Castro publishes article criticizing health rumors

HAVANA - The Associated Press

An undated handout picture provided by Cubadebate shows Cuban former President Fidel Castro walking in a garden. EPA photo

Former Cuban leader Fidel Castro has written an article in state-media criticizing those who spread rumors he was on his death bed.
 
The 86-year-old revolutionary icon has also published photos of himself standing outside in a checked shirt and cowboy hat, including one in which he is seen reading Friday’s copy of the Communist Party newspaper Granma.
 
The article was published on the state-run Cubadebate Web site early Monday. It is the latest evidence the former Cuban president is alive and seemingly well after more than a week of intense rumors he was seriously ill.
 
On Sunday, a visiting Venezuelan vice president released a photo of a five-hour meeting he said he had the previous day with Castro.