KABUL: An Afghan election watchdog ordered ballots from more than 200 polling stations to be invalidated on Monday after an inquiry concluded there had been rigging on those polling stations.Investigations into fraud in Afghanistan's elections have cut President Hamid Karzai's share of the vote to 48 percent, below the threshold for outright victory, a US election monitor said on Monday.Democracy International said figures released by Afghanistan's Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC) showed that almost 1.3 million votes cast in the August 20 poll were invalid, cutting Karzai's share of the vote from about 55 percent in the preliminary result.Following investigations into alleged fraud, the vote for Karzai's main rival Abdullah Abdullah rose to almost 32 percent, from the 28 percent he won according to official preliminary results, Democracy International 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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