HAVANA, Oct 21, 2007 (AFP) - Cubans voted Sunday in the first round of balloting that ultimately could indicate whether Fidel Castro will formally remain communist Cuba's leader, or perhaps opt for a permanent power handover.

Some 38,000 voting precincts opened at 1100 GMT and closed at 2200 GMT, with more than 8.3 million Cubans over the age of 16 eligible to vote for some 15,000 council seats in the Americas' only one-party communist state.

HAVANA, Oct 21, 2007 (AFP) - Cubans went to the polls Sunday in the first round of balloting that ultimately could decide whether Fidel Castro will formally return as the country's leader, or whether his brother Raul will officially succeed him.

Voting got underway here are at 7:00 am (1100 GMT), with more than 8.3 million Cubans over the age of 16 eligible to vote for some 15,000 council seats.

By early 2008, the process is to culminate in the selection of 31 members of the Council of State, which for more than five decades has been led by Fidel Castro.

HAVANA, Oct 20, 2007 (AFP) - Convalescing Cuban leader Fidel Castro slammed US elections Saturday as fraud-plagued contests for millionaires, as he urged countrymen to vote in the Americas' only one-party communist system Sunday.

'Our elections are the antithesis of those held in United States ... There, first you have to be very rich, or have an enormous amount of money behind you,' said Castro, 81, who 15 months ago handed over the reins of power to his brother Raul Castro after major intestinal surgery.

HAVANA, Oct 20, 2007 (AFP) - Convalescing Cuban leader Fidel Castro slammed US elections Saturday as fraud-plagued contests for millionaires, as he urged countrymen to vote in the Americas' only one-party communist system Sunday.

'Our elections are the antithesis of those held in United States ... There, first you have to be very rich, or have an enormous amount of money behind you,' said Castro, 81, who 15 months ago handed over the reins of power to his brother Raul Castro after major intestinal surgery.

WASHINGTON, Oct 15, 2007 (AFP) - The United States on Monday challenged ailing Cuban President Fidel Castro to hold dialogue with his people, following his much publicized live media appearance with his Venezuelan ally Hugo Chavez.

Cubans heard Fidel Castro on Sunday joking and chattering on a television show hosted by Chavez, his first live broadcast in Cuba since he was sidelined after major intestinal surgery 15 months ago.

But the United States, communist Cuba's arch rival, said Castro should have the same dialogue with his people.

SANTA CLARA, Cuba, Oct 14, 2007 (AFP) - For the first time in months Cubans were able to hear, if not see, their ailing President Fidel Castro live, as he chatted by phone on his Venezuelan counterpart's weekly television show Sunday.

For an hour and 22 minutes, Castro chatted amiably with Hugo Chavez on a variety of topics -- including the state of his health and the challenges of life in the shadow of the United States.

SANTA CLARA, Cuba, Oct 14, 2007 (AFP) - For the first time in months Sunday, Cubans were able to hear, if not see, a live broadcast of ailing President Fidel Castro, who chatted by phone on Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's weekly television show.

For an hour and 22 minutes, Castro chatted amiably with Chavez on a variety of topics -- including the state of his health and the challenges of life in the shadow of the United States -- in the first live media appearance broadcast in Cuba since his health crisis nearly 15 months ago.

SANTA CLARA, Cuba, Oct 14, 2007 (AFP) - Ailing Cuban President Fidel Castro telephoned into a television show with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez Sunday, in his first live media appearance in Cuba since his health crisis nearly 15 months ago.

The show, which aired in Cuba and Venezuela, marked the first time Cubans had heard Castro's voice live since he fell ill and temporarily ceded power to his brother in July 2006.

'Everyone is electrified to hear you,' Chavez told the convalescing Cuban leader.

SANTA CLARA, Cuba, Oct 14, 2007 (AFP) - Ailing Cuban President Fidel Castro telephoned into a television show with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez Sunday, in his first live media appearance in Cuba since his health crisis nearly 15 months ago.

The show, which aired in Cuba and Venezuela, marked the first time Cubans had heard Castro's voice live since he fell ill and temporarily ceded power to his brother in July 2006.

'Everyone is electrified to hear you,' Chavez told the convalecscing Cuban leader.

