Friday, September 04, 2009 NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress president Sonia Gandhi, party General Secretary Rahul Gandhi led the mourners from across the nation to pay their last respects to Andhra Praadesh Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, who was killed in a helicopter crash on September 2.The three leaders flew in from New Delhi and reached the Chief Minister's residence in camp office at Begumpet where the casket with YSR's body has been kept since last evening after it was brought from Kurnool following the post-mortem.They placed floral wreaths on the casket and an emotion filled Ms Gandhi signed the condolence book. The Prime Minister and Mr Gandhi also signed the condolence book kept near the casket and were there for more than 40 minutes before driving to Begumpet Airport to return to Delhi.Union Home Minister P Chidambaram, who also arrived in the morning, joined Union Law Minister Veerappa Moily, Minister of State in PMO Prithiviraj Chavan, Minister of State for Human Resources Development Daggubati Purandeshwari, Minister of State for Defence M Pallam Raju in paying their last respects to the departed leader.Andhra Pradesh Governor N D Tiwari, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, and several state Ministers also paid floral tributes to YSR.The last journey began at 0945 hrs. Immediately after the departure of the Prime Minister, Ms Gandhi and Mr Gandhi, the casket was placed on a floral-decked gun carriage draped in the tri-colour.
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...
Comments