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Obama, Castro shake hands, and shake old perceptions

US President Barack Obama shook the hand of  Cuban President Raul Castro at the memorial service for anti-apartheid hero Nelson Mandela in South Africa on Tuesday.

It has been described as an unprecedented gesture between the leaders of  two nations which have been at loggerheads for more than half  a century. 

President Castro smiled as President Obama shook his hand on the way to the podium.

It is the second time ever that a US President has shaken the hands of  a Cuban Communist leader. President Bill Clinton was the first to do so in 2000 after a lunch during a United Nations summit in New York, when he shook hands with Mr Castro's brother, Fidel.

On that occasion, the White House initially denied the handshake had taken place but later backtracked, saying it had been instigated by Mr Castro, who had approached Mr Clinton.

Unlike the latest occasion, however, the exchange was not photographed.   



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