out there who feel she is too young to be crowned Miss Guyana World. "I would say to those people, okay I know I am young but will you help to make me better. I am open to constructive criticisms and I will soak up all the advice anyone can give me. I am willing to learn. I am young and I want to learn so if they can help me I would take their advice. I am already the queen and I want all the help to make me stronger."

Candace needs support even more now as she prepares for her big date in December. She told The Scene that the training so far has been hectic, but exciting. It would be stepped up come next month when she travels to the US where she will continue her preparation.

Candace said she was going into the Miss World Pageant with the same amount of confidence and energy she had when she entered the local pageant. "I am not going to focus on how young I am. I am going to try and do my best. And that is all I can do, my best."

Candace, a former St Joseph High School student, sat eight subjects at the CSEC examination. She secured three Grade One passes (two with distinctions), three Grade Two passes and one each at Grade Three and Grade Four. The teenager has every right to be proud of this achievement but she said she was sorely disappointed at her Grade Four in Mathematics, even though she admitted that it was not her favourite subject. She plans on rewriting that subject in January.

She has not put her education on hold as she has already enrolled at the University of Guyana and come next January will pursue a degree in International Relations or Sociology. However, regardless of which one she takes up, it would just be her stepping stone into the law faculty as her ultimate goal is to become a criminal lawyer.

She said she wants to become a criminal lawyer because she wants to help female victims of domestic and other forms of abuse to get justice in the courts. She said she hopes to one day work with the Georgetown Legal Aid Centre. This urge comes from the abuse she witnesses in society almost on a daily basis. "So much more needs to be done for women. Everyday I read in the newspapers of women being killed or beaten and then in the courts they are not getting justice."

Candace noted that the abuse of women has become such a norm that people have become numb and are no longer shocked at the horrific abuse women experience. "Many days I walk down the road and see men beating women and people just stand up there and do nothing; they just say it is personal. People would hear their neighbours being beaten and do nothing," she lamented. She said she wants to make a change no matter how small and she knows she can do so by helping women to get justice. Even as she trains for the pageant she is awaiting a response from Help & Shelter as she has applied to volunteer in its programme for abused women.

Candace grew up in Stanleytown, West Bank Demerara and even though she has a younger brother she is still considered to be the baby of her household as her brother lives in the US. She lives with her mother and three older sisters and she tells us that she is not "Queen Candace" to them, but rather just ordinary Candace who still has to do her chores. "My mom ensures I make my bed up very day and I have to do my household chores and I still have a very strict 9 pm curfew," she said laughing. But she quickly adds that it would not be a laughing matter if she stayed out beyond her curfew as her mother would not hesitate to punish her.

So even though she might be the envy of many girls her age, Candace has to abide by the same rules as her peers, regardless of the fact that she is preparing for the world's second biggest pageant. (samantha_alleyne2000@yahoo.com)

Source: Stabroek News

Role model with a sash: Miss Latina Racine isn't a beauty pageant

Racine - Tiaras and satin sashes might be part of the process, but Dolores Hernandez insists the Miss Latina Racine competition is not a beauty pageant.

"We're hoping that we can project (the image of) a role model and not just somebody that's hooked on their looks," said Hernandez, an event co-founder.

Members of the Racine County community will honor five young women of Hispanic heritage Friday evening at the scholarship competition's 10th annual dinner.

The competition is open to Latinas from the age of 17 to 24 who demonstrate exceptional educational achievement and a commitment to community service, Hernandez said.

This year's nominees are Maria Becerra, Mariciela Belmares, Rachelle Clemins, Amanda de Leon and Cindy Rios.

One of the five women will be crowned Friday and will receive a $2,000 scholarship. The first runner-up will receive $1,000, and the other participants each will receive $500.

The five members of this year's court have been solidifying their leadership in the community since June, when they were selected as participants, said Sandra Villarreal, secretary of the Miss Latina Racine Scholarship Corp.'s board.

"A lot of times when students go for scholarships it's a matter of filling out some papers and getting a check," Villarreal said.

Not in this competition.

Court members began their tenure by marching in the Fourth Fest parade in celebration of Independence Day.

They partnered with the University of Wisconsin-Parkside chapter of Gamma Alpha Omega, a historically Latina sorority, to host children's activities corner at Racine Mexican Fiesta in August.

They also volunteered their time at the Por La Gente softball tournament in Racine over Labor Day weekend, working on arts and crafts with the children of adults who played ball, Hernandez said.

At Friday's dinner, court members will dine with the panel of seven judges and will present on a topic of interest to them, Villarreal said.

This year's judges includes Racine Unified administrator Jose Martinez.

The first winner of the top prize, Angelica Valdivia, will deliver the keynote speech.

Valdivia is a guidance counselor at Gilmore Middle School.

Kari Villalpando, winner of last year's top prize, remembers banquet night well.

"It was so stressful," said Villalpando, who graduated from St. Catherine's High School. "I was sweating on stage."

Since that night, Villalpando has started her freshman year at Marquette University and later transferred to the University of Wisconsin-Parkside, where she studies nursing.

She said she's looking forward to getting the $2,000 Miss Latina Racine check, which she won't receive until the 2007 winner takes over the crown this week.

In the decade since it formed, the group has distributed from $85,000 to $90,000, event organizers said.

The group's board has started administering three additional scholarships, which are open to men and women and funded by families in Racine.

Hernandez said she, Diana Felix and Sara Montes, who died in 1999 and will be honored Friday, founded the non-profit organization in an effort to lower the Latino dropout rate in Racine Unified.

"We're becoming a positive educational movement within the Latino community," Hernandez said.

The Miss Latina Racine 2007 event will begin at 5:30 p.m. Friday at the Racine Marriott hotel. Tickets are still available and cost $50. For information, call (262) 498-2690.

Source: JS Online