Port of Spain  - The secretary general of the Organization of American States (OAS) said Friday he planned to seek the reinstatement of Cuba, which was suspended in 1962.

"My first approach is that we repeal the resolution of 1962, and I am going to ask the OAS General Assembly to do that," Jose Miguel Insulza said. The assembly is to meet in June in Honduras.

Insulza was speaking ahead of the Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago, which is being attended by representatives of every country in the hemisphere except Cuba.

Havana - Fidel Castro demanded Tuesday that President Barack Obama put an end to the decades-old embargo of Cuba, in the first official reaction from Havana to Obama's move to end US restrictions on travel and remittances by Cuban Americans. "Not a word was said of the blockade, which is the most cruel of all measures," the former Cuban president said in a piece published Tuesday under his name in Cuban state media.

The White House announced moves on Monday to lift all restrictions on Cuban Americans travelling and sending money back to their home country as part of a much-anticipated reversal of US policies toward Cuba.

Washington - Cuba is hogging the spotlight ahead of the Summit of the Americas that opens Friday in Trinidad and Tobago, particularly considering that it will not be represented at the gathering. This is to be US President Barack Obama's first major meeting with his peers from across the Americas, and many of them have adopted as their own Cuba's demand that Washington lift its embargo on the communist island.

Washington - US President Barack Obama on Monday lifted all restrictions on Cuban Americans travelling and sending money back to their home country as part of a much-anticipated reversal of US policies toward Cuba. In an executive order, Obama will also expand communications links and allow more humanitarian donations to be sent to Cuba in what the White House billed as an effort to encourage a Democratic transition on the Communist island.

Washington - US President Barack Obama on Monday lifted all restrictions on Cuban Americans travelling and sending money back to their home country as part of a much-anticipated reversal of US policies toward Cuba. In an executive order, Obama will also allow humanitarian gifts to be sent to Cuba in what the White House billed as an effort to encourage a Democratic transition on the Communist island.

"President Obama believes the measure he has taken today will help make that goal a reality," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said.

Washington - US President Barack Obama planned to ease travel and other restrictions to Cuba later Monday, allowing Cuban Americans to return home for longer periods in a reversal of former president George W Bush's policies, US media reported. The new policy was due to be revealed ahead of Obama's trip this week to a summit of North and South American leaders in Trinidad and Tobago, the Washington Post reported. The White House would not confirm the plans.