US and Cuba to seek further reconciliation

Brushing off decades of distrust, Cuban president Raul Castro and US president Barack Obama shook hands in Havana’s Palace of the Revolution, a remarkable moment for two countries working to put the bitterness of their Cold War-era enmity behind them.

Mr Obama and Mr Castro stood together as a Cuban military band played the national anthems of Cuba and the US — stunning sounds in a country where resistance to the US has been part of the national mission for decades.

Greeting each other warmly, the two leaders inspected an honour guard before sitting down for a series of meetings.