The Cuban government has said it is reimposing a travel permit requirement on many doctors.

Raul Castro has said Cuba and the United States are entering a new era as they prepare to restart diplomatic relations next week, but insisted more changes in American policy towards the communist-run island were necessary.

Cuban president Raul Castro arrived at the Vatican yesterday to thank Pope Francis for his role in brokering the rapprochement between Havana and Washington.

US president Barack Obama met Cuban president Raul Castro on Saturday in the highest-level talks between the two countries in nearly 60 years, and the two men agreed to push ahead on improving relations after decades of hostility.

The leaders of the United States and Cuba have held their first formal meeting in more than half a century, clearing the way for a normalisation of relations that had seemed unthinkable to both Cubans and Americans for generations.

US president Barack Obama and Cuba’s Raul Castro have set the stage for a ground-breaking meeting with a cordial handshake.

US president Barack Obama and Cuban president Raul Castro have talked by telephone about restoring diplomatic ties and will meet informally at a summit this weekend as they seek to set aside decades of hostility between two Cold War enemies.

IT would have been unthinkable for Cold War warriors such as George W Bush and Fidel Castro to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.