Friday, December 04, 2009 JAKARTA: An Indonesian labourer who hoped to be named the world's tallest man is actually five centimetres (almost two inches) shorter than record-holder Sultan Kosen of Turkey, an official said Wednesday.Suparwono, who like many Indonesians goes by just one name, was said to be 2.71 metres (8.89 feet) tall compared to Kosen's record height of 2.47 metres.But official measurements taken by Indonesia's Museum of Records found the 25-year-old Suparwono stood at 2.42 metres, enough to make him Indonesia's tallest man but not enough to qualify for the Guinness World Records."After our team from the Museum of Record measured him lying down and in the standing position we found that his height is 2.42 metres," museum director Ngadri said."We had reports this morning including the result of measurements from a hospital which were 2.71 metres. But we have to stick to our measurement," he said.Suparwono shot to fame this week after one of his relatives in his home village of Tri Tunggal Jaya, in Sumatra island's southern Lampung province, invited neighbours to take pictures of him.Within days he was appearing on television talk shows in Jakarta as the "Giant of Lampung".Suparwono said sometimes he felt "proud" of his height but "it also gives me problems because I can't live like normal people", citing the difficulty of fitting into public buses and finding clothes large enough for his frame."I started to realise my exceptional height when I was 10 years old. At that time, I was already the tallest at my school and in my village," he siad between television appearances."I eat three kilograms (almost seven pounds) of rice every day and at least 15 eggs," he added.Suparwono lives with his parents and earns money doing odd jobs around the village.
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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