Fidel Castro, Leader of the Cuban Revolution rest in peace

Fidel Castro, the fiery apostle of revolution who brought the Cold War to the Western Hemisphere in 1959 and then defied the United States for nearly half a century as Cuba’s maximum leader, bedeviling 11 American presidents and setting Cuban people free from Neo-colonial and imperial dominion of the Amenrican power, died Friday. He was 90.

His death was announced by Cuban state television.

Can anyone explain how Corbyn's praise of Castro is different from Thatcher's praise of Pinochet? Thought not.https://t.co/VGR7Q4BpoS

— Nick Cohen (@NickCohen4) November 26, 2016

BREAKING: Obama in Cuba, tells Cubans they should be free to speak without fear

A policy of isolation designed for the cold war had no place in the 21st century - Obama

'I have come to bury the last remnant of the cold war'  says President Barak Obama.

Obama then quotes José Martí: “I’m growing a white rose.” He then says he comes with a word of peace. “Havana is only 90 miles from Florida but to get here we had to travel a great distance, over barriers of history, of ideology, barriers of pain and separation,” he says.

He says that American battleships crossed those waters “to liberate but also to exert control over Cuba,” and “that short distance has been crossed by hundreds and thousands of Cuban exiles.”

Obama then describes the long and tortured history between nations: the Cuban missile crisis, the cold war, the history of colonialism.

“One constant was the conflict between the United States and Cuba. I have come here to bury the last remnant of the cold war in the Americas.”

Vladimir Putin meets Fidel Castro in Cuba

Vladimir Putin, Russian president, meets Fidel Castro, the retired Communist leader, in Cuba

Russian President Vladimir Putin began a six-day Latin American tour aimed at boosting trade and ties in the region with a stop Friday in Cuba, a key Soviet ally during the Cold War that has backed Moscow in its dispute with the West over Ukraine.

Cuban state media carried photos of Putin's meeting with retired leader Fidel Castro. Putin and Raúl Castro, the president, also participated in a ceremony at Havana's Memorial to the Soviet Internationalist Soldier.

The two countries signed about a dozen accords in areas such as energy, industry, health and disaster prevention. Russian companies will participate in petroleum projects around Boca de Jaruco on the island's north coast, and that cooperation will extend to offshore oil deposits, Cuban government website Cubadebate said.

Putin Must Move Back Troops From Ukraine Boarder - Obama

The United State President, Mr  Barack Obama has on Friday said, Putin must "move back" the Russian troops from the Ukraine border and start negotiating saying that Russian President Vladimir Putin's decision to assemble forces on the Ukrainian border may "simply be an effort to intimidate Ukraine, or it may be that they've got additional plans."

Crimea Latest: Russian parliament ratified treaty to make Crimea part of Russian Federation

Russia's lower parliament ratified a treaty to make Crimea a part of the Russian Federation on Thursday. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov had presented the treaty on annexing Crimea to lawmakers, urging them to accept the region as a part of the Russian Federation.

Speaking "on behalf" of President Vladimir Putin, he told the State Duma folding the Black Sea Peninsula into Russia was needed to protest ethnic Russians there. "I hope this will become a turning point in the fate of many people who are united by many things," Lavrov said.

Crimea War: EU foreign ministers and the US unveil sanctions as Ukraine recalls ambassador

SIMFEROPOL  – The European Union and the United States on Monday sanctioned top Russians and Ukrainians deemed responsible for a breakaway vote in Crimea that has fanned the worst East-West standoff since the Cold War.

Official results from Sunday’s referendum showed 96.77 percent of voters in the mostly Russian-speaking region of Ukraine had opted for Kremlin rule in what would be the most radical redrawing of the map of Europe since Kosovo’s 2008 declaration of independence from Serbia.

Ukrainian Army confront Russian forces on strip alongside Crimea, Putin sees no "Cold War" because of Ukraine

Ukraine's military scrambled aircraft and paratroops to confront Russian troops landing on a spit of land between Crimea and the mainland, defence officials said and the foreign ministry demanded their immediate withdrawal.

The border guard service said Ukrainian forces had taken up defensive positions on Arbatskaya Strelka, running parallel to the east of Crimea, now controlled by Russian forces.  It said about 60 Russian troops had landed on the strip and begun digging in, assisted by three armoured personnel carriers.

Ukraine crisis: Crimea peninsula turns to Russia

Ukraine's government appealed for Western help on Tuesday to stop Moscow annexing Crimea but the Black Sea peninsula, overrun by Russian troops, seemed fixed on a course that could formalise rule from Moscow within days.

With their own troops in Crimea effectively prisoners in their bases, the new authorities in Kiev painted a sorry picture of the military bequeathed them by the pro-Moscow president overthrown two weeks ago. They announced the raising of a new National Guard to be drawn from volunteers among veterans.

Crimea Updates: Russian Parliament welcomes Crimea Delegations, Backing a Controversial Vote to Secede from Ukraine

Russia Federation has declared its total support for Ukraine's breakaway movement in Crimea.

Moscow  parliament is welcoming a delegation from the autonomous republic to Moscow and backing its vote to secede from Ukraine.

Putin's government says that despite deep differences with the West on the crisis, it hopes common ground will be found to avoid a new Cold War.