Havana, Nov.26.─ Cuba's historic revolutionary leader Fidel Castro died Friday aged 90, after defying the United States during a half-century of iron-fisted rule and 
surviving the eclipse of global communism.
One of the world's longest-serving rulers and modern history's most singular characters, Castro defied 11 U.S. administrations and hundreds of assassination attempts.
His younger brother, President Raul Castro, announced the news shortly after midnight (0500 GMT Saturday) but gave no details of the cause of death.
Fidel Castro crushed opposition at home from the moment he took power in 1959 to lead the communist Caribbean island through the Cold War. He stepped aside only in 2006 after intestinal surgery.
For defenders of the revolution, Castro was a hero who defended the ordinary people against capitalist domination.
For his opponents, including thousands of Cubans resident in the United States, he was a cruel tyrant.
Castro eventually lived to see ...
[ Full text ]