Wednesday, September 09, 2009 KABUL: A suicide car bomber killed three Afghan civilians in Afghanistan's capital Tuesday, while four U.S. soldiers died during fighting in a northern province. An Afghan police official said the attacker in Kabul struck a NATO convoy outside the military base at the international airport. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the blast, which wounded another six Afghan civilians and three international soldiers - two Americans and a Belgian. Also Tuesday, the U.S. military said four U.S. troops were killed while fighting insurgents in northeastern Kunar province. The French news agency said 10 Afghan soldiers also died in the clash.Meanwhile, NATO acknowledged for the first time that Afghan civilians were killed in last Friday's air strike on two fuel tankers in northern Kunduz province and ordered a full investigation.The commander of NATO's force in Afghanistan, U.S. General Stanley McChrystal, named a Canadian officer, Major General C.S. Sullivan, to lead the inquiry.
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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