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Tributes to Castro

— PHOTO: AFP

Cubans stand next to a banner reading "eighty years more" unfurled to mark President Fidel Castro's 80th birthday in Havana on Tuesday.

HAVANA: Cuban leader Fidel Castro told thousands of admirers he was not well enough to join them to launch the delayed five-day celebration of his 80th birthday, raising new questions about his health. The Cuban leader turned 80 on August 13 but delayed his birthday celebrations as he recovered from surgery two weeks earlier. Mr. Castro wanted the delayed birthday celebrations held on December 2, to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the date that he and fellow rebels landed by boat in Cuba to launch their revolution. Luminaries travelled from abroad and thousands of admirers gathered to kick off the celebrations. More than 1,300 politicians and intellectuals from around the globe are to honour the man who governed his nation for 47 years. — AP

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