PROVISIONAL Cuban leader Raul Castro said his brother Fidel Castro's recovery from gastrointestinal surgery was "gradual and satisfactory", the official newspaper Granma said today. The statement on Fidel Castro's health came during a meeting on Sunday between Raul Castro and visiting Syrian Information Minister Mohsen Bilal, the daily said. Raul Castro, 75, informed Bilal of his 80-year-old brother's “gradual and satisfactory recovery,” since he was operated on late last month and handed the reins of power to his younger brother. He also said “absolute tranquility reigned” in Cuba and that the entire population was behind the decision “to significantly raise the war capacity and disposition” of Cuba's armed forces.| "It takes a gallon of rum and two live chickens a day, but he's hangin' in there!" |