Denmark’s Victoria Kjær Theilvig is Crowned Miss Universe

Miss Denmark Victoria Kjaer Theilvig reacts as she is crowned Miss Universe during the 73rd Miss Universe pageant in Mexico City, Mexico, November 16, 2024. REUTERS/Raquel Cunha
Miss Denmark Victoria Kjaer Theilvig reacts as she is crowned Miss Universe during the 73rd Miss Universe pageant in Mexico City, Mexico, November 16, 2024. REUTERS/Raquel Cunha
TT

Denmark’s Victoria Kjær Theilvig is Crowned Miss Universe

Miss Denmark Victoria Kjaer Theilvig reacts as she is crowned Miss Universe during the 73rd Miss Universe pageant in Mexico City, Mexico, November 16, 2024. REUTERS/Raquel Cunha
Miss Denmark Victoria Kjaer Theilvig reacts as she is crowned Miss Universe during the 73rd Miss Universe pageant in Mexico City, Mexico, November 16, 2024. REUTERS/Raquel Cunha

Victoria Kjær Theilvig of Denmark has been crowned Miss Universe.
Kjaer, an animal protection advocate who works in the diamond selling business, beat out Miss Nigeria at the end of 73rd edition of the competition in Mexico City. Miss Mexico placed third.

It is the first time a Danish contestant has won Miss Universe, The Associated Press reported.
The pageant was held in the Mexico City Arena, an indoor venue with a capacity for 20,000 people. Supporters inside shouted and waved flags from countries around the world.
The ceremony began with 131 mariachi musicians and singer Taboo of the Black Eyed Peas playing “Mexicana”, a song created by Emilio Estefan for the contest.
The gala was hosted by Mario López; Olivia Culpo, Miss Universe 2012; presenter Zuri Hall; and Catriona Gray, Miss Universe 2018.
Organizers said that there were more than 120 contestants.
This year some countries were represented for the first time, such as Belarus, Eritrea, Guinea, Macau, Maldives, Moldova and Uzbekistan.



Law and Disorder as Thai Police Station Comes under Monkey Attack

The human inhabitants of Lopburi have long suffered from a growing and aggressive monkey population. Mladen ANTONOV / AFP/File
The human inhabitants of Lopburi have long suffered from a growing and aggressive monkey population. Mladen ANTONOV / AFP/File
TT

Law and Disorder as Thai Police Station Comes under Monkey Attack

The human inhabitants of Lopburi have long suffered from a growing and aggressive monkey population. Mladen ANTONOV / AFP/File
The human inhabitants of Lopburi have long suffered from a growing and aggressive monkey population. Mladen ANTONOV / AFP/File

Police in central Thailand said they barricaded themselves into their own station over the weekend, after a menacing mob of 200 escaped monkeys ran riot on the town.
The human inhabitants of Lopburi have long suffered from a growing and aggressive monkey population and authorities have built special enclosures to contain groups of the unruly residents.
But on Saturday around 200 of the primates broke out and rampaged through town, with one posse descending on a local police station.
"We've had to make sure doors and windows are closed to prevent them from entering the building for food," police captain Somchai Seedee told AFP on Monday.
He was concerned the marauders could destroy property including police documents, he added.
Traffic cops and officers on guard duty were being called in to fend off the visitors, the Lopburi police said on Facebook on Sunday.
Around a dozen of the intruders were still perched proudly on the roof of the police station on Monday, photos from local media showed.
Down in the streets, hapless police and local authorities were working to round up rogue individuals, luring them away from residential areas with food.
While Thailand is an overwhelmingly Buddhist nation, it has long assimilated Hindu traditions and lore from its pre-Buddhist era.
As a result monkeys are afforded a special place in Thai hearts thanks to the heroic Hindu monkey Hanuman, who helped Rama rescue his beloved wife Sita from the clutches of an evil demon king.
Thousands of the fearless primates rule the streets around the Pra Prang Sam Yod temple in the center of Lopburi.
The town has been laying on an annual feast of fruit for its population of macaques since the late 1980s, part religious tradition and part tourist attraction.
But their growing numbers, vandalism and mob fights have made an uneasy coexistence with their human neighbors almost intolerable.
Lopburi authorities have tried quelling instances of human-macaque clashes with sterilization and relocation programs.