KATHMANDU: Nepal's ruling Maoists on Monday accused the president of attempting a "constitutional coup" by siding with the head of the army in a major political row, and vowed to fight back with street protests.The warning came after Nepal's centrist president, Ram Baran Yadav, attempted to overrule a Maoist decision to sack the head of the national army. "Our party has taken the president's step as a constitutional coup and we will fight against it," Maoist spokesman and cabinet minister Krishna Bahadur Mahara told. He said Maoist Prime Minister Prachanda will address the nation on the crisis at 3:00pm (0930 GMT) Monday.
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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