Wednesday, October 21, 2009 UNITED NATIONS: The UN Security Council on Tuesday condemned a suicide attack in Iran at the weekend targeting top commanders of the elite Revolutionary Guards."The members of the Security Council condemned in the strongest terms the deadly terrorist attack that occurred in the border city of Pishin in Iran on 18 October 2009, causing at least 57 deaths and 150 injuries," said Le Luong Minh, ambassador for Vietnam, which holds the rotating presidency of the council this month. Iranian officials have blamed Sunday's attack on Sunni militant rebel leader Abdolmalek Rigi, whose Jundallah (Soldiers of God) group has for years been waging war against Iran's Shiite rulers. Iran turned up the heat on Pakistan on Tuesday, saying the Jundallah rebels are based on its territory.
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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