Cuba's Fidel Castro makes first public appearance in nine months

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jan/09/cuba-fidel-castro-first-public-appearance-havana

Version 0 of 1.

The former Cuban president Fidel Castro made his first public appearance in nine months, attending the opening of an art studio in the capital, Havana.

Official newspapers and websites on Thursday carried a photo showing a seated, gray-haired Castro from behind, pointing at a work of art while the artist Alexis Leyva leans in to talk to him at the event on Wednesday night.

A Spanish newspaper, La Vanguardia, published three more pictures on its website that showed Castro's face. Wearing a black jacket and green scarf on a cool Havana evening, Castro reaches out to touch a sculpture in one of the images.

Castro last appeared in public on 9 April 2013, when he attended the inauguration of a Havana school.

In December he had a private meeting with the visiting Venezuelan president, Nicolás Maduro, a key ally of Cuba.

Castro, 87, led Cuba for 48 years before falling gravely ill in July 2006 and handing over power to his brother Raúl, who formally became president in January 2008.

Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning.