I have no problems with Maradona, says Messi

ROME: Argentina striker Lionel Messi has insisted he can work with new national coach Diego Maradona, despite his recent criticisms of the Barcelona
star, Italian media reported Wednesday.

Messi told sports daily La Gazzetta dello Sport he had "no problems" with Tuesday's news that Maradona had been appointed coach, adding: "It's great, I admire him for what he has given Argentinian football." Maradona openly criticised Messi in September, saying the 21-year-old was selfish and arrogant. "Sometimes Messi plays for Messi. He feels so superior that he forgets his team-mates. It's Deportivo Messi (a one-man team). If he played with (Sergio) Aguero or (Juan Roman) Riquelme it would be better for him." But Messi insisted that Maradona's attack was now in the past and forgotten about. "These were things said in the moment. I know that Diego appreciates me," Messi told La Gazzetta dello Sport. Maradona, who will be 48 on Thursday, has no top level coaching experience. But the often controversial figure has stressed that he wants to return the team to the highs of the 1986 World Cup when, as a player, he inspired Argentina almost single-handedly to the title. Alfio Basile resigned from the post a fortnight ago after a World Cup qualifying defeat to Chile left them in third place after 10 matches, seven points adrift of leaders Paraguay. Maradona won crucial support last week when Noray Nakis, the president of the Argentina Football Association(AFA) selection commission, threw his weight behind his candidature. He faced competition for the job from Carlos Bianchi, the former coach of Boca Juniors, whom he led to four national league titles, San Lorenzo coach Miguel Angel Russo and Sergio Batista who took the Under-23 squad to Olympic gold in Beijing in August.

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India's swine flu death rate is increasing

Friday, August 14, 2009 MUMBAI: A 26-year-old woman died Thursday of H1N1 swine flu in the southern city of Bangalore, raising India's death toll from the virus to 20, authorities said.The death was the first reported in India's information technology capital, the Press Trust of India reported.Meanwhile in Pune, the worst-affected in India, two more victims of the virus died Thursday, raising the death toll in that western city near Mumbai to 12, the report said. The victims were an 11-month-old boy and a 75-year-old old woman.US media reported movie halls, schools and colleges were ordered closed Thursday for three days to a week in Mumbai, the commercial and financial capital of the country, as fear of the pandemic spread.Prajakata Lavangare, a spokeswoman for the government of Maharashtra state of which Mumbai is the capital, said similar orders were issued in Pune, which is also located in the state.The woman who died in Bangalore was identified only as Roopa, a teacher in

Cuba's world-famous cigar festival closes in Havana

Sunday, February 28, 2010 HAVANA: Hundreds of wealthy merchants and cigar aficionados from all parts of the world gathered in Havana this week to bid high stakes for humidors full of premium cigars. Cuba's annual Habanos festival ended on Friday night with an auction of ornate humidors of cedar and mahogany stacked with hand-rolled stogies that raised 800,000 euros ($1.09 million dollars). Habanos S.A. executives this month said cigar sales fell 8 percent to $360 million in 2009, so they have created the Julieta, a smaller, milder version of the Romeo y Julieta cigar, aimed specifically at female smokers. Women now make up only 5 to 10 percent of customers for Habanos. But even with the creation of the Julieta, Garcia said Habanos has only modest hopes for 2010 sales, due largely to a weak economy in Spain, the biggest market for Cuban cigars. The flavor of premium tobacco relies on the soil and climate in which it is grown. The western province of Pinar Del Rio, famous fo

Cyprus lace to be declared UNESCO cultural heritage

Tuesday, September 08, 2009 NICOSIA: Traditional hand-made lace produced in the Larnaca district village of Lefkara in Cyprus known as lefkaritiko includeded in UNESCO’s list of Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH). Soseilos said that the relevant UNESCO committee has already decided to include lefkaritiko in its list of the world’s ICH, a more recent addition to UNESCO’s long-standing list of World Heritage sites, and the decision will be formally announced at the UNESCO General Assembly next month. The tradition of needlework and lace embroidery in Lefkara goes back centuries.

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