Not seen, but heard: Out of sight for 3 yrs, Fidel Castro marks 83rd birthday with essay

September 24th, 2009 Fidel Castro's sister to release book on brothersMIAMI — Juanita Castro, the exiled sister of Cuban leaders Fidel and Raul Castro, is set to release a first-person memoir in which she talks at length about her brothers. The more than 400-page book titled: "My Brothers Fidel and Raul.

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 24th, 2009 Fidel Castro back in Cuban spotlightHAVANA — Fidel Castro is back — on Cuba's front pages, at least. Cuba's state media have published a flurry of photographs and a video of the former president in recent days, accompanied by assurances that his health has improved since he fell gravely ill in 2006.

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.

August 13th, 2009 Fidel Castro marks 83rd birthday with essayHAVANA — The founder of a New York-based church group that opposes the U.S. embargo of Cuba said Thursday that former Cuban President Fidel Castro looked strong and animated during a July 31 meeting.

April 22nd, 2009 Fidel Castro: Obama 'misinterpreted' Raul's wordsHAVANA — Fidel Castro says President Barack Obama "misinterpreted" his brother Raul's remarks regarding the United States and bristled at the suggestion that Cuba should free political prisoners or cut taxes on dollars people send to the island. Raul Castro touched off a whirlwind of speculation last week that the U.S.

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 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 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 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 22nd, 2009 HAVANA - Former Cuban president Fidel Castro said in an online essay that he doubts he would have the 'privilege' to observe world events in four years and said he wanted to reduce his influence in Cuba's government. The revolutionary leader posted the essay Thursday on a government website, writing about the inauguration of President Barack Obama in the United States, Cuba's long-time ideological rival.

January 21st, 2009 HAVANA - Ailing Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro received visiting Argentinean President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner here, Cuban news agency Prensa Latina reported Thursday. The 82-year-old leader, who has permanently relinquished rule to his brother, Raul Castro, has been rarely seen in public since suffering from a serious health crisis in 2006.

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.