According to pageant community forum Missosology, pilot student “Angel” Pua is a pure Filipina. Pua also has previously won two other crowns. In 2016, she won as Miss Filipina Europe in Vienna, Austria; while 2017 saw her crowned as Miss Antwerp.

Pua may also represent Belgium in the 2018 Miss World pageant.

Watch Pua speaking fluent Dutch and going about her day at work in the video below. It also features what appears to be her Filipino parents and little brother. Pua has a lovable pug named Bobby.

Roach, a 28-year-old Canadian national, was detained in London last Thursday (Jan 11) following a request from Singapore, said the Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC) and the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in a joint statement on Monday.

Singapore has an extradition treaty with Britain.

Roach is accused of robbing the Holland Village branch of Standard Chartered Bank of $30,000 on July 7, 2016.

Roach allegedly handed the teller a note with his demands, then fled to Bangkok with the money on the same day.

He was arrested at a backpacker hostel three days later and was held in remand in Bangkok.

The Singapore authorities wrote to the Thai government, asking for assistance to repatriate Roach back to Singapore.

However, the AttorneyGeneral’s Office in Bangkok reportedly rejected Singapore’s request. Singapore has no extradition treaty with Thailand.

Since his arrest by the Thai authorities in July 2016, the Singapore authorities have been in regular contact with the Thai authorities to secure his return to Singapore, AGC and MHA said.

On June 6 last year, Roach was sentenced to 14 months’ jail in Thailand for violating money laundering and customs laws by bringing loot into the country.

He was carrying the equivalent of more than US$20,000 (S$27,600)  believed to be the loot from the bank robbery  when he entered Thailand while on the run.

He was deported from Thailand after serving his imprisonment term for the commission of criminal offences there, and arrived in London on Jan 11, AGC and MHA said.

“We sought the assistance of the UK authorities to arrest Roach, with a view to his eventual extradition to Singapore,” said the statement. “We are working with the UK authorities to commence the extradition proceedings.”

Local reports indicated an unspecified number of people were trapped under debris as videos of people screaming and rushing out of the building went viral online.

The balcony was located above the main lobby of the building and near where visitors are screened and checked before entering.

When it collapsed, hundreds of office workers were leaving for lunch.

But after the initial period of chaos, many rushed back in to help carry out the injured found amid bent steel structures, broken glass, and other debris of what was left of the balcony.

Reuters reported that the director of the stock exchange, Alpino Kianjaya, declined to comment on the incident. Markets are currently in midday break and will reopen at 1.30pm local time.

The cause of the collapse is not known, but initial reports do not point to a terrorist attack.

The IDX is located opposite Pacific Place, a popular mall in the Sudirman Central Business District.

It is also about 1km away from the recently renovated Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, which was officially opened by President Joko Widodo on Sunday.

The stadium is the key feature among other sporting facilities in the area which have been undergoing construction for the 2018 Asian Games, to be held in Jakarta and Palembang from Aug 18 to Sept 2 this year.

The Pegasus Airlines flight had taken off smoothly from the capital Ankara and landed in Trabzon, but skidded off the runway in the northern airport. No one was injured or killed in the landing.

Dramatic images from CNN Turk broadcaster showed the plane dangerously hanging off a cliff several metres (feet) from the Black Sea, its wheels stuck in mud.

Other images from Dogan news agency showed smoke emanating from the trapped plane.

Pegasus Airlines confirmed in a statement Sunday there were no injuries among the 162 passengers onboard as well as two pilots and four cabin crew after they were evacuated.

The cause of the incident was not known but an investigation is under way, the Trabzon governor’s office said.

One of the passengers, Fatma Gordu, panic erupted onboard during the landing.

“We tilted to the side, the front was down while the plane’s rear was up. There was panic; people shouting, screaming,” she told state-run news agencyAnadolu.

The airport was temporarily shut before reopening on Sunday morning.//AFP

Homes made of adobe collapsed in coastal areas most directly affected by the quake, local authorities said.

The earthquake struck in the Pacific, 31 kilometers (19 miles) from the seaside town of Acari in the region of Arequipa, according to the US Geological Survey.

“There are two fatalities in the region of Arequipa and so far 65 injured have been reported,” said General Jorge Chavez, head of the National Civil Defense Institute.

Chavez said military planes were delivering humanitarian aid including tents to affected areas.

An emergency will be declared in most of the stricken areas so that reconstruction of homes and roads can begin immediately, said Mercedes Araoz, president of the Council of Ministers.

One person died in the Yauca district and another in the Bella Union district, both in the Arequipa region, where rescue workers were trying to help those affected, Peru’s Civil Defense said.

Peruvian President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski traveled to the region and flew over the quake zone. Speaking to reporters, he attributed the two deaths to adobe houses collapsing.

About 47 percent of homes in Peru, or 3.6 million, are made of clay, earth, stone or wood materials that are vulnerable in earthquakes, according to government statistics from 2014.

The Peruvian navy and the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii ruled out the threat of a tsunami.

Adobe houses were leveled in the coastal town of Lomas and elsewhere in the surrounding area, Santiago Neyra, the mayor of the nearby town of Caraveli said.

Electricity was out in several municipalities and many roads were closed or passable in only one direction, the mayor said.

Structural damage was reported to a bridge in Arequipa, said the head of the region’s highway police, Major Alberto Rojas.

In the city of Arequipa, residents ran into the streets after the quake struck at 4:18 am (0918 GMT).

It was even felt in the capital Lima, hundreds of kilometers away.

“Here at the clinic the tremor felt super long,” a patient in a Lima private hospital told AFP.

The earthquake rocked Peru just before Pope Francis is slated to arrive Thursday for a three-day visit after touring Chile.

Peru lies on the so-called “Ring of Fire” — an arc of fault lines that circles the Pacific Basin and is prone to frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.

The South American country records about 200 earthquakes a year, most of them going unnoticed by the public.

The last major earthquake to shake Peru hit in August 2007, killing 595 people.

A 6.3-magnitude quake was felt in southern Peru on the border with Chile last October, leaving four people with slight injuries.

The university student was among around 300 Saudi women who thronged Pearl stadium in the Red Sea city of Jeddah after the ultra-conservative kingdom eases decades-old rules separating the sexes.

“I came with my father and my brother — we’re fans of Al-Ahli,” said Ghamdi of the Saudi Premier League club facing off against Al-Batin.

The young woman said she always used to cheer her home team from the comfort of her living room.

“We love the club very much, and our home would often become an arena for supporters,” she said.

“This is the first time we’ll be cheering for real, not just in front of the television,” said Ghamdi, who wore a black abaya robe and a black scarf with a green Al-Ahli scarf round her neck.

“It is so much better here.”

The game began at 8:00 pm (1700 GMT), but two hours before the historic kick-off enthusiasm was palpable as women supporters began arriving at the stadium.

Among the first were a woman accompanied by a younger female and a girl.

A boy sat next to them in seats that had been reserved for women who come alone or with members of their families, namely male relatives.

The women entered the stadium through a special gate, while male supporters filed in through a separate entrance.

Historic day

Saudi Arabia, which has some of the world’s tightest restrictions on women, has long barred them from sports arenas through strict rules that keep the sexes apart in public.

Glass panels were set up to separate men supporters from the women and family section of the stadium.

“This event proves that we are heading for a prosperous future. I am very proud to be a witness of this massive change,” Lamya Khaled Nasser, a 32-year-old fan from the Red Sea city, told AFP.

Ruwayda Ali Qassem, another Jeddah resident, spoke of a “historic day in the kingdom which culminates (in) ongoing fundamental changes”.

“I am proud and extremely happy for this development and for the kingdom’s moves to catch up with civilized measures adopted by many countries,” she said.

Daughters can’t believe it

Saleh al-Ziadi brought his three daughters to the game.

“My daughters still don’t believe this is happening. They have not yet realized they will be cheering their favorite team inside the stadium,” he said.

The women entering the venue waited in long queues to be searched by women security personnel who wore orange vests over their black abayas, while inside the stadium another team directed them to their seats.

Jeddah resident Noura Bakharji was among those who patiently waited for her turn, and for a reason.

Bakharji said she always felt bitter when her brothers came home from stadiums to tell her about the excitement of watching football matches in person.

“I always watched games on TV while my brothers went to the stadiums… I asked myself repeatedly ‘Why I can’t go?'” she told AFP.

“Today, things have changed. It’s a day of happiness and joy.”

Under Saudi Arabia’s existing guardianship system, a male family member — normally the father, husband or brother — must grant permission for a woman’s study, travel and a host of other activities.

Fatimah Baeshen, spokeswoman at the Saudi embassy in Washington “rooted for the ladies” in a message on Twitter.

“As we speak; Saudi women fans are entering soccer stadiums! This is more than women’s rights: today’s match between Al-Ahli and Al-Batin, and the ones to follow, are opportunities for families to come together and enjoy KSA’s national sport — soccer! I’m rooting for the ladies — enjoy!” Baeshen tweeted.

Friday’s match was the first in a series that will be open to women: a second is due to take place on Saturday and a third on January 18.

And in June, as part of a reform drive led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, authorities are lifting a ban that prohibited Saudi women from driving.

And the result of Friday’s game? A 5-0 defeat for Al-Batin — and a victory for women in Saudi Arabia.//AFP

A donation of 100,000 yuan (S$20,540) was sent to Zhuanshanbao Primary School in Zhaotong, Yunnan province, on Wednesday, after images of “Snowflake Boy” Wang Fuman drew widespread attention to children from poor rural families, China Dailyreported.

Photos of eight-year-old Fuman in class, shared by his principal Fu Heng, showed the icicles that had formed on his hair and eyebrows during his one-hour, 4.5km walk in minus 9 deg C conditions to go to school on Monday.

Fu said it was the first day of the final examinations, and temperatures had plunged quickly within half an hour, while the boy was already on his way to school.

The boy lives in a mud house in Ludian with his grandmother and older sister. Their father is a migrant worker in another city. The boy’s mother had left the family, according to an interview with social media site Pear Video.

In an interview with Beijing News, Fuman said his favourite subject is mathematics, and he hopes to do well enough in school to study in Beijing eventually.

When asked why he went to school on Monday wearing so little, he said: “I have three jackets, but I didn’t wear any of them because they were all dirty and not washed yet. It is too cold to wash clothes by hand in winter.”

BRAVING WINTER

I have three jackets, but I didn’t wear any of them because they were all dirty and not washed yet. It is too cold to wash clothes by hand in winter.

WANG FUMAN, when asked why he went to school on Monday wearing so little.

Fuman also said his school has no heating facilities.

The local government, along with volunteers, has since dis-tributed the first batch of winter supplies to the 81 pupils, China Daily reported.

The Kunming branch of China Construction Third Engineering Bureau also donated 144 sets of winter clothing and 20 heaters to the school, according to the Beijing News.

In total, cash donations to help the boy and his school have so far reached more than 17 million yuan, China Daily reported.

Readers of The Straits Times have also offered to help after reading about Fuman’s story. They have written in to find out how they can reach the boy.

Fuman is among millions of children who live in poverty-stricken areas in China, and his story has highlighted the issue of educational inequality in the country, the Chinese state-run tabloid Global Times said in an op-ed column on Wednesday.

CALL FOR MORE SUPPORT

For (them), education is perhaps the only opportunity to climb the ladder of social status.

CHINESE STATE-RUN TABLOID GLOBAL TIMES, which argued that rural students should be given more educational support.

It argued that rural students should be given more educational support. “For (them), education is perhaps the only opportunity to climb the ladder of social status.”

Fuman’s father,Wang Gangkui, told Beijing News that many people have offered to help the family after Fuman’s photo went viral, but he wants his son to study hard and change his destiny through his own efforts.

The thermostat has dropped to as low as 22°C in Kuala Lumpur and Singapore and 17ºC in Bangkok, cold bouts have been reported in Cambodia, Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines, and ice slabs have even been found in parts of Myanmar.

The weather has become so chilly that Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak tweeted on Friday (Jan 12): “Wow, Malaysia’s weather is really cold today, just like in Jeddah!” He had just returned from a trip to Saudi Arabia.

The Malaysian Meteorological Department attributed the chill to the north-east monsoon, but did not expect temperatures to dip further. The agency forecasts all-day rain to last until Sunday in Kuala Lumpur.

Thailand has been experiencing a cold snap since last month, with fog blanketing its northern regions and frost forming on mountains.

In Hanoi, the Vietnamese capital, the temperature fell to as low as 8ºC, the lowest this winter for the city.

Though Cambodia was also struck by the cold weather this week, it was not as bad as last month, when the temperature plunge caused a sweater-shopping frenzy, and baby elephants had to wear hand-knitted coats.

The Philippines has been experiencing generally colder weather too, a result of the El Nino-La Nina weather dynamics, and the chilling Arctic air called the polar vortex. “We have seen a cold blast in the Pacific and Atlantic regions,” said the local weather bureau’s forecaster Nikkos Penaranda. The lowest temperature recorded recently was 12.2ºC in the northern city of Baguio on Jan 1.

Meanwhile, Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency said it recorded moderately lower-than-usual temperatures in the Riau Islands, an Indonesian province closest to Singapore, and in Nusa Tenggara Timur, east of the country’s main tourist island of Bali. On Friday, the two locations registered temperatures of 23ºC to 25ºC.

All other provinces are seeing relatively normal temperatures, state weather forecaster Risda Novikarani told The Straits Times.

Over in South Asia, the northern parts of India were also in the midst of a cold spell, but meteorological officials said this was well within the range for winter months. “Temperatures have fallen and the cold wave condition is more severe in January than December,” said Mahesh Palawat, director of private weather forecaster Skymet. “It is a normal winter.”

According to India’s Meteorological Department, minimum temperatures in most parts of northern India this week continued to be between 5ºC and 10ºC, and would remain so until Monday (Jan 15).

Juggling between a degree and the beauty pageant, this accounting and finance student proved that you could make all your dreams come true with just a little bit of faith and perseverance.

“Honestly I was so surprised as I never expected to win, but I proved to myself that I can achieve anything if I put myself out there and be more courageous,” said Teoh.

The Penangborn beauty was in shock as her predecessor, Miss Universe Malaysia 2017 Samantha Katie James, presented her with the crown and sash during the grand finale held at Majestic Hotel Kuala Lumpur.

She also received RM50,000 cash, sponsored prizes worth over RM150,000 and a full education scholarship from HELP University.

“I want to be remembered as a woman of transformation at the end of my reign. I want to be involved in philanthropic work and help eradicate social issues,” said Teoh, in answer to the last question asked before she was crowned.

She also plans to speak for the underprivileged, especially those living in poverty.

Teoh believes that many are ignorant about this social problem and hopes to do her part to break the cycle of poverty.

“I also have a business background with business organisations so I would also like to inspire more women to venture into the world of business,” she added.

Teoh was joined by first runnerup Alexis SueAnn Seow SuYin, 22, second runnerup Liliana Fernandez, 20, and third runnerup Jasebel Shalani Robert, 22, all from Kuala Lumpur.

They were among 13 other hopefuls who wowed the crowd with a show of stunning evening gowns and swimwear before the top four were announced.

Apart from that, there were 12 other subsidiary titles given out.

Fernandez received two which were for Miss Body Beautiful and Miss Zalora Style Star, Seow also received two; Miss Glojas Glowing Beauty and to be the Face of La Juiceria.

Miss Congeniality went to Natasha Aprilla, while Charlotte Tan was named Miss Auto Bavaria Elegance and Miss SMC Winning Smile.

Charmaine Chew is Miss Miko Galere Exceptional Coiffure, Maria Devonne Escobia as Miss Lancome Beautiful, Mellisa Wong as the Face of Fitology and Dahinoor John for Most Inspiring by HELP University.

The blacktie affair was made more glamorous as the event saw guests dressed in their best gowns and suits.

There was also an exciting lineup of performances by Dasha Logan, daughter of late Alleycats’ vocalist Loganathan Arumugam, singersongwriter Yuna as well as dance performances.

Miss Universe Malaysia Organisation (Mumo) national director Datin Elaine Daly said she was proud of all the girls that night.

“I have never been prouder of the top four contestants and in fact all the contestants this year are women of substance, they each have something unique in them,” she said after the girls were crowned.

Daly further urged the girls to make the most of this year and savour every moment of it as it was their time to shine.

“This is just the beginning where work really starts, so think of what legacy you want to leave behind and achieve it,” she said, adding that “titles do not mean as much as the things you set out to do and achieve in the future.”

She added that the theme Beauty Beyond You was chosen this year because they wanted to break free from the stereotype of what a beauty pageant was and instead show that it could be a platform for contestants to be inspired, empowered and to become leaders.

“It is our dream that this pageant can inspire young girls to use this stage to achieve greater things and to be positive role models,” she said.

Star Media Group was the official partner for this event.

Catch the next Miss Universe Malaysia 2018 series by logging on to http://www.hurr.tv for exclusive behindthescenes content and the episode finale on Jan 29, 7pm on Diva Astro channel 702 and Diva HD channel 723. The episode finale will also be aired on E! Astro channel 712 on Feb 1 at 7pm.