US president Barack Obama turned from sightseeing to state business on his historic Cuba trip yesterday, pressing President Raul Castro for economic and democratic reforms while listening to complaints about continued US economic sanctions. Obama and Castro were scheduled to have their fourth meeting, likely their most substantial, at the Palace of the Revolution, where Castro and his predecessor, older brother Fidel Castro, have led Cuba's resistance to US pressure going back decades.A US presidential visit to the inner sanctum of Cuban power would have been unthinkable before Obama and Raul Castro's rapprochement 15 months ago, when they agreed to end a Cold War-era dispute that lasted five decades. The two leaders have deep differences to discuss as they attempt to rebuild bilateral relations.Obama is under pressure from critics at home to push Castro's communist government to allow dissent from political opponents and further open its Soviet-style command economy. His aides have said Obama will encourage more economic reforms and greater access to the internet for Cubans."One of the things that we'll be announcing here is that Google has a deal to start setting up more Wi-Fi and broadband access on the island," Obama told ABC News in an interview aired yesterday.His administration hopes changes might also come at a Communist Party congress next month but doubts any political opening will be forthcoming. Still, Obama has promised to talk about freedom of speech and assembly in Cuba."I will raise these issues directly with President Castro," he told the Cuban dissident group the Ladies in White in a March 10 letter.Castro has said Cuba will not waver from its 57-year-old revolution and government officials say the US needs to end its economic embargo and return the Guantanamo Bay naval base to Cuba before the relations normalise.Cuban police, backed by hundreds of shouting pro-government demonstrators, broke up a Ladies in White march on Sunday, detaining dozens just hours before Obama landed.Obama has urged Congress to rescind the 54-year embargo but has been rejected by the Republican leadership.He has both Democratic and Republican elected officials with him on his Cuba trip and hopes Congress may act after the November 8 presidential election.One Cuban yelled "Down with the embargo!" during Obama's tour of Old Havana. He responded by raising his right hand.Asked about the potential for US companies to lose out in the Cuban market, Obama told ABC: "There's no doubt that we still have some work to do and part of that is bringing an end to the embargo that is in place."While it may not happen during his final year in office, given the US presidential election, "it is inevitable", he said.Thwarted by Congress on the embargo, Obama has instead used his executive authority to loosen restrictions on trade with and travel to the Caribbean island. Cuba has praised those measures but Castro will likely press for more."We think the US government can take more steps to send clear and direct signals in this direction," Foreign Trade Minister Rodrigo Malmierca Diaz said.Today Obama will deliver a speech on live Cuban television and attend an exhibition game between Major League Baseball's Tampa Bay Rays and Cuba's national team. ..