Tuesday, November 24, 2009 BRUSSELS: A Belgian man diagnosed as comatose for 23 years was in fact awake and conscious the whole time, doctors have revealed.Rom Houben, 46, had no way to tell his family and doctors he could see them and hear what they were saying after waking up following a bad car accident in 1983. He spent more than two decades in excruciating isolation until a neurologist realised he was not in a coma just unable to communicate. The former engineering student and martial arts enthusiast, now 46, told German newspaper that he meditated to pass the long years trapped in his own body. He remains haunted by the moment he first woke from the accident and realised something was wrong. Mr Houbens is now in care in a hospital near Brussels and able to communicate through a computer.
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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