Fidel Castro announces retirement
Cuba's ailing leader Fidel Castro has said he will not accept another term as president, ending 49 years in power.
"I neither will aspire to, nor will I accept, the position of president of the council of state and commander in chief," he told the newspaper, Granma.
The 81-year-old handed over power temporarily to his brother, Raul, in July 2006 when he underwent surgery.
In the letter, published on Granma's website during the middle of the night in Cuba, Mr Castro said he would not accept another five-year term as president when the National Assembly meets on Sunday, because of the health problems.
"It would betray my conscience to take up a responsibility that requires mobility and total devotion, that I am not in a physical condition to offer," he wrote.
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