HAVANA, Oct 14, 2007 (AFP) - Ailing Cuban President Fidel Castro spoke by telephone on live television with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez Sunday.

Castro, who last year temporarily ceded power to his brother, last took part in Chavez's program by telephone in February. The state of his health has been subject to intense speculation, including recent rumors he was dead.

HAVANA, Oct 14, 2007 (AFP) - Cuba's ailing President Fidel Castro appeared in a recorded video broadcast Sunday during a weekly television program hosted by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

Castro, dressed in a red, blue and white sports suit, was shown in the 17 minute video taped during a four-hour meeting with Chavez on Saturday.

The Venezuelan leader is airing his show from Cuba to mark the 40th anniversary of the capture and execution of revolutionary icon Ernesto 'Che' Guevara.

SANTA CLARA, Cuba, Oct 14, 2007 (AFP) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez announced Sunday that a new 15 minute video of ailing Cuban President Fidel Castro was upcoming and suggested they may speak live on the telephone.

Chavez said, at the start of his weekly television program being filmed here in honor of the 40th anniversary of the capture and execution of revolutionary icon Ernesto 'Che' Guevara, there might be a big 'surprise' on the telephone.

Chavez also said he would show a tape of his meeting Saturday with Castro 'in a few minutes.'

HAVANA, Oct 14, 2007 (AFP) - Cuba's ailing revolutionary leader Fidel Castro appeared in new photographs Sunday beside his ally Hugo Chavez, ahead of a broadcast Sunday by the Venezuelan president from Cuban soil.

Castro appeared in a red, blue and white sports coat in two images published in the official communist newspaper Juventud Rebelde. He has not appeared publicly in person since coming down with an unnamed illness last year.

HAVANA, Oct 14, 2007 (AFP) - Cuba's ailing revolutionary leader Fidel Castro met with his Venezuelan ally Hugo Chavez amid speculation that he may break a long absence from public appearances by taking part in a broadcast on Sunday.

The 81-year-old leader held a mammoth four-hour meeting with his firebrand Venezuelan counterpart on Saturday, said an official report read out on state television, although no pictures from the meeting were broadcast.

HAVANA, Oct 13, 2007 (AFP) - Cuban leader Fidel Castro and his Venezuelan counterpart, Hugo Chavez, met for four hours Saturday to discuss Latin America, world problems and bilateral relations, Cuban state television reported.

The official report, read on the evening news, said the two leaders focused 'on the history of our two peoples, the solid and growing relations between Cuba and Venezuela, the situation in Latin America and the serious problems faced by humanity.'

HAVANA, Oct 13, 2007 (AFP) - Cuban leader Fidel Castro and his Venezuelan counterpart, Hugo Chavez, met for four hours here Saturday to discuss Latin America, world problems and bilateral relations, Cuban state television reported.

The official report, read during the evening newscast, said the two leaders focused 'on the history of our two peoples, the solid and growing relations between Cuba and Venezuela, the situation in Latin America and the serious problems faced by humanity.'

HAVANA, Oct 8, 2007 (AFP) - Cuba's veteran communist leader Fidel Castro paid respect to his old comrade-in-arms, fellow revolutionary Ernesto 'Che' Guevara, in an article Monday marking the 40th anniversary of his death.

'I take a pause in the daily fight to bow my head with respect and thanks before the exceptional fighter who fell on October 8, 40 years ago,' Castro wrote in an editorial in the Communist party's official newspaper Granma.

HAVANA, Oct 5, 2007 (AFP) - Ailing Cuban leader Fidel Castro wrote in an article published Friday that he urged Slobodan Milosevic in April 1999 not to put three captured US soldiers on trial, to avoid any potential international outcry.

Castro referred to the cases of US soldiers Andrew Ramirez, Christopher Stone and Steven Gonzales, who were captured on Yugoslavia's border with Macedonia. They were released in May 1999.

HAVANA, Sept 22, 2007 (AFP) - Fidel Castro's reappearance on state television has dispelled rumors of his death, but left open the question whether the ailing Cuban leader could emerge from his long convalescence to take back the reins of power.

