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berdych_rome_celebrate_N2World number one Novak Djokovic lost to Tomas Berdych (2-6 7-5 6-4) at the Italian Open quarterfinals.

Djokovic was trying to grab his third Rome title but has been troubled by pain in his ankle.

World number six Berdych had already lost twice to Djokovic this year. His only victory against the Serbian came in the 2010 Wimbledon semi-finals.

Spain’s Rafael Nadal, on the other hand, stayed on track for his third straight title. He beat fellow Spaniard David Ferrer in 6-4 4-6 6-2 victory. Frenchman Benoit Paire also advanced.

The French reached the first Masters Series semi-final of his career with a victory over Spaniard Marcel Granollers. He will now face Roger Federer for a place in the Rome finals.

Federer beat rising Polish player Jerzy Janowicz with a 6-4 7-6 (7-2) victory.

tourism australiaTourism Australia announced today the 18 finalist for the “Best Jobs in the World”. The top applicants include five Americans who will who will travel Down Under next month for the final stage of the global competition.

Representing 12 countries, the finalists will face challenges set by the states and territories, including the following:

-          creating content for inspiring tourism videos

-          writing blogs of their Australian travel experiences

-          handling the pressure of an impromptu media conference

“It’s show time. The candidates now face their very own Australian working holiday – a week of tests and challenges which will ultimately decide who ends up winning these six dream jobs,” said Tourism Australia Managing Director Andrew McEvoy.

The five U.S. finalists stood out with their original 30-second video entries and their success in securing high-profile endorsements in support of their application.

The 18 candidates come from 12 different countries: United States (5), England (2), France (2), Afghanistan (1), Belgium (1), Brazil (1), Canada (1), Germany (1), Hong Kong (1), Ireland (1), Scotland (1) and Taiwan (1).

Tourism Australia’s ’Best Jobs in the World’ competition is part of a major international marketing effort to promote tourism opportunities provided by Australia’s Working Holiday Maker (WHM) program.

The 18 finalists will battle to get one of the six “best jobs” namely:

-          Wildlife Caretaker (South Australia)

-          Chief Funster (New South Wales)

-          Park Ranger (Queensland)

-          Taste Master (Western Australia)

-          Outback Adventurer(Northern Territory)

-          Lifestyle Photographer (Melbourne, Victoria)

gravityAlfonso Cuaron is ready to make a comeback. Seven years after “Children Of Men”, he will return to the film industry with “Gravity”, a movie that will hit the theatres on October 4.

With Sandra Bullock and George Clooney in starring roles, the sci-fi film has been gaining much attention this early. The movie centers on two astronauts, who were set adrift in space after their station is damaged. Clooney’s remark on the film’s trailer: “Beautiful, don’t you think?”, makes it a highly-anticipated one.

Learn more about updates about Cuaron’s Gravity in this Huffington Post and Space.com news stories.

mcdonaldsAccording to Placed Insights, a location analytics in the U.S., one-half of the American population went to McDonalds at least once last March 2013.

The data was collected by monitoring the consumption behavior of almost 70,000 Americans, aged 14 and above, on a per-month basis. The results show that around 49% of them visited a store within the month of March. This record has just made McDonalds, a well-known fast food chain, the most visited store in the country.

Along with other companies, such as Wal-Mart, Wendy’s, Burger King, and SubWay, you can view the results at Yahoo! Finance’s website.

Adidas, the world’s second largest sportswear company, has reported an increase in profits despite seeing sales decline in the first quarter of 2013.

adidas

The German firm said more consumers were buying its higher-priced products, helping net income increase by 6.5% to 308m Euros.

Its gross revenue margin on sales was 50.1%, only the second time the company reported a figure of 50% above.

In Frankfurt, Adidas shares increased by almost 6% in early trading.

Chief Executive of Adidas, Herbert Hainer, said the results were impressive, given that in the same quarter in 2013, sales increased in the run-up to the Olympics and European football competitions.

