SINGAPORE: The United States and China need to cooperate on security matters and maintain transparent military ties, US Defence Secretary Robert Gates said here Saturday. "It is essential for the United States and China to find opportunities to cooperate wherever possible," Gates told a high-level security forum in Singapore."This includes maintaining a defence relationship marked by consistent and open channels of communication and contact," he said. "Likewise, it is essential that we are transparent -- both to each other and the rest of the world -- about our strategic goals, political intentions, and military development." China's support is widely seen as crucial to resolving the North Korean nuclear crisis because it is one of the few states with an influence on the isolated Stalinist regime in Pyongyang. The United States, China and other UN Security Council members have been studying possible sanctions against North Korea over its second nuclear test staged Monday, which was followed by short-range missile exercises.
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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