President Barack Obama took a big step towards relaxing sanctions on Cuba yesterday, lifting all travel and remittance restrictions on Cuban-Americans and permitting US telecoms companies to offer services directly to the island.

The end of the restrictions, which Mr Obama promised during his campaign, means Cuban-Americans will be able to travel to the island state when they like, as opposed to once a year, and send as much money as they want to relatives, as opposed to $75 a month. Mr Obama also said he would permit Cuban-Americans to pay for US-provided telecoms services to relatives living in Cuba.