Miss World contest cancelled after riots

The Miss World pageant in Nigeria was cancelled last night after rioting over newspaper reports on the event killed around 100 people and injured 500.

The pageant will now be held in London on December 7 “in the overall interests of Nigeria and the contestants”.

The brief announcement, which did not elaborate on the decision to change the venue, came after three days of rioting triggered by the pageant and a newspaper's reference to the prophet Muhammad.

The bloodshed was worst in the northern city of Kaduna, where it started on Wednesday, but yesterday it spread to Abuja, the capital, where the beauty contest was to be held.

Red Cross officials said about 100 people had been killed and 500 injured in three days.

Fuelling the clashes are long-standing hostilities between the various tribes of Muslims and Christians in Africa’s most populous nation, where rioting and fighting between the groups is commonplace.

Previous riots in Kaduna have escalated into religious battles that have killed hundreds since civilian government replaced military rule in 1999.