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Turmoil In Tiaras At Miss Universe Pageant In Thailand

Miss Finland Sarah Dzafce (C) poses on stage with other contestants during the Miss Universe 2025 official welcome event in Bangkok, Thailand, 05 November 2025. EPA/RUNGROJ YONGRIT
Miss Finland Sarah Dzafce (C) poses on stage with other contestants during the Miss Universe 2025 official welcome event in Bangkok, Thailand, 05 November 2025. EPA/RUNGROJ YONGRIT
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Turmoil In Tiaras At Miss Universe Pageant In Thailand

Miss Finland Sarah Dzafce (C) poses on stage with other contestants during the Miss Universe 2025 official welcome event in Bangkok, Thailand, 05 November 2025. EPA/RUNGROJ YONGRIT
Miss Finland Sarah Dzafce (C) poses on stage with other contestants during the Miss Universe 2025 official welcome event in Bangkok, Thailand, 05 November 2025. EPA/RUNGROJ YONGRIT

This year's Miss Universe in Thailand has been marred by ugly drama, with allegations of an insult to a beauty queen's intellect, a walkout by pageant contestants and a tearful tantrum by the host.

More than 120 women from across the world have gathered in Thailand, vying to be crowned Miss Universe in a contest considered one of the "big four" of global beauty pageants.

But the runup has been dominated by the off-stage antics of the coiffed contestants and their Thai hosts, escalating into a feminist firestorm drawing the attention of Mexico's president.

On Tuesday, Mexican delegate Fatima Bosch staged a dramatic walkout -- in an evening gown and high heels -- from a meeting where she was lambasted by Miss Universe host Nawat Itsaragrisil.

In a livestream of the event, Nawat seemed to single out Miss Mexico and call her a "dumbhead" during a dispute over her apparent failure to post promotional content on her social media.

He has since denied using the term.

But after Nawat called for security to intervene, the besashed Bosch staged a walkout flanked by Miss Iraq, who wore a bejewelled floor-length robe.

"What your director did is not respectful: he called me dumb," Bosch told a press gaggle. "The world needs to see this because we are empowered women and this is a platform for our voice."

Other beauty queens appeared to rise in solidarity with Bosch, before freezing as Nawat warned those still wanting to participate should "sit down".

The drama provoked a reaction from Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, who on Wednesday said Bosch was an "example of how we women should speak out" in the face of aggression.

"In public events, I say women look prettier when we speak out," she said. "So my recognition goes to this young woman."

Mexico's embassy in Thailand said on its Facebook page it is in "constant communication" with Bosch and her relatives, but did not respond to AFP's request for further comment.

Nawat, meanwhile, has seen his own behavior publicly shamed by the Miss Universe Organization.

"I will not allow the values of respect and dignity toward women to be violated," president Raul Rocha said in a grandiose podium speech.

"Unfortunately, Nawat has forgotten the true meaning of what it means to be a genuine host," he added, accusing him of "public aggression" and saying his role in the pageant would be limited.

Afterwards Nawat appeared at a press conference wearing a tuxedo and openly weeping as he theatrically dabbed his eyes with a handkerchief, claiming he had been "betrayed".

But he had a starring role in the opening ceremony of the competition on Wednesday night, standing contrite before the assembled grinning beauty queens where he offered an apology.

"I am a human," he said. "The pressure is a lot."

"I have not intended to harm anyone because I respect all of you. I have to say I am so sorry."

It is not the first time the mogul -- also the president of Thailand-based pageant Miss Grand International (MGI) -- has been caught in a spat fit for a telenovela.

Last year, contestants of MGI were incensed after having to sit on plastic chairs and eat peanuts on a tourist boat in Cambodia instead of a highly-anticipated luxury river cruise.

Even before the fight with Miss Mexico, this year's Miss Universe pageant had been struck by controversy.

Thai media reported police investigated participants for allegedly filming clips featuring pillows branded with the name of an online casino at their hotel, a breach of the country's strict gambling laws.

Barring any further drama, the pageant final is set to be held on November 21 in Nonthaburi province.

