Castro 'recovering'

Cuban leader Fidel Castro is recovering from surgery and will return to office soon, the health minister said yesterday as uncertainty grew over the future of the island he has ruled for nearly half a century.

"We know Comandante Fidel will recover soon and will be back with us soon," Jose Ramon Balaguer said during a visit to Guatemala.

State media said earlier that Castro's brother Raul had firm control of the communist-ruled country while he was in hospital.

Fidel Castro, 79, handed over power temporarily to his younger brother on Monday after surgery for gastrointestinal bleeding. The news has created a tide of speculation over whether his rigid rule was about to end. It was the first time since his 1959 guerrilla victory that Castro, one of the most iconic and controversial world leaders of the past 50 years, had delegated power to anyone else.

In Cuba, where he has dominated almost every aspect of life, and across the Florida Straits in Miami, home to many thousands of exiles who have yearned for his demise for decades, people have anxiously awaited developments.

The Roman Catholic Church meanwhile called on Cubans to pray for Castro's recovery.

Balaguer's assurances followed a dearth of information over the state of affairs. Neither Castro brother has been seen in public since the veteran revolutionary's surgery was announced.

The Communist Party newspaper Granma said yesterday that Raul Castro was "firmly at the helm" of the nation and the armed forces. The newspaper, voice of the state which stifles independent press, also rejected calls from US President George W. Bush for a transition to multi-party democracy.

Many Cubans wondered when Raul, 75, would speak publicly. "Raul will have to appear at some point. That is what we are all waiting for," said Antonio Cabana, a worker in Havana.