Thursday, June 18, 2009 LONDON: India and New Zealand will face each other in the first ICC Women's World Twenty20 2009 semi-final at Trent Bridge on Thursday.The White Ferns, who were losing finalists in the ICC Women's World Cup in March in Australia, start favourites to make the final at Lord's after carrying their good form to Taunton with three convincing wins. New Zealand, who had arrived in England on the back of a three-Twenty20 series with Australia, beat an undercooked India comfortably in Taunton ahead of the tournament.Though India eased into the semis with two wins - its sole defeat was to favourite England - Mithali knows that its batting has been shaky and has relied on individual performances such as Anjum Chopra's 37 not out against Pakistan, and her own unbeaten 32 against Sri Lanka.
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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