Saturday, July 04, 2009 HELD AL-QUDS: Jews and Arabs should not live next to one another, a local newspaper on Friday quoted Housing and Construction Minister Ariel Attias as saying."We can all be bleeding hearts, but I think it is unsuitable to live together," the minister was quoted as telling the Israel Bar Association in Tel Aviv."Arabs don't have where to live, so they buy apartments in places with a Jewish nature, which causes unwanted friction," said Attias, of the religious Shas party.In a reference to Arab Israelis, he also complained about "the expansion of a population that doesn't love the state of Israel, to say the least."The English-language newspaper quoted Arab-Israeli MP Ahmed Tibi as lashing out at Attias."Relating to Israel's Arab citizens as something threatening and foreign, coming from a minister in a government that should be distributing resources (equally) borders on violating the law against incitement and racism," Tibi 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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