Fidel Castro holds surprise meeting with visiting Argentinean president

September 23rd, 2009 HAVANA - Former Cuban president Fidel Castro described last Sunday's concert by Juanes as a blow to the 47-year-old US economic embargo against his country. "The Cuban people, especially in their magnificent youth, showed that even in the midst of a brutal economic blockade, it's possible to overcome unimaginable obstacles," Castro said in his latest column "Reflections" published Monday night.

September 4th, 2009 Photo shows Fidel Castro outside, in dress shirtHAVANA — Cuban state media have released a second recent photo showing Fidel Castro in regular civilian clothing instead of the track suits that he commonly wore after falling ill in July 2006. In the picture, the 83-year-old Castro is shaking hands with the visiting head of the Chinese parliament in the walled backyard of an undisclosed home.

August 29th, 2009 Castro chats live for first time since 2007MANAGUA, Nicaragua — Fidel Castro chatted live via speakerphone with graduating medical students in Nicaragua in the latest of a series of media events showing off the former Cuban leader looking more robust. The 83-year-old Castro, who hasn't been seen in public since falling ill three years ago, called Thursday during the graduation ceremony to congratulate the 44 doctors who had studied in Cuba.

August 24th, 2009 HAVANA - Cuban leader Fidel Castro has met Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa, the official Juventud Rebelde newspaper reported in an article that featured a photograph of both men standing and wearing white sport shirts. Castro and Correa had "a thorough exchange of impressions ...

August 23rd, 2009 Healthy looking Fidel Castro meets Ecuador leaderHAVANA — Cuba's Communist Youth newspaper is showing a photo of a healthier-looking Fidel Castro talking with the visiting Ecuadorean president. Sunday's photo in Juventud Rebelde shows the 83-year-old Castro wearing a white shirt instead of the sports apparel he has worn in recent photos.

August 15th, 2009 Chavez back from Cuba for Fidel's 83rd birthdayCARACAS, Venezuela — President Hugo Chavez said Friday he found his close ally and mentor Fidel Castro in good health during a visit to Cuba to celebrate the Cuban leader's 83rd birthday. Chavez says they shared a cake.

April 8th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Former Cuban president Fidel Castro met Tuesday with three visiting members of the US Congress in what they called a sign that Cuba wants to open a new dialogue with Washington. After a two-hour meeting with Castro, Congresswoman Barbara Lee told reporters in Washington that she was convinced the Cubans want to talk with Washington about normalising relations.

March 6th, 2009 HAVANA - Cuban leader Fidel Castro rejected media reports that his close associates in the government have been replaced by younger brother President Raul Castro's men. The Cuban leader said several media organisations have been spreading rumours about a replacement of 'Fidel's men with Raul's men', which is incorrect.

February 13th, 2009 HAVANA - Ailing Cuban leader Fidel Castro, who has not been seen in public since 2006, was 'very agile and active', said Chilean President Michelle Bachelet, Cuban media reported Friday. 'He is in very good condition, we talked for long,' Bachelet told reporters late Thursday after the meeting.

February 9th, 2009 HAVANA - Former Cuban president Fidel Castro has said that Barack Obama is incapable of solving the problems faced by the US. In his Monday newspaper column, Reflections, Castro also suggested that other countries would be the real victims of the US financial crisis.

February 9th, 2009 HAVANA - Former Cuban president Fidel Castro has said Barack Obama and his team would not be able to solve the economic problems faced by the US. Castro said that Obama, White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel and 'all of the talented politicians and economists they have brought together would not suffice to solve the growing problems of the American capitalist society'.

February 6th, 2009 HAVANA - Cuban leader Fidel Castro has said that US President Barack Obama's politics was 'losing its virginity', Spanish news agency EFE reported Saturday. In the third article in two weeks criticising the actions of the new US president, Cuba's ex-president commented on White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel's statement that 'what interests president Obama is the Cuban-American community'.

January 29th, 2009 HAVANA - Cuba will not grant any political concessions to the US for a possible return of the Guantanamo Bay naval base, the country's ailing revolutionary leader Fidel Castro has said. In an column titled 'Deciphering the thought of the new US president', posted on the government-run cubadebate.cu website, Castro wrote that US President Barack Obama had to return the territory without any conditions attached.

January 22nd, 2009 HAVANA - Ailing Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro has called new US President Barack Obama a 'honest' person with good intentions, but expressed doubt whether he could transform those into action. The former Cuban president said Obama's inaugural speech as 'impressive' in a comparative article 'Reflection' recounting Castro's conversation Wednesday with visiting Argentine head of state Cristina Fernandez, EFE news agency reported Friday.

January 1st, 2009 SANTIAGO DE CUBA - Cuban President Raul Castro said Thursday that the Cuban revolution after 50 years was 'stronger than ever despite the obsessive and revengeful hate of the United States.' Despite the current difficult times, the revolutionary movement had moved barely a millimetre from its principles, the younger brother of the ailing revolutionary leader Fidel Castro said at the formal celebration of the anniversary. The 77-year-old president spoke in Santiago de Cuba, the southern town where Fidel Castro declared victory from city hall over the Fulgencio Batista regime on Jan 1, 1959.