(12 Apr 2007) SHOTLIST :
April 12, 2007
1. Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque arriving at news conference
2. Reporters
3. Close-up of portrait of Cuban President Fidel Castro
4. SOUNDBITE: (Spanish with English translation) Felipe Perez Roque, Cuban Foreign Minister:
"The health of President Fidel Castro has been getting better consistently. He is recovering on an ongoing basis. He has gained weight. He is doing physical exercise everyday and indeed we feel optimistic. And we believe that more serious moments of his illness have been left behind. He has been briefed permanently and he is consulted about the most important strategic decisions made by the country."
5. Reporter asking question
6. Cuban officials
7. SOUNDBITE: (Spanish with English translation) Felipe Perez Roque, Cuban Foreign Minister:
"In the event of the absence of the president, he is to be replaced by the first vice-president. Right now that person is Raul Castro, not because of his last name but because of his history and his contribution to the Cuban revolution."
8. Reporters taking notes
9. Cameraman
10. Perez Roque leaving
April 11, 2007
11. Various of Indian Minister of State Anand Sharma and Perez Roque shaking hands
STORYLINE :
Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque said on Thursday that Fidel Castro was recovering from his illness and had gained weight .
Perez Roque was on a two-day visit to India to strengthen bilateral cooperation in areas including agriculture, science and technology, health and energy.
"We believe that more serious moments of his illness have been left behind. He has been briefed permanently and he is consulted about most important strategic decisions made by the country," Perez Roque said at news conference in the Indian capital New Delhi.
Asked about the ailing leader's successor, the foreign minister said, "in event of the absence of the president, he is to be replaced by the first vice-president. Right now that person is Raul Castro."
Castro ruled Cuba for 47 years before undergoing intestinal surgery and temporarily stepping down in July, ceding power to his 75-year-old brother, Raul.
Castro's condition and exact ailment remain a state secret, but he is widely believed to suffer from diverticular disease, a weakening of the walls of the colon that can cause sustained bleeding.
Cuban officials have given increasingly optimistic reports about his health, and there is a growing expectation on the island that he could soon make his first public appearance since falling ill.
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