BBC News with Fiona MacDonald

Pope Benedict has arrived in Cuba at the start of a three-day visit. He was welcomed at the airport by President Raul Castro as well as military bands and an artillery

salute

. Pope Benedict said he had come to Cuba as a "pilgrim of charity" and would pray for peace, liberty and reconciliation. Sarah Rainsford gives us a sense of the expectations for the visit.

We have a huge amount of expectations surrounding the visit. Part of it simply because Cuba is right now at the centre of world attention and for a politically isolated island like this one, that's something pretty unusual. I spoke to a lot of people who aren't Catholic who say that they'll attend the Masses both in Santiago and in Havana just because they want to be there because it's such a major event for this island. The Catholic Church hopes that this can

revitalise

the faith on the island of Cuba, which is

atheist

for 40 years.

President Raul Castro said socialist Cuba allowed full freedom of religion. He stressed that Cuba was determined to defend its independence in the face of the US embargo.

The former head of the International Monetary Fund, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, has been charged in France over his alleged involvement in a

vice ring

that procured prostitutes. The charges came after he was questioned by judges in the city of Lille over the allegations. Mr Strauss- Kahn was later released on bail. Christian Fraser reports from Paris.