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Miss Universe Stefania Fernandez (Venezuela)

Young women play in tomato pulp during the annual "tomatina" tomato fight fiesta in the village of Bunol, near Valencia, Spain, Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2009. Bunol's town hall estimated more than 40,000 people, some from as far away as Japan and Australia, took up arms Wednesday with 100 tons of tomatoes in the yearly food fight known as the 'Tomatina' now in its 64th year.

A contortionist from the People's Republic of China National Acrobatic Circus performs during a press preview of their show 'Dreams' in Madrid.

Tough economic conditions, and the spiralling cost of living, has forced Chinese to turn their backs on decades of tradition of preference for male children. Even as China's one-child policy has produced a calamitous glut of men, the huge cost of raising a son has meant that for many families, daughters now make more economic sense. A government survey of almost 3,500 prospective parents in Shanghai showed that more than 15 per cent preferred a girl while only 12 per cent wanted a boy. While sons continue to be seen as more valuable in the countryside because they are seen to be traditionally responsible for taking care of parents in old age, the trend is being reversed in urban China, the Daily Telegraph reported today. The surge in cost of living in urban China has also helped diminish the appeal for the male child. Buying a new house for a newly married son is a ruinous expense in many cities, with property prices in China's major centres having soared by as much as 60 per c...

Brand Director Exclusive Motors Pushpanjali Sharma participates in the first ever Women's Driving Event hosted by Exclusive Motors with Bentley and Lamborghini in New Delhi on 2nd August, 2009.

These are times of economic slowdown. But believe it or not what has slumped the rakhi sales in Delhi is the sweltering monsoon heat! Rakhee is just a two days away, but the continued hot summer is making shoppers give the city a miss and instead procure rakhees directly from Kolkatta, say traders. According to a Sadar Bazaar-based trader Gagan, whole-sale buyers from neighbouring states are not coming to Delhi because of the summer and are directly procuring Rakhees from Kolkata. This has led to a 20-30 per cent fall in the market. Adding to the woes of traders are the high metal prices. Traders say demand for rakhees made of gold and silver have gone down as metal prices have firmed up in recent weeks. However, business is likely to improve in the coming days. "Our business has suddenly gone up in the last 2-3 days. It was down before that," trader Anil Bhai Rakheewala. Rakhees made of herbs, sandal and stones are also doing good business, he added.

Investor wealth swelled by nearly Rs 77,000 crore on 3rd August, 2009 as the BSE Sensex, boosted by strong corporate earnings and positive global cues, surged to a 14-month high of 15,924.23 points. The total investors wealth, measured in terms of combined market capitalisation of all the listed companies, has increased by Rs 76,849.98 crore to over Rs 52 lakh crore (Rs 52,16,791.81 crore precisely). The total market cap of all the listed companies stood at Rs 51,39,941.83 crore rpt Rs 51,39,941.83 crore at the end of trade on Friday last week. The 30 Sensex companies saw their combined market valuation rising by over Rs 38,539 crore. The combined market capitalisation of the 30 blue-chip stocks rose to Rs 24,05,274.38 crore, from Rs 23,66,734.60 crore on July 31. These elite companies account for about 46 per cent of the total market capitalisation of all companies on BSE. The Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark index surged 253.92 points, or 1.62 per cent, to 15,924.23 which, analysts fe...