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Varieties

Research Reveals Decades-Long Silverpit Crater Triggered by Tsunami 40 Million Years Ago

A massive asteroid struck the North Sea millions of years ago (Getty)
A massive asteroid struck the North Sea millions of years ago (Getty)
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Research Reveals Decades-Long Silverpit Crater Triggered by Tsunami 40 Million Years Ago

A massive asteroid struck the North Sea millions of years ago (Getty)
A massive asteroid struck the North Sea millions of years ago (Getty)

A long-running dispute about the origin of a North Sea crater has finally been settled, as new research finds a massive asteroid hit the water and triggered a towering tsunami millions of years ago.

Scientists have found that the Silverpit Crater – which lies around 700 meters beneath the southern North Sea seabed, roughly 80 miles off the coast of Yorkshire – was formed when an asteroid or comet struck the region roughly 43 to 46 million years ago, sparking a 330 feet tsunami.

Since geologists first identified the formation in 2002, the 3km-wide crater and its surrounding ring of circular faults spanning about 20 km have sparked intense debate, according to The Independent.

But researchers say their new study marks the clearest evidence yet that the structure is one of Earth’s rare impact craters.

This confirmation places it in the same category as well-known structures such as the Chicxulub Crater in Mexico, which is linked to the dinosaur mass extinction.

The team used computer modelling and analyzed newly available seismic imaging and microscopic geological samples taken from beneath the seabed.

Dr. Uisdean Nicholson, a sedimentologist in Heriot-Watt University’s School of Energy, Geoscience, Infrastructure and Society, who led the investigation, said: “New seismic imaging has given us an unprecedented look at the crater.”

He said samples from an oil well in the area also revealed rare ‘shocked’ quartz and feldspar crystals at the same depth as the crater floor.

“We were exceptionally lucky to find these – a real ‘needle-in-a-haystack’ effort. These prove the impact crater hypothesis beyond doubt, because they have a fabric that can only be created by extreme shock pressures,” said Nicholson.

The scientists say these microscopic minerals form only under the extreme pressures generated during asteroid impacts, providing strong confirmation of the event.

Early research proposed that the feature was created by a high-speed asteroid impact. Supporters of that idea pointed to its round shape, central peak, and surrounding concentric faults, which are often seen in known impact craters.

But other scientists suggested different explanations. Some proposed that underground salt movement distorted the rock layers and created the structure.

Others argued that volcanic activity may have caused the seabed to collapse.

In 2009, geologists even voted on the issue. According to a report in the December 2009 issue of Geoscientist magazine, most participants rejected the asteroid impact explanation at the time.

The latest findings, published in the journal Nature Communications and funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), now appear to overturn that conclusion.

Dr. Nicholson said: “Our evidence shows that a 160-meter-wide asteroid hit the seabed at a low angle from the west.”

“Within minutes, it created a 1.5 km high curtain of rock and water that then collapsed into the sea, creating a tsunami over 100 meters high.”

The impact would have produced a violent explosion at the seafloor and sent enormous waves spreading across the region.

Professor Gareth Collins, of Imperial College London, who attended the 2009 debate about the crater’s origin and contributed to the new research, said the researchers have “finally found the silver bullet” to end the debate.

He said: “I always thought that the impact hypothesis was the simplest explanation and most consistent with the observations.”

“It is very rewarding to have finally found the silver bullet. We can now get on with the exciting job of using the amazing new data to learn more about how impacts shape planets below the surface, which is really hard to do on other planets,” Collins added.

Dr. Nicholson also expressed his excitement about using the new findings for further research into asteroids.

“Silverpit is a rare and exceptionally preserved hypervelocity impact crater,” he said.

“These are rare because the Earth is such a dynamic planet – plate tectonics and erosion destroy almost all traces of most of these events.”

Varieties

Naples Museum to Allow Visually Impaired Visitors to Experience Art Through Touch

Giuseppe Sanmartino's sculpture of the Veiled Christ housed in the Sansevero Chapel in Naples, Italy, 10 March 2026. EPA/CIRO FUSCO
Giuseppe Sanmartino's sculpture of the Veiled Christ housed in the Sansevero Chapel in Naples, Italy, 10 March 2026. EPA/CIRO FUSCO
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Naples Museum to Allow Visually Impaired Visitors to Experience Art Through Touch

Giuseppe Sanmartino's sculpture of the Veiled Christ housed in the Sansevero Chapel in Naples, Italy, 10 March 2026. EPA/CIRO FUSCO
Giuseppe Sanmartino's sculpture of the Veiled Christ housed in the Sansevero Chapel in Naples, Italy, 10 March 2026. EPA/CIRO FUSCO

The Sansevero Chapel Museum in Naples will allow dozens of visually impaired visitors to take part in a rare tactile experience, letting them touch celebrated works of art including the Veiled Christ, which is widely regarded as one of the most striking masterpieces in the history of sculpture.

