Monday, November 02, 2009 BRASILIA: The Brazilian Air Force Sunday said it found the body of a second person who died from a plane crash last week in the Amazon rainforest that saw nine survivors rescued by indigenous tribesmen. The body of one of the four crew members of the C-98 Caravan, single-propeller military transport plane was found near the crash site, dispelling assumptions the man had wandered off searching for help when he went missing after the plane crash-landed in a river.The remains of the other person who died in Thursday's accident were found Saturday trapped inside the wreckage. He was one of seven National Health Foundation (FUNASA) officials on an immunization campaign in indigenous communities in northwestern Brazil's Javari Valley near the Peruvian border. Six of the FUNASA team and three crew members were rescued after the plane was found by members of the Matis, a tiny tribe of some 300 people first contacted by modern Brazilian officials in the 1970s.
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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