DUBAI: An appeals court in Dubai on Tuesday suspended three-month jail terms against two Britons convicted of having sex on the beach in the booming Gulf emirate but ordered them to leave the country. Michelle Palmer, 37, and Vince Acors, 34, who have been on bail during their trial, were not in court when the verdict was issued. Their lawyer Hassan Matar said the three-month prison sentence had been suspended by the court but that the pair would now be deported. The two were found guilty in October of having sex in a public place and drinking alcohol in a highly publicised case in the emirate, which despite its pro-Western outlook still adheres to certain strict Islamic rules and bans sex out of wedlock. Palmer and Acors denied charges of having sex in public and committing public indecency, but admitted to being under the influence of alcohol when they were caught on Dubai's Jumeirah public beach in July after meeting at a champagne brunch in a five-star hotel. In addition to the jail sentence and deportation, they were each fined 1,000 dirhams ($270) for drinking alcohol. Both had remained free on bail during the trial. "The verdict concerning their expulsion remains valid," Matar said. "There are only a few routine procedures to complete for their departure." At the opening of their trial in August, Palmer denied having sex with Acors, saying they were simply "kissing and hugging." Matar has insisted that the results of a medical test on Palmer just hours after they were arrested on July 5 showed "she had not engaged in recent sexual intercourse," while the medical report for Acors was inconclusive. Palmer was sacked from her job as a publishing executive in the UAE following the case, while Acors was visiting Dubai at the time. The case turned the spotlight on the lifestyle of the 120,000-plus British residents of the UAE, around 100,000 of whom live in Dubai, a bustling city state which hosts hundreds of thousands of Western residents and tourists.
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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