SAO PAULO: Authorities said heavy rains have caused a dam to rupture in northeastern Brazil, stranding nearly 3,000 people in a region where floods have killed 53 people and displaced more than 415,000.Officials say they launched an overnight rescue operation using five helicopters to aid nearly 600 families stranded by Wednesday's dam break in Piaui state.Piaui civil defense department spokeswoman Vanize Lemos said Thursday that 150 families have been rescued. She said some residents climbed trees and rooftops after a river rose 16 feet (5 meters).Heavy rains have battered northern and northeastern Brazil since April, causing floods and mudslides in a region extending from the Amazon rain forest to the Atlantic Ocean.
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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