Sunday, December 06, 2009 LONDON: British police clashed with anti-Islam protesters in the English city of Nottingham on Saturday. Nottinghamshire Police said they made four arrests Saturday as several hundred demonstrators from the English Defense League marched through the city waving red-and-white English flags and shouting, "We want our country back." They were met by a rival group of anti-fascist protesters, and mounted police formed cordons between the sides. The league has held a series of protests across Britain in the last few months. In each city they have been met by counter-demonstrators, and skirmishes have broken out. The group says it is not racist and only opposes militant Islam. But its members have chanted anti-Muslim slogans and made Nazi salutes.
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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