Friday, October 23, 2009 HUA HIN: Thailand is implementing a security lockdown for the meeting of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)with observers warning it cannot afford a repeat of chaotic scenes that saw two previous meetings cancelled.The nation is mobilising an 18,000-strong security force and invoking a harsh internal security act to prevent protests in the resort town of Hua Hin.The summit, which will begin today starts Friday, was originally due to be held in Pattaya in April but was cancelled because of chaotic anti-government protests in support of ousted former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.A summit between the 10 ASEAN nations will be following by a meeting with partners China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand.With closer economic ties on the agenda in the wake of the global economic crisis, all invited delegations have confirmed they will attend.Thailand will symbolically hand over chairmanship of ASEAN to Vietnam on Sunday but officially will continue to hold the reins until the end of the year.ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
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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