Landmark US-Cuba talks begin

The highest-level US delegation to Cuba in decades has kicked off two days of negotiations after grand promises by President Barack Obama about change on the island and a sombre warning from Cuba to abandon hopes of reforming the communist government.

US moves to restore diplomatic relations with Cuba and loosen the five-decade trade embargo have “the potential to end a legacy of mistrust in our hemisphere” and have “added up to new hope for the future in Cuba”, Mr Obama said in his State of the Union address last night in Washington.