After a lengthy absence from public view of nearly four months, the 81-year-old Castro appeared in an interview aired Friday looking frail but sounding lucid.

But apart from laughing off rumors of his death, Castro offered no details about his health, much less whether he might return to power.

HAVANA, Sept 22, 2007 (AFP) - Convalescing Cuban leader Fidel Castro has appeared on state television, looking frail but alert and laughing off speculation he was on his death bed after a long absence from public view.

'Well, here I am ... nobody knows when they will die,' Castro, 81, said during an interview Friday.

The absence of pictures of the veteran revolutionary leader since June 5 had fueled a flood of rumors of his death. 'He is dying, he is dead, he will die the day after tomorrow,' Castro said, summing up the wild speculation over his condition.

HAVANA, Sept 21, 2007 (AFP) - Convalescing Cuban leader Fidel Castro, 81 appeared Friday in a taped interview broadcast by state-run television, the first images of him since June 5.

Castro appeared weak and spoke in a soft, slow voice in the interview Cuban television said was taped earlier in the day.

Clad in a track suit in the red, white and blue Cuban colors, the communist leader appeared thinner than in the previous footage of him broadcast over three months ago. His hair and beard had more shades of gray.

HAVANA, Sept 21, 2007 (AFP) - Convalescing Cuban leader Fidel Castro will appear Friday in a television interview taped earlier in the day, which would be the first images of him since June 5, state-run television said.

A television presenter, reading an official announcement, said that in an interview recorded 'this afternoon that lasted one hour, he (Castro) discusses some of the topics he analyzed in his most recent (newspaper) reflexions and other issues of international relevance.'

MANAUS, Brazil, Sept 21, 2007 (AFP) - Cuban leader Fidel Castro had a near total blood transfusion during his recovery from surgery that nearly killed him, said his top ally and friend, Venezuelan Hugo Chavez, here Friday.

Chavez, who was in an official visit in Brazil's Amazon city of Manaus, told reporters that the 81-year-old Cuban leader underwent several transfusions but he did not indicate when he underwent the procedures.

Castro, who underwent gastrointestinal surgery in July 2006 for an ailment that remains a mystery, has since regained weight, Chavez said.

HAVANA, Sept 13, 2007 (AFP) - Holed up in deep seclusion, with no pictures of him released in 100 days, ailing Cuban leader Fidel Castro has become a prolific writer, discussing just about any topic except his health.

Since undergoing gastrointestinal surgery in July last year, Castro has been convalescing at an undisclosed location and has not been seen in the public, at least in the flesh.

His last appearance was in a video the communist state broadcast on June 5.

HAVANA, Sept 11, 2007 (AFP) - An article attributed to Cuban leader Fidel Castro on Tuesday accused the US government of deceiving the world about the September 11 terror attacks in the United States.

The article, written on the sixth anniversary of the attacks, claimed that the Pentagon was hit not by an airplane but by a missile, and says that data on the World Trade Center destruction does not add up.

HAVANA, Sept 4, 2007 (AFP) - Convalescing Cuban leader Fidel Castro dismissed as 'venom' free-market economic reforms proposed by leftists whom he branded as 'superrevolutionaries' in an article published Tuesday.

Castro, 81, sidelined with an undisclosed gastrointestinal illness, has had plenty of time to contemplate the matter during his 13 months of bed rest, during which he has read and written articles like the one published Tuesday, by official dailies Granma and Juventud Rebele.

CARACAS, Sept 2, 2007 (AFP) - Cuban leader Fidel Castro warned Venezuela's

President Hugo Chavez to make the best of life before old age cuts into his time, in a letter Chavez read out to the public on Sunday.

'Don't be afraid over that lone white strand you found in your dark hair. My problem is trying to find a black one among my white head of hair,' Chavez read from Castro's letter in his weekly radio program 'Alo Presidente.'

'When the time comes,' Castro told Chavez in the letter, 'you'll find you need more time than ever to meditate and go deep.'

HAVANA, Sept 1, 2007 (AFP) - There is no reason to believe that Cuban President Fidel Castro's life is in danger as he convalesces, Culture Minister Abel Prieto said late Friday.

