U.S. to join talks over Iran's nuclear program

WASHINGTON: The United States will join five other countries in direct talks with Iran to find a diplomatic resolution to a dispute over Tehran's nuclear ambitions.After meeting with European Union officials in London Wednesday, Britain, the U.S., China, France, Germany and Russia appealed to Iran to engage in talks on what they termed a "critical issue."The countries fear Iran is looking to enrich uranium with the goal of building nuclear weapons, a charge Tehran has repeatedly denied, insisting it only wants to harness nuclear energy for use in power plants."We strongly urge Iran to take advantage of this opportunity to engage seriously with all of us in a spirit of mutual respect," the six said in a joint statement.U.S. State Department spokesman Robert Wood confirmed Wednesday the United States would be at the table from now on when senior diplomats from the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany meet with Iranian officials to discuss the nuclear issue.It is not immediately clear when the talks would occur.U.S. President Barack Obama has said his administration is looking for opportunities to engage Iran and pledged to rethink Washington's relationship with Tehran, which soured considerably while his predecessor George W. Bush was in power.Earlier in the day, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said he was willing to return Obama's call for increased dialogue between the two countries, provided the U.S. president was sincere."If a hand has truly been extended with sincerity, based on justice and respect, Iran will welcome it," Ahmadinejad said Wednesday during a speech in the city of Isfahan. "If it's a hand that is sincere in appearance and deep down dishonest, Iran's answer will be the same as the one given to Bush."

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India's swine flu death rate is increasing

Friday, August 14, 2009 MUMBAI: A 26-year-old woman died Thursday of H1N1 swine flu in the southern city of Bangalore, raising India's death toll from the virus to 20, authorities said.The death was the first reported in India's information technology capital, the Press Trust of India reported.Meanwhile in Pune, the worst-affected in India, two more victims of the virus died Thursday, raising the death toll in that western city near Mumbai to 12, the report said. The victims were an 11-month-old boy and a 75-year-old old woman.US media reported movie halls, schools and colleges were ordered closed Thursday for three days to a week in Mumbai, the commercial and financial capital of the country, as fear of the pandemic spread.Prajakata Lavangare, a spokeswoman for the government of Maharashtra state of which Mumbai is the capital, said similar orders were issued in Pune, which is also located in the state.The woman who died in Bangalore was identified only as Roopa, a teacher in

Cuba's world-famous cigar festival closes in Havana

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

Cyprus lace to be declared UNESCO cultural heritage

Tuesday, September 08, 2009 NICOSIA: Traditional hand-made lace produced in the Larnaca district village of Lefkara in Cyprus known as lefkaritiko includeded in UNESCO’s list of Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH). Soseilos said that the relevant UNESCO committee has already decided to include lefkaritiko in its list of the world’s ICH, a more recent addition to UNESCO’s long-standing list of World Heritage sites, and the decision will be formally announced at the UNESCO General Assembly next month. The tradition of needlework and lace embroidery in Lefkara goes back centuries.

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