BEIJING  — The newest Miss World is from the United States.

Alexandria Mills, a soft-spoken 18-year-old, was named the winner in Saturday night’s contest in southern China. The tall blonde was a relative surprise winner after speculation focused on other contestants.

Second place went to Emma Wareus of Botswana, and Adriana Vasini of Venezuela came in third.
The host country’s own contestant, Tang Xiao, also was among the final five.

According to a brief biography on the Miss World website, Mills calls Louisville, Ky., her hometown, and she recently graduated from high school. She would like to become a teacher.

“I’ve never met a stranger and enjoy meeting new people,” she says in the bio.

For the final, she was wearing a shimmering ivory-colored dress slit up the leg.

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Mills takes over the title from Kaiane Aldorino of Gibraltar, who was named Miss World 2009 at a ceremony in South Africa last December.

Women from more than 100 countries participated in the contest, organizers said.

Charges filed in noisy wedding

JAIPUR, India – Officials say managers at the luxury resort where Katy Perry and Russell Brand married are being charged with violating noise laws during their wedding near an Indian tiger reserve.

Sawaimadhopur district official Ravi Kumar Surpur said the pop star and comedian won’t be booked, but the Aman-i-Khas hotel management should be held responsible for breaking rules against loud music after 10 p.m.

Perry and Brand were married Oct. 23 near Ranthambhore wildlife park in the northwest state of Rajasthan, before flying Monday to the Maldives.

Surpur said Saturday that the late-night wedding party noise exceeded the 45-decibel limit. Criminal lawyer Samundra Singh said the hotel management could face a fine or a few days in jail.

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Band headlines surgery center

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The children’s hospital at Nashville’s Vanderbilt University is naming its pediatric surgery center for Rascal Flatts.

The country music superstars have performed for children who are patients and have given more than $3 million to the hospital in the past five years.

The band performed for the children after Friday’s announcement and handed out candy during trick-or-treat room visits.

The Rascal Flatts Surgery Center will include specialized radiology suites to improve treatment.

Friday’s performance started a busy run for the group, which is up for a Country Music Association Award on Nov. 10 and releases a new album six days later.

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Teenager chosen for Ang Lee movie role

TAIPEI, Taiwan -Oscar-winning director Ang Lee said he is counting on the innocent looks and storytelling ability of an Indian boy to assure the success of Yann Martel’s “Life of Pi,” the fantasy book he is making into a film.

Lee has chosen 17-year-old Suraj Sharma from 3,000 candidates for the title role of the boy who drifts on the open sea with a Bengal tiger and a hyena, saved after a ship carrying the rest of his family sinks.

“There is no dialogue, and he is not Tom Hanks,” Lee said of the boy. “The film is about humankind’s spiritual pursuit, and he must have an appealing temperament.”

 


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