On March 17, the museum will host an initiative called La meraviglia a portata di mano – Wonder within reach – organized in partnership with the Italian Union of the Blind and Visually Impaired of Naples, offering about 80 blind and partially sighted visitors a chance to encounter the marble masterpieces.

According to The Guardian, visitors will be guided through the chapel by guides who are also visually impaired in a program designed to place accessibility at the center of the museum experience.

The protective barrier surrounding the sculptures will be removed, allowing participants, wearing latex gloves, to explore by touch the intricate marble surface of the sculptures including Giuseppe Sanmartino’s Veiled Christ, which depicts Jesus covered by a transparent shroud made from the same block as the statue. The tactile route will also extend to the reliefs at the feet of the sculptures La Pudicizia and Il Disinganno.

Chiara Locovardi, a guide, told the state agency Ansa: “The veil covering Christ is extraordinary. It’s impossible to understand how Sanmartino managed to create it. The veil defies explanation – for those who can see and for those who cannot. When you touch it, you can feel the veins pulsing beneath.”

“This initiative forms part of our wider program to create a cultural space that is inclusive and accessible through dedicated pathways and tools tailored to the different needs of museum visitors,” Maria Alessandra Masucci, the president of the Sansevero Chapel Museum, said.

Varieties

All But 2 of Austria's 96 Glaciers Have Retreated Over Last 2 Years

FILE - The Sulzenauferner Glacier is visible near Innsbruck, Austria, on Sept. 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader, File)
FILE - The Sulzenauferner Glacier is visible near Innsbruck, Austria, on Sept. 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader, File)
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All But 2 of Austria's 96 Glaciers Have Retreated Over Last 2 Years

FILE - The Sulzenauferner Glacier is visible near Innsbruck, Austria, on Sept. 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader, File)
FILE - The Sulzenauferner Glacier is visible near Innsbruck, Austria, on Sept. 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader, File)

All but two of Austria’s 96 glaciers have retreated over the last two years, monitors in the Alpine country reported Friday, saying the “dramatic development” highlights the impact of climate change.

The latest report from the Austrian Alpine Club shows the Alpeiner Ferner in the western Tyrol region and Stubacher Sonnblickkees in Salzburg to the east are facing the greatest loss, each with a retreat of more than 100 meters (about 330 feet). The average retreat was more than 20 meters (65 feet).

“The disintegration of the glacier tongue is also progressing at the Pasterze, Austria’s largest glacier, making the consequences of climate change visible,” the club said in the report covering 2024 and 2025.

The report, it added, “confirms once again the long-term trend: Glaciers in Austria continue to shrink significantly in length, area, and volume.”

FILE - The Gaisskarferner Glacier is visible near Innsbruck, Austria, Monday, Sept. 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader, file)

The retreat of glaciers in Europe has vast implications for drinking water, power generation, agriculture, infrastructure, recreational activities, the Alpine landscape and more.

Neighboring Switzerland, which is home to the most glaciers in Europe, has noted a similar retreat in its glaciers in recent years, a trend that has been reported around the world.

Poor weather conditions including low snowfall, warm temperatures including an exceptionally hot June last year — nearly 5 degrees Celsius (9 degrees Fahrenheit) above the average — have contributed to the retreat, The Associated Press quoted the club as saying.

“The glaciers are melting — and with every new report, the urgency grows,” club vice president Nicole Slupetzky said. “It’s no longer a question of whether we can still save the glaciers in their old form; it’s about mitigating the consequences for ourselves.”

Such changes in the Alps should serve as a “wake-up call” for policymakers and the public in its behavior, the club said.

It said the current figure was lower than during the previous two years, but still ranks as the eight-largest retreat in the 135 years of measurements.