Mrs UAE and Mrs Jordan wowed judges at the Mrs World beauty pageant on Saturday, narrowly losing out on the crown to Mrs American Shaylyn Ford.
Debanjali Kamstra, who was representing the UAE for the first time in the pageant's history, was named second runner-up, with Mrs Jordan Jaclyn Stapp finishing as first runner-up at the glamorous event in Las Vegas.
Ford beat 57 other contestants for the title and was crowned by the reigning Mrs World, Kate Schneider, who was Mrs Ireland World.
The pageant featured the traditional displays of national costumes, swimwear, eveningwear and a series of interview questions to test contestants’ personalities and public speaking skills, in which Kamstra and Stapp spoke about their charitable efforts in the Middle East.
How did Mrs UAE do in the Mrs World final?
A former employee of Emirates airline, Kamstra, 35, is an architect and opened her first interior design business, Veloche, in Dubai a decade ago.
A resident of the UAE for 13 years, she has since started two more companies, one selling home interiors and the other dealing in healthy snacks and drinks.
Kamstra, who has been married to her musician husband Christiaan Kamstra for nine years, loves dancing and fitness and is motivated by helping other women on their fitness journey.
Judges heard that the mother-of-two-girls is passionate about helping children with autism.
Her mantra in life is: “Confidence is your best accessory. Love yourself and give your best and the results will always be in your favour.”
When asked what she wants the judges and world to know about her, Kamsta answered: "I want the world to know that I am a woman who has started her life from scratch and I have never been gifted with everything I've wanted, so I have worked really hard to achieve everything.
"Being the pioneering United Arab Emirates contestant, I'm [for the] first time representing the country in the platform of the world and if I become Mrs World, I will do a lot for the people of determination as I want them to have jobs and I also want to support the children with autism because they are all inclusive."
On the question of how she would utilise technology during her reign, she said: “If you go to my Instagram account you can see I’ve already got half a million followers. That means when I’m going to travel I’m going to take a lot of pictures and promote different countries’ tourism.
“Most important [is] my advocacy for the people of determination. I would like to contact organisations, both private and government, to give some kind of job opportunity to people of determination because they are all inclusive.”
National costume and swimwear rounds
Kamstra also stunned judges in the national costume round, winning the award for the Most Exotic Costume in a falcon-inspired getup, made entirely of gold fabric and featuring a floor-length feather cape.
Audiences gasped at Kamstra’s magnificent wing-shaped shoulder pads as she strutted out onto the stage, pausing to spread out her feathers majestically.
Crowning the striking costume, designed by Filipino talent Cary Santiago, was a statuesque headpiece depicting a falcon in flight, paired with a stunning gold battoulah glimmering under the spotlights.
Kamstra’s outfit was designed to represent “strength, unity and power” in a poignant nod to the UAE’s heritage.
The winner of the Best Costume went to Mrs India Navdeep Kaur, who dazzled in a head-to-toe gold serpent-inspired look.
The metallic ensemble was paired with thigh-high metal plated boots, an elaborate headpiece and a trident, which she brandished as strode confidently across the Vegas stage.
For the swimwear round, the 15 semi finalists, including Kamstra and Stapp, wore identical plunging black one-pieces paired with perspex heels as they sashayed around the stage to Diana Ross's I’m Coming Out.
The final six then took to the stage in a bright pink number and paraded in front of the judges as hosts shared a brief biography about each contestant’s life and work.
Mrs Jordan won the Congeniality Award in the swimsuit round.
The new Mrs World
Ford stunned judges in a stunning one-sleeved evening gown, split to the thigh, with her blonde locks tumbling around her shoulders.
The charity executive director has been married for seven years to her pastor husband and the couple have three children together.
Ford, 37, from Granville Ohio, was crowned Mrs American at the annual Mrs American pageant on November 19, 2021.
When asked about her plans for the pageant’s Beauty For Good and Victoria’s Voice charities as Mrs World, Ford said: “I’ve already started. My first meeting is on Monday with the Beauty For Good team and I’m so excited to get some victory clubs going in our state.
“I’ve worked with a lot of our state queens and we want to continue expanding the programme.
“I am so excited to be partnering with [drug charity] Victoria’s Voice and Beauty For Good, and I think we can make a real change.
“I have had opioid addiction hit my own family. I’ve lost people who I love and I’m very passionate about taking this forward.
“Together I feel we can take massive ground and I can’t wait to do it.”
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Akeed
Based: Muscat
Launch year: 2018
Number of employees: 40
Sector: Online food delivery
Funding: Raised $3.2m since inception
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
The specs
Engine: four-litre V6 and 3.5-litre V6 twin-turbo
Transmission: six-speed and 10-speed
Power: 271 and 409 horsepower
Torque: 385 and 650Nm
Price: from Dh229,900 to Dh355,000
Earth under attack: Cosmic impacts throughout history
- 4.5 billion years ago: Mars-sized object smashes into the newly-formed Earth, creating debris that coalesces to form the Moon
- 66 million years ago: 10km-wide asteroid crashes into the Gulf of Mexico, wiping out over 70 per cent of living species – including the dinosaurs.
