Obama, Castro 'spoke by phone before summit': US official

US President Barack Obama and his Cuban counterpart Raul Castro spoke by telephone earlier this week, a US official said Friday, ahead of a historic encounter at the Summit of the Americas. "I can confirm that President Obama spoke with President Castro on Wednesday, before President Obama departed Washington," a White House official said on condition of anonymity. Obama and Castro will join some 30 other presidents at the two-day event in Panama City, breaking bread at a seaside dinne