(10 Feb 2007)
1. Tilt down exterior Hotel National de Cuba
2. Ramon Castro, older brother of Cuban President Fidel Castro, walking in hotel lobby
3. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Ramon Castro, Older Brother of Cuban President Fidel Castro:
"He's well, very well. He's whole; newer than me!"
(Reporter: "Have you seen him recently?)
"Yes, of course. He's well. Everything is good; everything is going well. It could be no other way."
4. Ramon Castro sitting down at table for lunch
5. Pan of Havana skyline
6. Hotel National de Cuba
STORYLINE:
Cuban President Fidel Castro's elder brother Ramon said on Friday his brother is recovering well from surgery six months ago, joining his other brother Raul to make a growing number of upbeat assessments of the ailing leader's health.
"He's well, very well," said 82-year-old Ramon after a lunch at Hotel National de Cuba in Havana.
"Everything is good; everything is going well," added Fidel Castro's older brother.
Ramon spent his life in agriculture and ranching and never held any major government positions.
Ramon Castro's positive assessment came one day after his other brother Raul, the 75-year-old Defence Minister and acting President, told reporters of 80-year-old Fidel: "He's getting better each day."
Fidel's health, as well as his exact ailment, are a state secret. The former guerrilla leader stunned the nation on July 31 when he announced he had had intestinal surgery and was provisionally ceding power to Raul, long his constitutionally designated successor.
But Cuban officials have denied past US government reports that Fidel suffered from fatal cancer. A Spanish newspaper reported last month that the leader had diverticular disease, a weakening of the walls of the colon common in older people, and was in "grave" condition.
Evidently seeking to knock down that with other pessimistic reports about Fidel's health, the government on January 30, 2007, released a new video of the leader that showed him looking as if he had gained strength and weight.
Fidel had looked far more gaunt and pale during a previous video released by the government in late October.

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