Friday, October 23, 2009 SYDNEY: A 6.0-magnitude quake hit the Santa Cruz islands in the South Pacific on Saturday, US seismologists said, but there was no immediate warning of a tsunami.The quake struck at a depth of 35 kilometres (22 miles) almost 390 kilometres north-northwest of Luganville on the island of Santo, part of the Vanuatu archipelago, at 2:14 am (1514 GMT Friday), the US Geological Survey said. No tsunami warning was immediately issued as a result of the tremor, which followed a series of huge quakes last week that triggered a region-wide tsunami alert. The Pacific is still recovering from an 8.0-magnitude earthquake and huge tsunami that crashed into Samoa, American Samoa and Tonga on September 29, wiping out villages and resorts and killing 184 people.
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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