Wednesday, September 09, 2009 WASHINGTON: The space shuttle Discovery dated at: 0356 PST,undocked from the International Space Station (ISS) on Tuesday and began its journey back to Earth after a successful mission.Discovery undocked from the ISS at 1926 GMT and circled the space station to survey and photograph its exterior -- customary practice to end such missions -- before returning to Earth for a scheduled Thursday landing in Florida.Before their second and final burn away from the station, the crew used a robotic arm and high-definition cameras to ensure the shuttle's heat shield had not been compromised by orbiting debris and small meteorites.The shield must be intact to prevent Discovery from disintegrating as it enters the Earth's atmosphere at high speed.During their eight days aboard the ISS, the Discovery crew has transferred 6.9 tonnes of equipment, including new sleeping quarters, a treadmill, and a refrigerator that will store materials for experiments.They also delivered and installed a new 800 kilogram external tank containing liquid ammonia, which is used to cool the station's navigation system.
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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