Hurricane Ike roared across Cuba today, blowing buildings to rubble and sending waves surging over homes.

A defence attorney met with suspected September 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed for the first time at Guantanamo Bay, but the Pentagon-appointed lawyer said he could not reveal details because of “unnecessarily broad” military restrictions.

The US military said today that it will allow detainees to make regular phone calls to their families from Guantanamo Bay prison, where many have been confined in extreme isolation for as long as six years.

Military judges have dismissed charges against a Guantanamo detainee who chauffeured Osama bin Laden and another who allegedly killed a US soldier in Afghanistan.

The US military is planning to build a $125 million (€97m) compound to hold war crimes trials at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base.