Tuesday, September 22, 2009 THIMPHU: A 6.1-magnitude earthquake has killed at least ten people in the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan, officials have said.Ugyen Tenzing, the country's director of disaster management, said rescuers were searching for survivors under the debris of collapsed buildings in the eastern districts of Munggar and Trashigang on Monday."It's hard to determine the extent of the damage at the moment. There is still information coming in," Tenzing said.The state-run Bhutan Broadcasting Service reported that dozens had been injured.Lungthen Dorji, the governor of Trashigang district said: "Houses, and monasteries and roads have been damaged. Mobile services are clogged."
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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