US Senate okays $1.5bn Pakistan aid

Monday, December 14, 2009 WASHINGTON: The US House of Representatives has approved $1.459 billion in assistance for Pakistan for the fiscal year 2010 as it passed a massive American $1.1 trillion appropriations bill, Geo news reported on Monday The aid will be spent under the Kerry-Lugar legislation passed by the US Congress earlier this year and is part of the FY 2010 State and Foreign Operations Appropriations Bill. Under the measure, $1.035 billion will be allocated as economic support fund for Pakistan while other expenditure heads include health, law enforcement and security. The US Senate is expected to okay the bill this weekend.The US will also spend $268 million on foreign military financing for Pakistan next year. Washington has already endorsed $1.6 billion for Pakistan under the Coalition Support Fund (CSF) for the fiscal year 2010. The CSF provides for reimbursement of expenditure that Pakistan incurs in providing infrastructural facilities to the coalition.Besides, the US will also spend $700 million on Pakistan Counterinsurgency Capability Fund in the next fiscal year. The programme is dedicated to bolstering the anti-terror partner’s ability to combat insurgents in the restive regions along the Afghan border.This way the total US allocation for Pakistan in the year 2010 will be $3.8 billion.

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India's swine flu death rate is increasing

Friday, August 14, 2009 MUMBAI: A 26-year-old woman died Thursday of H1N1 swine flu in the southern city of Bangalore, raising India's death toll from the virus to 20, authorities said.The death was the first reported in India's information technology capital, the Press Trust of India reported.Meanwhile in Pune, the worst-affected in India, two more victims of the virus died Thursday, raising the death toll in that western city near Mumbai to 12, the report said. The victims were an 11-month-old boy and a 75-year-old old woman.US media reported movie halls, schools and colleges were ordered closed Thursday for three days to a week in Mumbai, the commercial and financial capital of the country, as fear of the pandemic spread.Prajakata Lavangare, a spokeswoman for the government of Maharashtra state of which Mumbai is the capital, said similar orders were issued in Pune, which is also located in the state.The woman who died in Bangalore was identified only as Roopa, a teacher in

Cuba's world-famous cigar festival closes in Havana

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

Cyprus lace to be declared UNESCO cultural heritage

Tuesday, September 08, 2009 NICOSIA: Traditional hand-made lace produced in the Larnaca district village of Lefkara in Cyprus known as lefkaritiko includeded in UNESCO’s list of Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH). Soseilos said that the relevant UNESCO committee has already decided to include lefkaritiko in its list of the world’s ICH, a more recent addition to UNESCO’s long-standing list of World Heritage sites, and the decision will be formally announced at the UNESCO General Assembly next month. The tradition of needlework and lace embroidery in Lefkara goes back centuries.

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