Pope Francis and the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church will meet in Cuba next week in a historic step to heal the 1,000-year-old schism that divided Christianity between East and West, both churches announced.

Venezuela’s vice president flew to Cuba to visit the ailing Hugo Chavez and his family, while the leaders of Argentina and Peru also travelled to Havana saying they hoped to ask about the Venezuelan president’s condition.

Venezuela's military high command reaffirmed its loyalty to President Hugo Chavez in a public show of support a day after Mr Chavez's departure for Cuba to undergo surgery removing a possibly cancerous tumour.

A Cuban plane hijacked by a man who said he had two grenades today took again from a Havana airport after a night of tense negotiations.

A man claiming to be armed with two grenades tried to hijack a passenger plane from Cuba’s Isle of Youth to the United States last night, but the plane was forced to land in Havana because of insufficient fuel.