Miss Nicaragua Sheynnis Palacios Wins Miss Universe Crown

Miss Nicaragua Sheynnis Palacios reacts after being crowned as Miss Universe during the coronary ceremony in San Salvador, El Salvador, 18 November 2023. Palacios became the first Central American to win the contest, succeeding R'Bonney Gabriel from the US.  EPA/Rodrigo Sura
Miss Nicaragua Sheynnis Palacios reacts after being crowned as Miss Universe during the coronary ceremony in San Salvador, El Salvador, 18 November 2023. Palacios became the first Central American to win the contest, succeeding R'Bonney Gabriel from the US. EPA/Rodrigo Sura
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Miss Nicaragua Sheynnis Palacios Wins Miss Universe Crown

Miss Nicaragua Sheynnis Palacios reacts after being crowned as Miss Universe during the coronary ceremony in San Salvador, El Salvador, 18 November 2023. Palacios became the first Central American to win the contest, succeeding R'Bonney Gabriel from the US.  EPA/Rodrigo Sura
Miss Nicaragua Sheynnis Palacios reacts after being crowned as Miss Universe during the coronary ceremony in San Salvador, El Salvador, 18 November 2023. Palacios became the first Central American to win the contest, succeeding R'Bonney Gabriel from the US. EPA/Rodrigo Sura

Miss Nicaragua Sheynnis Palacios won the Miss Universe competition late Saturday night in El Salvador, the first to wear the crown from her country.
Palacios is a 23-year-old communicologist, who said she wants to work to promote mental health after suffering debilitating bouts of anxiety herself.
Miss Thailand, Anntonia Porsild, was first runner-up and Miss Australia, Moraya Wilson, the second runner-up.
Eighty-four women competed for the crown in the 72nd edition of the competition.
Palacios appeared to secure the win when she confidently answered the question of which woman's shoes would she like to spend a year in by saying Mary Wollstonecraft, the 18th-century English writer and philosopher. Wollstonecraft was an advocate of women’s rights and is considered one of the forerunners of feminism.
Palacios said she wants to work to close the salary gap between the genders so that women can work in any area.



Latest Tests Show Seine Water Quality Was Substandard When Paris Mayor Took a Dip

 Boats carrying members of delegations sail along the Seine during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on July 26, 2024. (AFP)
Boats carrying members of delegations sail along the Seine during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on July 26, 2024. (AFP)
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Latest Tests Show Seine Water Quality Was Substandard When Paris Mayor Took a Dip

 Boats carrying members of delegations sail along the Seine during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on July 26, 2024. (AFP)
Boats carrying members of delegations sail along the Seine during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on July 26, 2024. (AFP)

Tests results released Friday showed the water quality in the River Seine was slightly below the standards needed to authorize swimming — just as the Paris Olympics start.

Heavy rain during the opening ceremony revived concerns over whether the long-polluted waterway will be clean enough to host swimming competitions, since water quality is deeply linked with the weather in the French capital.

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo took a highly publicized dip last week in a bid to ease fears. The Seine will be used for marathon swimming and triathlon.

Daily water quality tests measure levels of fecal bacteria known as E. coli.

Tests by monitoring group Eau de Paris show that at the Bras Marie, E. coli levels were then above the safe limit of 900 colony-forming units per 100 milliliters determined by European rules on June 17, when the mayor took a dip.

The site reached a value of 985 on the day the mayor swam with Paris 2024 chief Tony Estanguet and the top government official for the Paris region, Marc Guillaume, joined her, along with swimmers from local swimming clubs.

At two other measuring points further downstream, the results were below the threshold.

The statement by Paris City Hall and the prefecture of the Paris region noted that water quality last week was in line with European rules six days out of seven on the site which is to host the Olympic swimming competitions.

It noted that "the flow of the Seine is highly unstable due to regular rainfall episodes and remains more than twice the usual flow in summer," explaining fluctuating test results.

Swimming in the Seine has been banned for over a century. Since 2015, organizers have invested $1.5 billion to prepare the Seine for the Olympics and to ensure Parisians have a cleaner river after the Games. The plan included constructing a giant underground water storage basin in central Paris, renovating sewer infrastructure, and upgrading wastewater treatment plants.