Raul Castro: Cuba 'will not renounce its ideas'

Cuban President Raul Castro has hailed a recent US move to normalise bilateral relations but stressed Havana would not change its political system.

Speaking in the National Assembly in Havana, he also warned Cuba faced a "long and difficult struggle" before the US removed its economic embargo.

On Wednesday, President Barack Obama announced a "new chapter" in US ties with communist-run Cuba.