Updated at: 0258 PST, Tuesday, September 15, 2009 NEW YORK: Federal Bureau of Investigation agents have raided homes in the New York City borough of Queens in connection with a counterterrorism investigation, US police said on Monday. Congressional sources confirmed lawmakers in Washington were to receive a full briefing on the raid late Monday afternoon. "The operation was in Queens. There were some raids in some residences there," Martin Speechlay, a spokesman for New York City police, told media. "It was a federal operation, we were assisting them." In Washington, a Senate aide told media that lawmakers were being briefed on the raid."Apparently the Homeland Security Committee is getting briefed today at 5:00 pm (2100 GMT)," the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, 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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