- 50,000 years ago: 50m-wide iron meteor crashes in Arizona with the violence of 10 megatonne hydrogen bomb, creating the famous 1.2km-wide Barringer Crater
- 1490: Meteor storm over Shansi Province, north-east China when large stones “fell like rain”, reportedly leading to thousands of deaths.
- 1908: 100-metre meteor from the Taurid Complex explodes near the Tunguska river in Siberia with the force of 1,000 Hiroshima-type bombs, devastating 2,000 square kilometres of forest.
- 1998: Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 breaks apart and crashes into Jupiter in series of impacts that would have annihilated life on Earth.
-2013: 10,000-tonne meteor burns up over the southern Urals region of Russia, releasing a pressure blast and flash that left over 1600 people injured.
Moral education needed in a 'rapidly changing world'
Moral education lessons for young people is needed in a rapidly changing world, the head of the programme said.
Alanood Al Kaabi, head of programmes at the Education Affairs Office of the Crown Price Court - Abu Dhabi, said: "The Crown Price Court is fully behind this initiative and have already seen the curriculum succeed in empowering young people and providing them with the necessary tools to succeed in building the future of the nation at all levels.
"Moral education touches on every aspect and subject that children engage in.
"It is not just limited to science or maths but it is involved in all subjects and it is helping children to adapt to integral moral practises.
"The moral education programme has been designed to develop children holistically in a world being rapidly transformed by technology and globalisation."
Bio
Born in Dubai in 1994
Her father is a retired Emirati police officer and her mother is originally from Kuwait
She Graduated from the American University of Sharjah in 2015 and is currently working on her Masters in Communication from the University of Sharjah.
Her favourite film is Pacific Rim, directed by Guillermo del Toro
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
How does ToTok work?
The calling app is available to download on Google Play and Apple App Store
To successfully install ToTok, users are asked to enter their phone number and then create a nickname.
The app then gives users the option add their existing phone contacts, allowing them to immediately contact people also using the application by video or voice call or via message.
Users can also invite other contacts to download ToTok to allow them to make contact through the app.
No.6 Collaborations Project
Ed Sheeran (Atlantic)
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Two products to make at home
Toilet cleaner
1 cup baking soda
1 cup castile soap
10-20 drops of lemon essential oil (or another oil of your choice)
Method:
1. Mix the baking soda and castile soap until you get a nice consistency.
2. Add the essential oil to the mix.
Air Freshener
100ml water
5 drops of the essential oil of your choice (note: lavender is a nice one for this)
Method:
1. Add water and oil to spray bottle to store.
2. Shake well before use.
Titanium Escrow profile
Started: December 2016
Founder: Ibrahim Kamalmaz
Based: UAE
Sector: Finance / legal
Size: 3 employees, pre-revenue
Stage: Early stage
Investors: Founder's friends and Family
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
Ruwais timeline
1971 Abu Dhabi National Oil Company established
1980 Ruwais Housing Complex built, located 10 kilometres away from industrial plants
1982 120,000 bpd capacity Ruwais refinery complex officially inaugurated by the founder of the UAE Sheikh Zayed
1984 Second phase of Ruwais Housing Complex built. Today the 7,000-unit complex houses some 24,000 people.
1985 The refinery is expanded with the commissioning of a 27,000 b/d hydro cracker complex
2009 Plans announced to build $1.2 billion fertilizer plant in Ruwais, producing urea
2010 Adnoc awards $10bn contracts for expansion of Ruwais refinery, to double capacity from 415,000 bpd
2014 Ruwais 261-outlet shopping mall opens
2014 Production starts at newly expanded Ruwais refinery, providing jet fuel and diesel and allowing the UAE to be self-sufficient for petrol supplies
2014 Etihad Rail begins transportation of sulphur from Shah and Habshan to Ruwais for export
2017 Aldar Academies to operate Adnoc’s schools including in Ruwais from September. Eight schools operate in total within the housing complex.
2018 Adnoc announces plans to invest $3.1 billion on upgrading its Ruwais refinery
2018 NMC Healthcare selected to manage operations of Ruwais Hospital
2018 Adnoc announces new downstream strategy at event in Abu Dhabi on May 13
Source: The National
Who has been sanctioned?
Daniella Weiss and Nachala
Described as 'the grandmother of the settler movement', she has encouraged the expansion of settlements for decades. The 79 year old leads radical settler movement Nachala, whose aim is for Israel to annex Gaza and the occupied West Bank, where it helps settlers built outposts.
Harel Libi & Libi Construction and Infrastructure
Libi has been involved in threatening and perpetuating acts of aggression and violence against Palestinians. His firm has provided logistical and financial support for the establishment of illegal outposts.
Zohar Sabah
Runs a settler outpost named Zohar’s Farm and has previously faced charges of violence against Palestinians. He was indicted by Israel’s State Attorney’s Office in September for allegedly participating in a violent attack against Palestinians and activists in the West Bank village of Muarrajat.
Coco’s Farm and Neria’s Farm
These are illegal outposts in the West Bank, which are at the vanguard of the settler movement. According to the UK, they are associated with people who have been involved in enabling, inciting, promoting or providing support for activities that amount to “serious abuse”.
