Sunday, June 07, 2009 KABUL: Taliban militants stormed a police post in northwestern Afghanistan early Sunday, killing four policemen, while two civilians died in a bomb blast in the country's south, authorities said. The policemen were killed after their remote post was attacked by Taliban rebels riding motorbikes in Faryab province, provincial police chief Khalilullah Ziayee said. The Taliban also suffered casualties, the police chief said, but he had no details. "The attackers cowardly escaped after we sent reinforcements," he added. In volatile Kandahar province, a mother and her son were killed when a motorbike they were riding was blown up by a roadside bomb, also on Sunday, the interior ministry said, blaming the attack on insurgents. "Two civilians, a mother and a son, were killed when a mine... planted by the enemies of Afghanistan exploded under their motorbike," the statement said. On Saturday an army soldier was killed in a gun battle with Taliban which also left two rebels dead in the central province of Ghazni, a place which sees regular Taliban unrest, the provincial police chief said. The soldiers were patrolling when they came under attack by the insurgents armed with rockets and heavy machine guns, commander Khyalbaz Sherzai said.
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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