Thursday, June 11, 2009 RECIFE: The search in the Atlantic for more bodies and debris from a downed Air France jetliner is to continue until at least June 19, Brazilian officials said Wednesday."The search can continue at least up to the 19th (of June)" given currents in the area being scoured, air force spokesman Brigadier Ramon Cardoso told reporters in the northeastern city of Recife. "That's the time with the currents that are there... still give the possibility of recovering bodies," he said. He added that the period may be extended if conditions permitted, and stressed that more bodies may yet be found. Brazilian and French navy crews have so far recovered 41 bodies from the search area 1,100 kilometers (700 miles) off Brazil's coast. The Air France plane was carrying 228 people when it crashed June 1 as it was flying from Rio de Janeiro to Paris.
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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