TOKYO: Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is hoping to revitalize U.S. economic and development ties with Southeast Asia as she visits Indonesia during her first overseas trip as America's top diplomat. In Jakarta on Wednesday and Thursday in the second leg of her trip, Clinton intends to announce plans to step up Washington's engagement with a region that often felt slighted by the Bush administration.Clinton also plans to use the stop to continue the Obama administration's efforts to rehabilitate America's image abroad, particularly among Muslims. Indonesia is the world's most populous Islamic nation, and it has personal ties for President Barack Obama,who spent part of his childhood living there.Clinton will visit the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) secretariat in Jakarta and is likely to signal U.S. intent to sign the regional bloc's Treaty of Amity and Cooperation. Clinton will also pledge to attend the group annual foreign ministers meeting in Thailand this year, U.S. officials said.
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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