Tuesday, June 16, 2009 LONDON: The UK's foreign secretary says Britain tries to ensure foreign partners don't use torture but cannot guarantee that some allies don't abuse suspected terrorists.David Miliband says Britain has abandoned some operations because the risk a detainee would be mistreated overseas was deemed too high.Miliband said Tuesday that "it is not always possible to eradicate the risk of mistreatment" of detainees held by overseas governments.British officials are facing allegations they may have colluded in the torture of detainees held in Pakistan and elsewhere.
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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