Obama’s politics losing its virginity: Fidel Castro

September 24th, 2009 HAVANA - Cuban leader Fidel Castro has praised US President Barack Obama for taking a "courageous" stand on climate change, but added it was not right that Obama tried to make people believe that humanity could survive under the laws of capitalism. Castro wrote in a commentary, titled "El Obama serio" (The Serious Obama) and published by state media Wednesday, that the US president's address at the UN Tuesday was a "courageous gesture" that showed his concern about climate change.

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 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 8th, 2009 The portable Castro: Cuba issues Fidel dictionaryHAVANA —Cubans accustomed to hourslong speeches, thousand-word essays and lengthy interviews can now get Fidel Castro at a glance, thanks to a new dictionary of El Comandante's teachings. "Unemployment" and "History" are among the myriad words for which the 339-page paperback provides definitions — based on snippets of speeches, columns and statements dispensed by Castro during the 49 years he governed the communist-run island.

April 29th, 2009 Castro: Onus not on Cuba for US better relationsHAVANA — Raul Castro has dismissed Barack Obama's policy changes toward Cuba as "minimal" and says it is up to the U.S. — not Cuba — to do more to improve 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 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 - Former Cuban president Fidel Castro has criticised US President Barack Obama saying his 'politics is losing virginity', the EFE news agency reported Saturday. 'Sooner rather than later, Obama's politics are losing their virginity,' he said in his article titled 'Reflection' published in official media Friday.

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 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 11th, 2009 CARACAS - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has said that Cuban leader Fidel Castro would not appear at official public events in future because of his delicate health, EFE reported Monday. 'Regrettably, we know that that will not occur again...

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.