CAPE CANAVERAL: Astronauts John Grunsfeld and Drew Feustel will exit the space Shuttle Atlantis Thursday morning for the first of five space walks to upgrade Hubble. Astronauts will replace the telescope's 15-year-old workhorse camera with one that sees deeper into the universe. The new camera is the size of a baby grand piano. The old camera will be displayed at the Smithsonian Institution.This space walk should take about six-and-a-half hours and includes replacing a computer data device that broke down last year. Atlantis grabbed Hubble Wednesday and shuttle commander Scott Altman said the two spacewalkers were ``salivating over the telescope.''
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...
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