In brief: Miss Asia Pacific World accused of stealing crown
Yangon, Myanmar – Myanmar’s first international beauty queen has absconded with her $100,000 crown after being stripped of her title for being rude and dishonest, organizers said Friday.
May Myat Noe’s photograph was blacked out on the Miss Asia Pacific World website, the word “dethroned” stamped alongside her name.
“She thinks as long as she keeps this crown she’s the winner,” said David Kim, director of media for the South Korea-based pageant. “She’s not.”
Organizers said Noe had “lied” and proved to be untrustworthy, but provided few details.
Hla Nu Tun, who initially acted as her unofficial manager, said Noe and the organizers had disagreed over who should oversee her career. Noe’s mother wanted control but so did the organizers, she said.
Hong Kong elections approach with warning
Beijing – China warned against foreign meddling in Hong Kong’s politics today ahead of an expected announcement to recommend highly contentious restrictions on the first direct elections for the leader of the Chinese-controlled financial hub.
An article in the ruling Communist Party’s flagship newspaper People’s Daily said that some in the former British colony were colluding with outside forces to interfere in Hong Kong’s governance.
“Not only are they undermining Hong Kong’s stability and development, but they’re also attempting to turn Hong Kong into a bridgehead for subverting and infiltrating the Chinese mainland,” said the article.
“This can absolutely not be permitted,” it said.
The warning appeared as China’s legislature was expected to announce Sunday that an elite pro-Beijing body must vet candidates for the territory’s leader starting from 2017 – setting up a showdown with pro-democracy groups who want the public to be able to nominate people freely.
Justice minister quits over link to blogger
Wellington, New Zealand – New Zealand’s Justice Minister Judith Collins resigned today from her portfolios amid a scandal about her ties to a controversial blogger.
The resignation comes just three weeks before New Zealand’s general election and could impact the chances of center-right Prime Minister John Key returning for a third term in office.
Collins was one of Key’s top ministers and observers had considered her a possible future prime minister.
New Zealand freelance investigative journalist and liberal activist Nicky Hager first detailed the extent of Collins’ engagement with blogger Cameron Slater in a book he released this month, “Dirty Politics,” which was based on hacked emails from Slater’s Whale Oil blog that Hager had obtained.