Thursday, November 19, 2009 KANDAHAR: A suicide bomber killed 10 civilians in southern Afghanistan on Thursday, the second attack on the same day that President Hamid Karzai was sworn into office, police said. The bombing in Uruzgan province followed an apparent suicide attack in the neighbouring province of Zabul which killed two US soldiers and took place around the same time President Hamid Karzai was being inaugurated. "Ten civilians were killed and 13 others were injured," Uruzgan deputy police chief Mohammad Gulab Wardak said. The bomber was wearing an explosive-packed vest which he detonated near a convoy of Afghan security forces, he 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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