Raul Castro seems ready to talk to Washington, but Fidel dampens hopes of improved relations

HAVANA — Raul Castro seems ready to discuss improving relations with Washington. Brother Fidel is clearly uncomfortable with the idea.

Senate report says Bush policies led to prisoner abuses at Gitmo and in Iraq and Afghanistan

WASHINGTON — The brutal treatment of prisoners by the military at Guantanamo Bay, Iraq’s Abu Ghraib prison and Afghanistan was systematic and a direct result of the CIA’s early use of harsh interrogation tactics, according to a Senate report. The 232-page report released Tuesday by the Senate Armed Services Committee came less than a week after President Barack Obama released the Aug. 1, 2002 memo that justified the use of severe methods by the CIA.

Fidel Castro says President Obama ‘misinterpreted’ Cuban president’s sentiments toward US

HAVANA — Fidel Castro says President Barack Obama “misinterpreted” his brother Raul’s remarks regarding the United States and bristled at the suggestion that Cuba should free political prisoners or cut taxes on dollars people send to the island.

Miami’s Little Havana unusually quiet after Obama talks of restoring relations with Cuba

MIAMI — Just a few years ago, any U.S. president who suggested restoring relations with Fidel Castro’s Cuban government would have been loudly called a communist or worse on the streets and airwaves of Miami. Protests would have sprung up, and Cuban-Americans who offered their support would have feared being blacklisted.

Miami’s Little Havana unusually quiet after Obama talks of restoring relations with Cuba

MIAMI — Just a few years ago, any U.S. president who suggested restoring relations with Fidel Castro’s Cuban government would have been loudly called a communist or worse on the streets and airwaves of Miami. Protests would have sprung up, and Cuban-Americans who offered their support would have feared being blacklisted.