10 Jan 2014

Castro makes first appearance in months

4:05 pm on 10 January 2014

Former Cuban president Fidel Castro has appeared in public for the first time in nine months.

The frail 87-year-old attended the opening of an art studio in Havana and was using a walking stick, the BBC reports.

Mr Castro led Cuba for nearly 50 years before handing over power to his brother Raul in 2006 due to ill-health.

The last time he appeared in public was in April 2013, when he attended the inauguration of a school in Havana.