TAIPEI: Rescue and recovery efforts continued Wednesday in China and Taiwan after Typhoon Morakot, which killed at least 70 people in both countries.In Taiwan, the death toll was 62 as of Tuesday evening, a Chinese news agency, reported. Another 57 were missing, and three others were killed Tuesday when a relief helicopter crashed.Thousands of households remained without electricity or running water. In mountainous areas, helicopters were used to drop food and water in villages cut off by bridges that had washed away.Sixteen Chinese tourists were evacuated Tuesday after being trapped since the storm at Mount Ali.Morakot made landfall in Taiwan late Friday and in China early Sunday. In China, eight were reported dead and three missing.Vice Premier Hui Liangyu, who traveled to the provinces hit by the storm, warned of secondary damage from flooded rivers. He said more than 20 rivers in Fujian, Zhejiang and Anhui provinces were at dangerous levels and continued rainfall could bring more floods and landslides.Morakot also hit areas in the Philippines and its outer bands caused high winds and rain on the Japanese island of Okinawa.
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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