December 9, 2002	Monday	Shawwal 4,1423

LONDON, Dec 8: Miss Turkey on Saturday won the 2002 Miss World beauty pageant, which was mired in controversy after bloody riots in Nigeria forced its relocation to London.

Azra Akin, who was raised in The Netherlands in a Turkish family, beat runner-up Miss Colombia and third-place finisher Miss Peru in the contest broadcast to 142 nations.

Akin, who has long brown hair, said she wanted to study art and design, and enjoyed swimming and drawing, reading and playing the flute.

Ninety-two hopefuls from around the world, rivals in beauty and elegance, paraded their looks and talent in London’s Alexandra Palace theatre in the quest for the title won in 2001 by Nigeria’s Agbani Darego.

The pageant was moved to London from Nigeria’s capital Abuja after more than 220 people were killed and 30,000 driven from their homes in sectarian rioting in the north of the west African country in mid-November.—AFP