MUMBAI: Heavy gunfire erupted on Friday after NSG commandos were dropped by helicopter onto the roof of Nariman House in Mumbai, where militants NSG commando airdropped from chopper atop Nariman House in Mumbai. The death toll in a series of coordinated attacks by militants in Mumbai rose to 130, a senior police official said.At least 93 hostages, majority of them foreigners, rescued from Oberoi hotel. The group, some of whom were carrying luggage with Canadian flags on, were taken away in cars without speaking to reporters. The group included one man dressed in Chef's uniform and a small baby.Police said militants were still holed up as well at the Taj Mahal hotel and the nearby Oberoi-Trident hotel along with an unknown number of hostages. Earlier, three fresh explosions rocked Nariman House early on Friday as security forces battled hard through the night to end the siege of Taj and Trident luxury hotels by heavily-armed terrorists.As NSG commandos closed in on Nariman House, a Jewish residential complex in Colaba in south Mumbai, for a final assault, two explosions within a span of ten to 15 minutes slowed down their operation. A third explosion was heard at 4.47 am. "The operation to clean up the Nariman House is still going on," Director General of National Security Guard (NSG) J K Dutt told reporters adding, "it is just a matter of time and it will end soon". Dutt said the operations at Hotel Taj was by and large over with just one injured terrorist still holed-up in the building. "He has been injured and I think we will be able to mop up the operation there very quickly," he said.
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...
Comments