Wednesday, November 25, 2009 LA PAZ: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad arrived in Bolivia for a short visit Tuesday on the second leg of a Latin America tour of three leftist nations sympathetic to his administration. President Evo Morales greeted Ahmadinejad at the airport with full military honors before accompanying to the center of La Paz. There, a small group of feminists held a protest over Iran's treatment of women in front of the presidential palace as Ahmadinejad and Morales headed inside for talks. The leaders oversaw the signing of a deal that would see Iran involved in mining research in Bolivia's Salar de Uyuni, a vast salt desert near the Chilean border that holds half the world's known reserves of lithium -- a key mineral used in rechargeable batteries for cell phones, laptops and electric cars. French, Japanese and South Korean companies are competing to invest in the area, estimated to contain up to 100 million tons of lithium. The Iranian leader began his itinerary on Monday in Brazil, where his host President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva reiterated support for Iran's controversial nuclear energy 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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