Sunday, October 25, 2009 WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama spoke with his Russian and French counterparts Saturday, rallying support for a deal to end the crisis over Iran's nuclear program, as they urged Tehran to accept the offer. Obama made Saturday-morning calls to Russia's Dmitry Medvedev and France's Nicolas Sarkozy during which all three men "affirmed their full support" for a recently offered deal, the White House said. Under the plan Russia and France would produce enriched uranium for Tehran in exchange for assurances the Islamic Republic will not seek a nuclear weapon. The three leaders also "discussed the importance of all parties accepting the proposal so that implementation can begin as soon as possible," Washington said. The conversations came a day after Iran ignored a Friday deadline to respond to the offer, saying it would make its decision in the next week. Iran's envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency, Ali Asghar Soltanieh, said Tehran was "examining different dimensions" of the offer "about the provisional supply of fuel for the Tehran research reactor." Uranium enrichment lies at the heart of Western concerns about Iran's nuclear program. The enrichment process produces fuel for civilian reactors, but at higher levels of enrichment can be used to make the fissile core of an atomic bomb. Despite the lack of public details about the plan, and the absence of an Iranian response, elements were already being picked apart. Iran has said it does not want Russia to subcontract part of the enrichment process to France, which has taken a tough line against Tehran's program.
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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