Monday, November 02, 2009 SYDNEY: A boat carrying 40 people has sunk off the Cocos Islands, west of Australia, a report said on Monday. The Australian Maritime Safety Authority received a distress call on Sunday saying the boat was taking on water about 700 nautical miles northwest of the Cocos Islands, media reported. A merchant ship from the Bahamas responded to a broadcast for help but found the stricken vessel had sunk when it arrived 12 hours later, and its passengers were in the water.The merchant ship's crew were trying to rescue passengers and an Australian Defence Force plane was heading to join a search for survivors, it said. The report did not say how many passengers had been accounted for but added that authorities have yet to confirm whether the boat was carrying asylum seekers.
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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