Raul Castro to retire in 2018

Cuban President Raul Castro has said he will step down at the end of his second term in 2018, following his re-election by the National Assembly.

Castro, who is 81-years- old formally assumed the presidency in 2008, two years after replacing his ailing brother Fidel.

The Communist assembly, whose members ran for office unopposed, also chose Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez as Castro's first vice-president.

Diaz-Canel, who is 52, is widely seen as Raul Castro's successor.

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