Thursday, November 26, 2009 LONDON: Around 150 people have been forced to abandon their homes after a huge fire broke out at a building site and engulfed adjoining buidlings in Peckham, south east London. London Fire Brigade said around 150 firefighters were tackling the blaze which is covering an area half the size of a football pitch. Residents from flats in several nearby three to four-storey buildings and a pub were moved out amid fears that the fire on the neighbouring construction site was spreading to their properties. However, the blaze, which was reported just before 4.30am, has since taken hold of the pub and maisonettes on Sumner Road and Rosemary Road. One person has been taken to hospital suffering from the effects of breathing in smoke. Their condition is understood not to be life-threatening. Ambulances are on standby but no other casualties have so far been reported from the blaze.
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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