He worked in vineyard management for Heublein--he persuaded the company to get into winemaking--at the start of the region's explosion and the height of the grape boycotts.

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Another reason to believe that the economic gains might stick is the explosion of infrastructure projects across the region.

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Even with details about the explosion unclear, tensions ran high in the volatile region Sunday amid word of the reported attack, which was condemned by some officials across the Middle East.

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Dean Obeidallah, founder of the New York Arab-American Comedy Festival and a stand-up comedian who conducts workshops in the Middle East, said he has witnessed an explosion in the number of local comics in the region.

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The explosion was centered 50 miles (80 km) from Satka city, in the Chelyabinsk region, Itar-Tass reported.

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The region's conflagration was made worse by the tinder of speculative capital that preceded the explosion.

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