Fidel Castro passes away

Fidel Castro, who led his native Cuba for nearly half a century and claimed to have survived more than 600 assassination attempts, has died at the age of 90.

With a shaking voice, his younger brother, Raul Castro, announced on state television that the Communist revolutionary died on Friday night.

World leaders have paid tribute to the revolutionary, who came to power in 1959, with former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev praising him for ‘strengthening’ his island nation.

Russian President Vladimir Putin described him as a ‘symbol of an era’, and said he was a ‘distinguished statesman’.

Nine days of public mourning for the deceased Cuban leader have been announced, when ‘public activities and shows’ will cease, and flags will fly at half mast.

The island’s Council of State says state radio and television ‘will maintain informative, patriotic and historic programming’.