The all-powerful Communist Party of Cuba (PCC) opened a historic congress Friday to rubber-stamp the transfer of power to a new generation as outgoing leader Raul Castro committed it to "respectful" talks with the United States.

Late revolutionary leader Fidel Castro and his brother Raul, who will step down from leadership of the Cuban Communist Party on Friday, led the island nation between themselves for nearly six decades.

Cuba will unify its two currencies, the Cuban peso and convertible peso, as of January 1, ending a unique system that has existed for nearly three decades, President Miguel Diaz-Canel said Thursday.

About 200 Cuban artists demonstrated outside the country's culture ministry on Friday in a rare protest over freedom of expression that received support from leading Cuban cinema figures.

Cuba will eliminate Monday the 10 percent tax it has previously levied on the use of the US dollar -- and widen the categories of products for which it can be used to pay -- in response to the country's economic crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic and Washington's ongoing embargo. 

The bank used by a Swiss NGO operating in Cuba has refused to handle any more transfers to Havana over fears of US sanctions, a concern replicated across the international financial system when dealing with the communist-run island.

Canada's Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland on Tuesday urged Cuba to line up with Lima Group nations and end its support for Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro.

Jose Ramon Lopez Regueiro claims to be the sole heir of the once privately-owned Havana airport -- and he is preparing to sue in US courts to recover the property confiscated in Cuba under Fidel Castro.

President Donald Trump on Wednesday ramped up pressure on Cuba with new restrictions on US travel and remittances and a green light to lawsuits over seized property as he vowed to rid Latin America of leftists.

The United States on Friday announced sanctions on ships of Venezuela's state oil company and companies that link it to key ally Cuba, hoping to cut off vital lifelines for President Nicolas Maduro.