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| Raúl Castro to step down as Cuban president in 2018 | |
| (about 5 hours later) | |
| Cuban leader Raúl Castro announced on Sunday he would step down from power after his second term as president ends in 2018. | Cuban leader Raúl Castro announced on Sunday he would step down from power after his second term as president ends in 2018. |
| Castro made the announcement in a nationally broadcast speech shortly after the Cuban National Assembly elected him to a second five-year term in the opening session of the new parliament. | Castro made the announcement in a nationally broadcast speech shortly after the Cuban National Assembly elected him to a second five-year term in the opening session of the new parliament. |
| In a surprise move, the new parliament named a rising young star as his first vice president, Miguel Diaz-Canel, 52, a member of the political bureau who rose through the party ranks in the provinces to become the most visible possible successor to Castro. Diaz-Canel would succeed Castro if he cannot serve his full term. | In a surprise move, the new parliament named a rising young star as his first vice president, Miguel Diaz-Canel, 52, a member of the political bureau who rose through the party ranks in the provinces to become the most visible possible successor to Castro. Diaz-Canel would succeed Castro if he cannot serve his full term. |
| Castro says the country has reached a "transcendent" moment in which it is ready to start transferring responsibility and power to a younger generation. | Castro says the country has reached a "transcendent" moment in which it is ready to start transferring responsibility and power to a younger generation. |
| Diaz-Canel's appointments marks the first time someone who did not directly participate in the 1959 Cuban revolution assumed such an important role. | Diaz-Canel's appointments marks the first time someone who did not directly participate in the 1959 Cuban revolution assumed such an important role. |
| Raul Castro, 81, who officially replaced his ailing brother as president in 2008, has repeatedly called for senior leaders to hold office for no more than two five-year terms. | Raul Castro, 81, who officially replaced his ailing brother as president in 2008, has repeatedly called for senior leaders to hold office for no more than two five-year terms. |
| He starts his second term immediately. In 2018, Castro will be 86. | He starts his second term immediately. In 2018, Castro will be 86. |