Saturday, September 05, 2009 LONDON: Trade deals with Libya played a "very big part" in Britain's decision to include the Lockerbie bomber in a prisoner transfer deal with Tripoli, a government minister acknowledged in an interview Saturday. Justice Secretary Jack Straw told the local newspaper that trade and an oil exploration deal between BP and Libya were factors in deciding whether to make Abdelbaset Ali Mohmet al-Megrahi eligible for transfer to a prison back home.However, his spokesman insisted Megrahi's release was not agreed because any possible transfer was always subject to a veto by the Scottish authorities.Asked if trade and oil were part of the discussions, Straw said: "Yes, a very big part of that. I'm unapologetic about that Libya was a rogue state. We wanted to bring it back into the fold. "And yes, that included trade because trade is an essential part of it and subsequently there was the BP deal."Megrahi, the only person convicted of the 1988 bombing of a plane over the Scottish town of Lockerbie, which killed 270 people, was released last month on compassionate grounds because he is terminally ill.
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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