The U.S. flag is flying at the U.S. Embassy in Havana for the first time since 1961.

The Stars and Stripes was raised to cheers and the playing of the U.S. National Anthem at the diplomatic mission next to the Florida Straits.

1:10 p.m. - Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez says at a news conference he has spoken with U.S. secretary of state about further advancing relations. Rodriguez says the two top diplomats discussed improving U.S.-Cuban cooperation on environmental protection, law enforcement and other matters. He says "very complex" matters remain.

But representatives of both governments will begin talks in the coming weeks to look for paths of progress.

Rodriguez says that in Cuba, authorities don't practice torture or create civilian casualties through military operations overseas. And men and women receive equal pay for the same job.

11:05 a.m. - Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush is calling Secretary of State John Kerry's visit to Cuba "a birthday present for Fidel Castro - a symbol of the Obama administration's acquiescence to his ruthless legacy."

The former Florida governor says in a statement that Kerry's decision not to invite Cuban dissidents to the embassy flag-raising ceremony is "especially insulting."

Kerry plans to meet with dissidents later Friday at the ambassador's residence because the U.S. believed having such a meeting be the first official act of the new embassy would anger the Cuban government.

Bush says if he were president he would "reverse Obama's strategy of accommodation and appeasement and commit to helping the Cuban people claim their freedom."

Fidel Castro is retired and turned 89 years old on Thursday.

10:55 a.m. - The live broadcast of Kerry's critical remarks about Cuban democracy recalls the day in May 2002 when Cuban state media gave unprecedented live coverage to a speech by visiting former President Jimmy Carter.

He told Cubans that their country did not meet international standards of democracy and repeatedly promoted a grass-roots campaign for greater civil liberties.

The speech was a dramatic goodwill concession by Cuban President Fidel Castro toward the former American president who did more than any other to try to ease tensions between their two nations.

Carter told viewers that democracy "is based on some simple premises: All citizens are born with the right to choose their own leaders, to define their own destiny, to speak freely, to organize political parties, trade unions and non-governmental groups and to have fair and open trials."

He noted that the Cuban constitution "recognizes freedom of speech and association." But added, "other laws deny these freedoms to those who disagree with the government."

10:54 a.m. - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has acknowledged Western Hemisphere nations for supporting an encouraging rapprochement between Havana and Washington.

In remarks at a flag-raising ceremony at the U.S. Embassy in Cuba, Kerry says "I want to sincerely thank leaders from throughout the Americas who have long urged the United States and Cuba to restore normal ties."

10:48 a.m. - At least one Cuban who witnessed the flag-raising ceremony at the U.S. Embassy in Havana agrees with Secretary of State John Kerry's call for change to the island nation's one-party political system.

Julio Garcia is a 51-year-old mechanic. He says he would like to see "more democracy, elections. We hope for that to come with this diplomatic opening."

He was among a group of Cubans who cheered as the flag-raising symbolically re-opened the embassy.

10:40 a.m. - The U.S. flag is flying at the U.S. Embassy in Havana for the first time since 1961.

10:35 a.m. - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is calling for political opening in communist-run Cuba.

Kerry says "we remain convinced the people of Cuba would be best served by a genuine democracy, where people are free to choose their leaders, express their ideas (and) practice their faith."

However, Kerry adds that past U.S. policies have not led to democracy.

He says "Cuba's future is for Cubans to shape."

10:30 a.m. - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has made brief remarks in Spanish to say the diplomatic opening will be good for the people of both Cub and the U.S.

Kerry says "There is nothing to fear."

10:15 a.m. — The United States' chief diplomat in Havana is addressing the crowd at a flag-raising ceremony for the newly rechristened embassy.

Jeffrey DeLaurentis says the day marks "the beginning of a new chapter" on the path toward normalizing diplomatic relations between Havana and Washington.

He it is "a long, complex road to travel, but it is the right road."

9:45 a.m. — Three marines who lowered the flag at the U.S. Embassy in Havana when the United States and Cuba broke off diplomatic relations in 1961 are back to see the Stars and Stripes raised once again.

Mike East was one of them. According to a U.S. State Department blog post, he says "It was a touching moment."

In his words, To see Old Glory flying for the last time in Cuba, it was . just didn't seem right."

Larry Morris said he was stationed in Cuba for just four and a half months, but he "enjoyed the people and Cuba better than any place I've ever been."

9:10 a.m. — Cuban television has switched from cartoons to live coverage of the U.S. embassy flag-raising, broadcasting U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry's arrival at Havana's Jose Marti airport followed by a detailed biography of Kerry's career.

It notes his service in Vietnam, his presidential run and work as secretary of state.

The state television network informs viewers that Kerry "is a Roman Catholic, likes bicycling, surfing and windsurfing" and is a fan of the Beatles and Rolling Stones.