The statement came amid a wave of rumors, especially among the Cuban-American community in Florida, that Cuba's long-time communist leader, who has not been seen in public since undergoing surgery over a year ago, is either dead or on his deathbed.

HAVANA, Aug 28, 2007 (AFP) - In a new article Tuesday, Cuban leader Fidel Castro chastised US presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama for calling for democracy in his country but touted them as a winning combination.

Castro belittled recent comments on Cuba by the two rivals for the Democratic nomination, but he made no reference to his health amid rampant speculation about the ailing leader's condition since he handed over power to his brother more than a year ago.

WASHINGTON, Aug 28, 2007 (AFP) - In a new article Tuesday, Cuban leader Fidel Castro chastised US presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama for calling for democracy in his country but touted them as a winning combination.

Castro belittled recent comments on Cuba by the two rivals for the Democratic nomination, but he made no reference to his health amid rampant speculation about the ailing leader's condition since he handed over power to his brother more than a year ago.

HAVANA, Aug 27, 2007 (AFP) - Cuba has been upgrading its military arsenal since President Fidel Castro fell ill 13 months ago, to defend itself against a possible US invasion, senior officers told Trabajadores weekly on Monday.

'In the irregular combat we would face in Cuba in case of an ivasion, the engineering, infantry and artillery systems we produce and repair here are of vital importance, because they're designed for the agressor's direct assault,' said Lieutenant Colonel Pascual Machado, chief coordinator of Cuba's Military Industrial Firm (EMI).

WASHINGTON, Aug 27, 2007 (AFP) - The United States suggested Monday that the latest round of rumours of ailing Cuban leader Fidel Castro's death might have been started by the government.

'I would say that the Cuban government has always been very good at stirring the nest whenever they felt the need to,' said Gonzo Gallegos, a State Department spokesman.

CARACAS, Aug 25, 2007 (AFP) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, speaking at a public event Saturday, denied persistent rumors that his close ally Cuban leader Fidel Castro had died.

Chavez was reacting to talk among Cuban exiles and echoed by foreign news outlets, especially in Florida, that the ailing Castro, 81, had passed away.

Castro, who turned 81 on August 13 with little celebration in Cuba, underwent intestinal surgery in July 2006 and handed power over temporarily to his brother Raul.

BRASILIA, Aug 23, 2007 (AFP) - Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque Thursday said President Fidel Castro was still recovering from his operation last year and was keeping busy, having personally instructed him on his visit here.

While attending the Forum for East Asia Latin American Cooperation (Fealac), Roque, in an interview with AFP, dispelled rumors about the Castro's health taking a turn for the worse since his 81st birthday on August 13.

HAVANA, Aug 17, 2007 (AFP) - Cuban leader Fidel Castro condemned Friday as both a 'rumor' and 'threat' US plans to build refugee housing at Guantanamo in case his death sparks an exodus from the Caribbean country.

In an article published Friday, the ailing Castro, who has not appeared in public in over a year, questioned the United States' intent when it announced in May the expansion of housing at its Guantanamo navy prison for a potential refugee crisis.

HAVANA, Aug 14, 2007 (AFP) - There were fireworks and music, but again no Fidel Castro on Monday, as Cubans held public celebrations marking the 81st birthday of their still-absent and ailing leader.

A brief fireworks display in Havana highlighted Castro's birthday, as the ailing president stayed out of public view for the second consecutive year following his gastrointestinal surgery in July 2006.

The Cuban leader ceded the reins of government to his brother and defense chief Raul Castro after his surgery, and has not been seen in public since.

HAVANA, Aug 13, 2007 (AFP) - A brief fireworks display marked subdued public celebrations Monday for Cuban leader Fidel Castro's 81st birthday as the ailing president stayed out of public view.

It was the second birthday in a row that Castro spent in seclusion since he underwent gastrointestinal surgery on July 27, 2006, and ceded the reins of government to his brother and defense chief Raul four days later.

HAVANA, Aug 13, 2007 (AFP) - President Fidel Castro turns 81 on Monday with few public celebrations expected on the island, as Cuba's Communist leader continues his slow recovery from intestinal surgery.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who claims to be Castro's political heir, hinted a week ago that he would 'soon' visit his friend and may be in Havana on Monday, though there has been no official announcement.