BEIJING: China and the United States will resume military consultations this month that were postponed last year when Washington announced a planned weapons sale to Taiwan, state press said Sunday.The defence consultations will be held in Beijing on February 27-28, the People's Daily reported on its website, citing an unnamed official with the US Department of Defence. "We want to continue exchanges with China and are seeking positive cooperative ties," the official was quoted as saying.The defence talks will resume only days after US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton makes her first visit to China from February 20-22 as the top envoy of the new administration of US President Barack Obama, the report said. The talks will take place once a year and could include discussions on the fight against global terrorism, it said. China called off high-level military exchanges last October after the Pentagon notified Congress that it planned to sell 6.5 billion dollars of military hardware to Taiwan.
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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