Ramon Castro says Fidel ‘much better’
Ramon Castro, the older brother of leader Fidel Castro, said Saturday his more famous sibling is steadily improving after intestinal surgery that has left their younger brother Raul temporarily in charge of the country.
“He’s much better,” Ramon Castro said of Fidel. “He works savagely, and that has a cost.”
Ramon Castro, who turns 82 in October, is a lifelong farmer who has stayed out of national politics.
The eldest Castro brother, who bears a striking resemblance to 80-year-old Fidel with his Romanesque profile and white beard, spoke at the international airport awaiting the arrival of Florida cattleman John Parke Wright IV, with whom he has formed a strong friendship during the American’s frequent visits to the island.
The specifics of Castro’s ailment and the nature of the surgery he underwent have been treated as a state secret. The leader blamed his heavy work and travel schedule for causing sustained intestinal bleeding, which prompted the need for emergency surgery.
Athens, Greece
Stolen Mary icon subject of search
Police set up roadblocks and launched helicopter searches Saturday for a 700-year-old religious icon that was stolen from a monastery in southern Greece.
The Icon of The Virgin Mary, which is credited with miracles, was reported missing Friday at the Orthodox Christian monastery of Elona, near the town of Leonidio, 185 miles southwest of Athens.
“This is the worst thing that could happen to us, our church and our religion,” said Metropolitan Bishop Alexandros of Mantineia and Kynouria. Alexandros described the icon, which measures 16 by 20 inches, as “priceless.”
Alexandros said he believes the robbers had used climbing equipment to reach the monastery, which is built into the face of a cliff.
Police said they found ropes used by the thieves to guide their way across the roof of a monastery building.
Ankara, Turkey
Rebels suspected in pipeline attack
A suspected Kurdish rebel attack caused an explosion and huge fire on a natural gas pipeline in eastern Turkey, the Energy Ministry said.
The region’s governor, Halil Ibrahim Akpinar, said separatist Kurds were suspected of carrying out an attack on the pipeline. He did not say if a bomb was believed to have caused the explosion.
The blast shook houses in nearby villages, the private Dogan news agency reported.
Turkey has been importing natural gas from Iran through the 1,598-mile pipeline since 2001. Turkish and Iranian officials are reportedly discussing expanding the pipeline for exports to Europe.
Rebels of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, previously have sabotaged pipelines as part of their struggle for an autonomous homeland. More than 37,000 people have been killed since the rebels took up arms in 1984.