Tuesday, August 11, 2009 TOKYO: A strong earthquake with preliminary magnitude of 7.6, jolted eastern and central Japan on Tuesday, a government agency said, rattling houses in Tokyo. The quake, which struck at 0507 a.m. (2007 GMT, Monday), prompted a tsunami warning for waves of up to 50 cm (20 inches) for parts of the Pacific coast, the Japan Meteorological Agency said on its website. A highway was closed and a Chubu Electric Power nuclear power station at Hamaoka shut two units for safety checks. The focus of the tremor was 20 km (12 miles) deep under Shizuoka prefecture, around 150 km (90 miles) southwest of Tokyo, the agency 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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