NEWS SNIPPETS FROM VALENCIA - POPULATION = 4.8 MILLION

Valencia Mayoress Rita Barbera, attended the Valencia Marathon 2008 last weekend.

	The II General Assembly of the Valencia Society of Genealogy and Heraldry took place in the Royal Monastery of Santa Maria de la Valldigna, in Valencia.

Asian elephant "Petita" has joined the herd of elephants at the Parque Natura nature park in Benidorm, Alicante, where she is to be mated with elephant "Luka" as part of an international reproduction programme to save animals in extinction.

Both elephants were blessed by Benidorm priest Father René, while the Tuna of female troubadours supplied the music as the 2,000 strong public present in the park showered flower petals on the happy couple before sampling the wedding cake and refreshments served to celebrate the occasion.

Petita and Luka received a special menu of fresh leaves and fruit.

Valencian fashion designer Enrique Lodares held a fashion parade of summer wear in the Olimpia Theatre in Valencia. Packed to the roof, for two hours, the audience oohed and aaaed as one wonderful creation after another stepped out onto the catwalk, and more than one lady present vowed to lose a few kilos over the coming months in order to fit into some of the exquisite gowns on display. The parade finished off with a bridal creation that consisted in a short veil worn with a white halter neck top and white shorts covered in silver sequins. All photos are by photographer Paolo Bocchese.

The City of Valencia Ski Championship that took place last weekend in Javalambre was attended by numerous skiers from Valencia who enjoyed plentiful snow on the slopes and a magnificent sunny day.

We advise our readers that a fault in the electronic system of the gear shift of Fiat automatic drive cars, causes sudden stoppages that can produce whiplash to the driver. This has been the experience of our editor while driving an automatic Fiat Stilo Abarth. The stoppages are also highly dangerous if they take place when passing out another vehicle, or in heavy traffic.