Friday, September 25, 2009 PITTSBURGH: Several protests have been staged around Pittsburgh as world leaders arrive in the city for the Group of 20 Summit.Protesters seeking human rights reforms in China gathered in a designated protest area near the site of the G-20 meeting.Several dozen people led by more than a dozen monks walked through downtown Pittsburgh to protest the regime ruling Burma.Earlier in the day, Oxfam America held a mock football game. A dozen activists wore Steelers uniforms bearing the names of world leaders to spotlight hunger issues.Later Thursday, a group called the Pittsburgh G-20 Resistance Project is holding a march it calls a "People's Uprising." It begins outside downtown and will head toward the meeting site. It's unclear how many people will participate.
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