Raul Castro: Fidel Not Dying, But Recovering
Cuban leader Fidel Castro is not dying but recovering from surgery, his younger brother and Cuban first vice president Raul said Sunday.

"Fidel is doing well. He has a telephone and is using it more and more," