Bulawayo is the second largest city in Zimbabwe, and the largest city in the country's Matabeleland. The city's population is disputed; the 2012 census listed it at 653,337, while the Bulawayo City Council claimed it to be about 1.2 million. Bulawayo covers an area of about 1,707 square kilometres (659 sq mi) in the western part of the country, along the Matsh' Amhlope River. Along with the capital Harare, Bulawayo is one of two cities in Zimbabwe that are also a province.
The Zimbabwe national rugby union team, nicknamed the Sables, represents the African nation of Zimbabwe in international competition, and is administered by the Zimbabwe Rugby Union. While sides representing the colony of Rhodesia have played as early as 1910, the modern day Zimbabwe rugby team did not play its first test until 1981, against Kenya. Zimbabwe has competed in two World Cups, in 1987 and 1991, in place of South Africa, who were sanctioned by the IRB at the time due to apartheid. Zimbabwe is categorized as Tier 3 Development One, which prioritizes Zimbabwe over other nations due to historical success as well as popularity of rugby in the nation.
Diana Hayden is an Indian actress, model, and beauty queen who was crowned Femina Miss India World 1997 and Miss World 1997. She was also crowned as the "Miss World - Asia and Oceania" during the Miss World contest. In addition, Hayden won the titles Miss Photogenic and Spectacular Swimwear. She is the only Miss World titleholder to win three subtitles during the competition. In 2008, she was a celebrity contestant in the reality show Bigg Boss.
Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria – also abbreviated as MBGN – is a pageant organised by Silverbird Group with the main purpose of sending representatives to international competitions. Originally known as Miss Universe Nigeria, it was renamed Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria after news publishers Daily Times lost its license to send delegates from rival contest Miss Nigeria to Miss World and Miss Universe.
Marsha Cox (née Marescia; born 13 January 1983 in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal) is a field hockey player from South Africa, who was a member of the national squad that finished 9th at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. The midfielder comes from Durban, and is nicknamed Nator. She plays for the provincial team Southern Gauteng.
Margaret Simpson is a Ghanaian heptathlete. She won a bronze medal at the 2005 World Championships, setting several personal bests in the process. Her personal best is 6423 points, achieved in Götzis in May 2005.
David Coltart is a Zimbabwean lawyer, Christian leader and politician. He was a founding member of the Movement for Democratic Change when it was established in 1999 and its founding Secretary for Legal Affairs. He was the Member of Parliament for Bulawayo South in the House of Assembly from 2000 to 2008, and he was elected to the Senate in 2008. He is the Legal Secretary for the formation of the Movement for Democratic Change led by Welshman Ncube. He was the Minister for Education, Sport, Arts and Culture from February 2009 until August 2013.
Miss World 2008, the 58th edition of the Miss World pageant, was held on 13 December 2008 at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg, South Africa. Originally, the pageant was going to take place in Kiev, Ukraine, but because of the ongoing 2008 Russo-Georgian diplomatic crisis in neighbouring South Ossetia, the Miss World Organization decided to move the pageant away from Eastern Europe. 109 contestants from all over the world compete for the crown, the second highest turnout in the 59 years of the pageant. Zhang Zilin of China crowned Ksenia Sukhinova of Russia as the brand new Miss World.
Abigail McCary is an American model and beauty pageant titleholder who was appointed as Miss World United States 2007. She placed among the top 16 finalists at Miss World. Abigail earned a B.A. degree in psychology. Her future ambition is to earn a master's degree in counseling and to become a school counselor.
Grace Ntombizodwa Mugabe is the second wife of former Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe. She served as the First Lady of Zimbabwe from 1996 until her husband's resignation in November 2017, a week after he was ousted from power. Starting as a secretary to President Mugabe, she rose in the ranks of the ruling ZANU–PF party to become the head of its Women's League and a key figure in the Generation 40 faction. At the same time, she gained a reputation for privilege and extravagance during a period of economic turmoil in the country. She was expelled from the party, with other G40 members, during the 2017 Zimbabwean coup d'état.
Cynthia Maideyi Muvirimi is a Zimbabwean-born model who represented Zimbabwe in the Miss World 2008 pageant.
Lene Egeli is a Norwegian beauty pageant contestant and model who won the title of Frøken Norge 2008, on 21 April 2008. She went on to represent Norway in Miss World 2008 in Johannesburg, South Africa, on 13 December 2008. She did not advance to the semi-final but placed as one of the 32 semi-finalists in the Top Model fast track competition.
The 2009 COSAFA Cup is the 13th edition of the football tournament that involves teams from Southern Africa.
Miss Tourism International is an annual international beauty pageant run by the D’ Touch International Sdn. Bhd. Foundation. The pageant was first held in 1994 at Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia, where 23 contestants competed. In 2006, the contest was held outside of Malaysia for the first time, in Guangzhou, China. In 2016, 60 countries participated in the Miss Tourism International pageant.
Felixia Yeap Chin Yee is a Malaysian model. She was Malaysia's first and only Playboy Bunny. Since December 2013, she has sported a hijab, sparking controversy among the country's Muslim and non-Muslim communities. On 3 July 2014, she said she had converted to Islam.
Bokang Montjane is a South African model and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss South Africa 2010, becoming the official representative of her country to the Miss Universe 2011 and Miss World 2011 pageants. She also participated in Miss International 2009 and placed in the Top 16 at Miss Earth 2007, finished as one of the Top 7 finalists and named Miss World Africa at Miss World 2011.
Miss Earth 2013, the 13th edition of the Miss Earth pageant, was held on 7 December 2013 at the Versailles Palace in Alabang, Muntinlupa, Philippines. Miss Earth 2012 Tereza Fajksová from Czech Republic crowned her successor Alyz Henrich from Venezuela at the end of the event. 88 contestants competed for this year's pageant, the highest number in Miss Earth history. The pageant was broadcast live internationally on Star World last 7 December 2013, 10:00 a.m. on ABS-CBN, or coverage on Studio 23, TFC-The Filipino Channel, and also on channels of participating counties worldwide. Miss Earth 2008, Karla Henry, was present in the pageant to express the gratitude that the different countries had done to help the Philippines after the devastation that Typhoon Haiyan had caused.
