The Latest: Obama: Talks with Castro on human rights 'frank'

The leaders' press conference has resulted in an extraordinary interchange between CNN reporter Jim Acosta, a second-generation Cuban-American, and Raul Castro, a figure of absolute authority in Cuba who is never subjected to aggressive questioning by the state-controlled press or exposed to questions from independent foreign reporters.

Cuba is criticized for briefly detaining demonstrators thousands of times a year but has drastically reduced its practice of handing down long prison sentences for crimes human rights groups consider to be political.

Cuba released dozens of political prisoners as part of its deal to normalize relations with Cuba and Amnesty International said in its 2015/2016 report that it knew of no prisoners of conscience in Cuba.

President Barack Obama says he and Cuban President Raul Castro had a "frank and candid conversation" on human rights and democracy, and are making progress in tearing down barriers between the two nations.

Castro says in a statement after Monday's meeting with the U.S. president that he welcomes changes by Obama to allow commercial flights to resume and changes in the area of telecommunications, for example.

[...] he says an economic blockade that remains in place is the "most important obstacle" to Cuba's economic development and the well-being of the Cuban people.

Google is opening a cutting-edge online technology center at the studio of one of Cuba's most famous artists, offering free Internet at speeds nearly 70 times faster than currently available to the Cuban public.

The U.S. technology giant has built a studio outfitted with laptops, cellphones and virtual-reality goggles at the complex run by Alexis Leiva Machado, a sculptor known as Kcho.

In an exclusive tour of the site for The Associated Press on Monday, Brett Perlmutter, Google's head of Cuba operations, said the company was optimistic that the studio would be part of a broader cooperative effort to b