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Sunday, February 28, 2010 JERUSALEM: Clashes broke out at Jerusalem's flashpoint Al-Aqsa mosque compound on Sunday after police entered to arrest Palestinians who had hurled rocks at visitors they believed were Jewish extremists. At least 13 people were wounded just outside the compound when dozens of Palestinians pelted stones at Israeli police, who responded with tear gas and rubber bullets, according to a French news agency. Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said security forces entered the compound after Muslim worshippers threw rocks at the group of unidentified visitors. "Around 20 young people are holed up inside the mosque, and as a preventive measure we have decided to limit access to the esplanade to men over the age of 50," as well as women and children, he added. Dozens of police wearing riot gear were deployed throughout the narrow streets of the Old City as loudspeakers on minarets called on Muslims to "save Jerusalem." An official from ...

Sunday, February 28, 2010 TOKYO: Japan evacuated more than 320,000 people today as a tsunami triggered by Chile's massive earthquake sent waves up to 1.20 metres (four feet) high barrelling into its long Pacific coastline. Seawater swells inundated buildings in several harbours. Authorities warned coastal communities to stay on high alert and keep clear of the shore as more powerful tsunami waves could follow. There were no immediate reports of injuries or major property damage. Japan's "major tsunami alert" -- warning of the threat of monster waves that could top three metres -- was the country's first in more than 15 years. From early morning, tsunami warnings flashed across all television channels and evacuation sirens wailed across the east coast of the archipelago. Massive steel gates slammed shut across the entrances to fishing ports. Coastguard vessels and air force jets fanned out to search for stray ships still at sea and to observe any damage...

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...

Sunday, February 28, 2010 PARIS: The United States and Europe vowed to come to Chile's aid as relief workers rushed to the Western hemisphere's second enormous earthquake in seven weeks. But the Latin American country, reeling from the deaths of at least 300 people and a trail of destruction caused by Saturday's 8.8-magnitude quake, appealed for foreign donors to wait until the scale of the task is clear. "We are very grateful for people's good intentions, but let's let the (Chilean) emergency office get its very specific report on needs done," Foreign Minister Mariano Fernandez told reporters. Chile does not want "aid from anywhere to be a distraction" from disaster relief, he said. "Any aid that arrives without having been determined to be needed really helps very little." At least 1.5 million homes were damaged in the pre-dawn quake, roads were torn up and buildings reduced to rubble in the nation of 16 million people. The ...