US extends Cuba embargo

President Barack Obama has extended for one more year the U.S. trade embargo on Cuba which has been in effect since 1961, the AP reports from Washington.

Obama extended the embargo even though he has made reaching out to old U.S. foes a key plank in his foreign policy.

There have been signs of a possible thaw in U.S.-Cuban ties since Raul Castro took over as president from his ailing brother Fidel who had had held the post since heading the revolution that ousted the U.S.-backed Batista regime on Jan. 1, 1959.

President Obama has sought to reach out to Cuba by easing travel and financial restrictions on Americans with family in Cuba. The two countries have said they will hold talks on resuming direct mail links.

But Obama has also said he will not lift the embargo until Cuba undertakes democratic and economic reforms.

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