Adidas has been struggling with the double-digit drop in Reebok sales, which took a 265m euro record on the brand last year.

Adidas plans a strategy to boost Rebook sales in 2013, with a target on yoga, dance, and fitness training.

Read the rest of the news about the Adidas sales report here.

Microblogging service Twitter has closed its biggest advertising deal with Publicis Groupe-owned Starcom MediaVest Group. The deal is reported to be worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

twitter

According to reports, the TV-linked agreement is another indication of the microblogging service’s importance as the second screen and its progressively interdependent relationship with television. The deal, which many describe as a partnership, means that Starcom’s roster of clients such as Microsoft, Coca-Cola, and Procter & Gamble, may acquire advertising slots on Twitter.

The “In-tweet mobile survey,” is one of the newest products the company will offer. Nielsen collaborated with Twitter for this particular undertaking. The brand polls on Twitter will appear like Promoted Tweets within users’ timelines on both desktop and mobile devices. The deal is not exclusive and leaves openings for the social network to make similar deals with WPP Group’s GroupM, Omnicom, and Dentsu-owned Aegis.

Visit this link to read more of Twitter’s newest deal.

paltrowPeople magazine has named Gwyneth Paltrow as the World’s Most Beautiful Woman for 2013.

The 40-year old blond actress topped the magazine’s annual list for the Most Beautiful Woman.

Her perfect hair, charming blue eyes, nice smile, and sexy body all contribute to the actress’s beauty.

According to Paltrow, she honestly thought that someone was playing joke on her. “I had to reread the e-mail three times. I was like, ‘This can’t be true, I’ve developed dyslexia — I’m not reading this right.’ It’s a very iconic cover in American culture, so it’s just amazing,” she said.

Paltrow told the magazine that around the house, she’s usually in jeans and t-shirt, and does not wear any makeup. She said, “I feel my most beautiful when I am truly myself. Meaning, when I accept exactly where I am in time and space, and I’m not judging myself in any way, and I feel that I have the peace that comes with loving yourself and all of your flaws.”

Do you think Gwyneth Paltrow is really the most beautiful woman? Find out more in this CNN article.

Bush FamilyFrom the founding political leaders to newspaper and oil tycoons, America has a long history of family dynasties that shaped society.

“But what makes for an influential family in America today?”

Town & County magazine’s May cover story features the 50 most prominent families in America. The magazine broke the list down into 5 categories with 10 families in each category. These included the 10 Most Inspiring, 10 Most Generous, 10 Most Enduring, 10 Most Creative, and 10 Most Powerful.

The full list will appear in Town & County magazine’s upcoming issue. It hits the new stands on April 16.

Learn more about the Bush Family, the Most Powerful Family in America, in this CBS This Morning story.

barbieMattel’s “Dolls of the World” collection has more than 200 Barbies dressed in costumes from different countries of the world. It debuted with Parisian, British, and Italian dolls back in 1980. The latest versions, especially Latin America, are causing controversy online. In June 2012, the newest Mexico Barbie was revealed. Many people said that it was quite offensive than being educational.

Jennifer Morales tweeted, “@Mattel, maybe #MexicoBarbie should come with a taco instead of a chihuahua- you know, just to be really clear.” Another user that goes with the username “@SavannahLime” pointed out, “Of course #MexicanBarbie comes with a passport! She doesn’t want to be deported.”

After going through the whole collection, the same problem goes with different dolls. Take a look, see for yourself, and answer the question: Is Barbie Racist or Just Being Realistic?

beerA beer is a man’s drink, at least to some degree. Women would order wine, while men go for beer. In history, however, many women consider beer as their typical beverage. Even children can have some of the grub too.

Nowadays, it would be difficult to find a female-run brewery. Nevertheless, did you know that they are the first professional brewers? They were called brewsters. Brewing beer is a task for noble women back in ancient Peru. In 19th century Munich, many new mothers believed that drinking seven pints of beer every day is needed for breastfeeding.

There is actually a long history between women and beer. Click here to check out a visual representation of some facts about beer.