Fidel Castro made an appearance Tuesday at Cuba's Communist Party Congress, his second public outing in less than two weeks, state-run media reported. Accompanied his brother, President Raul Castro, the revolutionary icon received a standing ovation from the 1,000 delegates who had gathered at a convention centre in Havana, the government-run ACN news agency said. Delegates applauded and chanted his name as Fidel - just a few months shy of his 90th birthday - took the stage just before the meeting, viewed as the nation's most important political event, came to a close.
Cuba's Communist Party convention sets the nation's economic and political path for the subsequent five years. Fidel, who handed the reins of power to his younger brother a decade ago, last appeared in public at an April 7 outing at an elementary school, where he gave a speech lauding Cuba's education system. His last previous public appearance was some nine months earlier. In contrast with the last party convention, this one was held in secret, with only state-controlled media allowed to cover it.