Cuban President Raul Castro arrived Thursday in New York to participate at the United Nations Summit dedicated to the approval of the Post-2015 Development Agenda and at the General Debate of the 70th Session of the UN General Assembly.

Cuban President Raul Castro arrived at noon in New York City to attend the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit 2015 and to participate in the General Debate of the 70th period of sessions of the UN General Assembly.

This is the first time in 17 years that a Pope calls the blockade by its name, and not by the biased term of "embargo", and this happens aboard the Alitalia airplane that took him from Santiago de Cuba to the Andrews Air Force Base in Washington, where he was welcomed by President Barack Obama.

MESSAGE BY POPE FRANCIS TO ARMY GENERAL RAUL CASTRO, SENT DURING HIS FLIGHT TO THE UNITED STATES.

Pope Francis sent a thank you message to Cuban families for ¨making me feel at home¨ in his last speech to Cubans in his four-day papal visit.

I´m coming to visit you to share faith and hope, said Pope Francis in a video-message to the people of Cuba, aired by Cuban television.

Over 1 thousand foreign reporters, both on temporary visa and permanently accredited here, will cover the visit of Pope Francis to the island.

On Thursday afternoon, Jose Ramon Cabañas handed over to President Barack Obama the Credentials accrediting him as ambassador of the Republic of Cuba to the United States.

Pope Francis warmly greeted the Cuban people during Wednesday's general audience at the Vatican, while referring to the visit he will pay to the island starting from Saturday, September 19.

President Raul Castro will travel to the U.S. to give a speech at the UN General Assembly on September 28, Cuban foreign minister Bruno Rodriguez announced on Wednesday.

The Nicaraguan government has asked Cuba, Mexico and El Salvador to send experts to study the seismic swarm registered in the western side of the country, the Prensa Latina news agency reported.

Environmental protection and prevention of natural disasters, health, civil aviation, law implementation and enforcement, the struggle against drug trafficking and human trafficking, and transnational crime, are among the top issues that experts from Cuba and the United States will begin to discuss starting from coming weeks.

Cuba and Micronesia established diplomatic relations during the 46th Forum of the Pacific Islands, held in Papua New Guinea.

Mexico´s Interject airlines has announced two new connections, Mexico-Varadero and Monterrey-Havana, to begin operating October 15 in tune with increasing tourist demand and to strengthen relations with Cuba.