9:00 a.m. — U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has arrived in Havana for an historic ceremony to raise the U.S. flag over a restored U.S. Embassy in the Cuban capital. It's the first time a U.S. secretary of state has visited the nearby nation since 1945.

8:55 a.m. — Republican presidential candidate Marco Rubio is the son of anti-Castro Cuban immigrants and he's blasting the Obama administration's decision to reopen the embassy in Havana.

In prepared remarks from New York, he says the opening has ensured the socialist Cuban "regime will receive international legitimacy and a substantial economic boost to benefit its repression."

8:45 a.m. — Among those gathering in front of the U.S. Embassy in Havana are the drivers of three 1950s-era Chevrolets that are parked outside the building.

Julio Alvarez heads the custom cab company that operates them and he says the State Department had invited him to send them without saying why. Alvarez says he's hoping that Kerry will take a ride in one of the classic U.S. cars that have become emblematic of Cuba for tourists.

8:25 a.m. — Some 200 Cubans already have gathered near the U.S. Embassy along Havana's seafront Malecon boulevard ahead of the official ceremony to raise the U.S. flag over the building for the first time in 54 years.

Twenty-eight-year-old Marcos Rodriguez says he's come "because I wouldn't want to miss it." He voices the hopes of many on the island, expressing "hope for social and economic benefits for all Cubans."

Giant Cuban flags hang from the balconies of nearby apartment buildings and people have gathered at their windows with a view of the embassy.

Timeline of key dates in US relations with Cuba

Key events in U.S.-Cuba relations:

THE START: Fidel Castro's rebels take power as dictator Fulgencio Batista flees Cuba on Jan 1, 1959. The United States soon recognizes the new government. But relations begin to sour as Americans criticize summary trials and executions of Batista loyalists. In 1960 Cuba nationalizes U.S.-owned oil refineries after they refuse to process Soviet oil. Nearly all other U.S. businesses are expropriated soon afterward.

STANDOFF: The U.S. declares an embargo on most exports to Cuba in October 1960 and breaks diplomatic relations in January 1961. Three months later Castro declares Cuba a socialist state - just a day before the doomed U.S.-sponsored Bay of Pigs invasion meant to topple Castro. Meanwhile, U.S. agents are organizing repeated efforts to assassinate the Cuban leader.

SHOWDOWN AVERTED: In October 1962, a U.S. blockade forces removal of Soviet nuclear missiles from Cuba after a standoff brings the world near nuclear war. U.S. President John F. Kennedy agrees privately not to invade Cuba.

FAILED NORMALIZATION: U.S. President Jimmy Carter tries to normalize relations with Cuba shortly after taking office in 1977, re-establishing diplomatic missions and negotiating the release of thousands of prisoners. But conflicts over Cuba's military mission in Africa, tension caused by a flood of Cuban refugees in 1980 and the election of Ronald Reagan end the rapprochement.

CUBA ALONE: The 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union devastates the Cuban economy, but the country limps along, first under Fidel and then, after he falls ill in 2006, under his brother Raul, head of the Cuban military.

EXILE CLASHES: Cuba's hostile relations with many Florida-based migrants repeatedly lead to confrontation. In 1996, Cuban jets shoot down two planes operated by the Brothers to the Rescue group dedicated to saving migrants found at sea, killing four. In 1999, U.S.-based relatives fight to keep Elian Gonzalez, rescued at sea at age 5 after his mother dies. U.S. officials finally wrench him away and send him back to his father in Cuba in 2000.

PRISONERS: The U.S. arrests five Cuban spies in 1998 and Cuba mounts an international campaign to free them, saying they were defending the island against U.S.-based terror attempts. In December 2009, Cuba arrests USAID contractor Alan Gross, accusing him of subversion. That stifles incipient efforts to improve U.S.-Cuba ties under President Barack Obama.

BREAKTHROUGH: Obama and Raul Castro announce Dec. 17, 2014, they are restoring diplomatic ties and exchanging prisoners, including Gross and the remaining three members of the Cuban Five spy ring.

REMOVAL FROM TERRORISM LIST: The Obama administration formally removes Cuba from a U.S. terrorism blacklist as part of the process of normalizing relations between the Cold War foes.

AGREEMENT NOTES EXCHANGED: Pending issues are resolved and the U.S. and Cuba exchange diplomatic notes agreeing that the date for the restoration of full relations will be July 20.

DIPLOMATIC TIES RESTORED: Ties are formally restored just after midnight July 20, and the diplomatic missions of each country are upgraded from interests sections to embassies.

STARS AND STRIPES RAISED IN HAVANA: John Kerry becomes the first U.S. secretary of state to visit Cuba since 1945, flying to Havana on Aug. 14, 2015, for a ceremonial flag-raising outside the newly rechristened embassy.