Manmohan says didn’t intend to hurt Zardari

NEW DELHI: "It was not my intention in any way to hurt Zardari Sahib's feelings," Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday on his virtual public snub to Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari.

Speaking to reporters accompanying him on his way back home from Italy, said he had not intended to say that in the presence of all the media.

"Let me say that what I had said to Zardari Sahib, I had not intended to say that in the presence of all the media. I simply forgot that the media were present there. It was not my intention in any way to hurt Zardari Sahib's feelings," he said in reply to a question.

Ahead of their meeting in Yekaterinburg in Russia last month, Singh had told Zardari in their first meeting after the chill brought about by the Mumbai terror strike that .

"I am happy to meet you but my mandate is limited to telling you that the territory of Pakistan must not be allowed to be used for terrorism against India."

He was replying to a question about his "unusual" step in Yekaterinburg when a reporter wanted to know whether such messages work on Pakistani leaders and whether it was business as usual in Pakistan.

A few days after the incident, Zardari cancelled his trip to Sharm el sheik in Egypt where he was to meet Singh on the sidelines of the NAM early next week.

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Cuba's world-famous cigar festival closes in Havana

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...

Snake bite deaths

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New arts space on the block

Updated at: 1821 PST, Saturday, September 19, 2009 NEW YORK: The Lower Manhattan Cultural Council (LMCC) has officially opened LentSpace, a half-acre public park in lower Manhattan that it plans to use as a temporary gathering space, contemporary-art venue, and performing arts site. The block, which is bounded by Grand, Varick, and Canal streets and Sixth Avenue, is owned by the Trinity Real Estate Corp., which manages Trinity Church's real estate holdings. Unable to arrange a sufficiently lucrative arrangement for the property, church officials decided to allow the LMCC program to go there until economic conditions improve.

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