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The Daily Star, Oneonta, N.Y., Friday, December 10, 2021 20 By Dana Simpson TV Media A 'Universal' woman: For the second time this calendar year, some of the world's — nay, the universe's — most beautiful, talented, caring and intelligent women are gather- ing in the spirit of friendly com- petition. See which one of them is crowned as this year's Miss Universe when the 70th annual pageant airs live from Eilat, Israel, Sunday, Dec. 12, on Fox. Presented this time around by TV personality and "Family Feud" host Steve Harvey, the ceremony marks the first year the United Arab Emirates will present a delegate to compete. Morocco was also set to take part for the first time in 43 years, but an unforeseen inci- dent might have left the coun- try unable to compete. Casablanca-born financial adviser and beauty queen Fati- ma-Zahra Khayat, who beat out 79 other hopefuls for the ti- tle of Miss Morocco earlier this year, recently suffered "a fall that caused an 'awful' ankle sprain" (per Kahyat's personal Instagram). She withdrew from the competition in mid-No- vember, leaving the Moroccan committee to scramble to fill her (no doubt very high) shoes. In the same Instagram post, Khayat did note that the jury had passed her Miss Morocco crown on to runner-up Kawtar Benhalima, but the 22-year-old successor has already faced a hefty amount of criticism be- cause her grandmother was born in neighboring Algeria. (A fact made more contentious due to the countries' strained political relations.) Regardless of Morocco's representation, the Israeli- hosted competition will be a massive event. After the 2020 contest was pushed into May of this year to accommodate the pandemic, it is time (per- haps all together too soon for some) for the 69th winner, Mexico's Andrea Meza, to crown this year's queen. (The Chihuahuan model and soft- ware engineer won Miss Uni- verse 2020 after having previ- ously been crowned Mexicana Universal 2020 and Miss Mexi- co 2017. She was Miss World's first runner-up in 2017.) realtalk Miss Universe 2020 Andrea Meza to crown Miss Universe 2021 B/The Pine Shop 6x7.5 Quality Home Furnishing and Gis at Last Lay-Away and Gi Certificates Available www.thepineshoponeonta.com Hours: Mon.-Wed. 9-5:30 Thurs.-Fri. 9-6 and Sat. 9-5 Sundays in Dec Till Christmas 11:30- 3:30 (607)432-1124 5382 State Hwy 7 Oneonta Happy Holidays 5382 State Hwy 7 from H Amish Dining Room Sets 20% Off Entertainment Centers 20% Off Bookcases 10% Off Rockers & Glider Rockers 20% Off Recliners Book Cases End Tables Lamps Entertainment Centers Rockers & Gliders Framed Prints Dining Room Sets Desks Drying Racks Stools Children's Furniture Dressers Pantries Beds & h Gi Ideas

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