Friday, June 05, 2009 LONDON: British Prime Minister Gordon Brown will reshuffle his government Friday, Downing Street said, following the resignation of five ministers and as poor local election results came in."We can confirm it's going to happen today," a Downing Street spokesman told, after Work And Pensions Secretary James Purnell called on Brown to go in his resignation letter Thursday.Purnell is one of three cabinet ministers who have resigned in the past week. Two other ministers outside the cabinet have also resigned. British news agency reported that finance minister Alistair Darling, who is leading Britain's response to the recession, would stay in his job, despite talk that Brown could replace him with his ally, Schools Secretary Ed Balls. Purnell said he was quitting because Brown's continued leadership made a victory at the next general election by the main opposition Conservatives "more, not less, likely."The first local election results were out early Friday, with Labour losing councillors to the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats' gain, after voters went to the polls Thursday. European poll results are being held back till Sunday, in line with other EU countries. Britain's 72 seats in the European Parliament were up for grabs, while voters in various parts of England also chose 2,318 local councillors and three mayors. Opinion polls suggested Labour could finish behind the Conservatives, the Liberal Democrats, and even fringe euro skeptics the United Kingdom Independence Party
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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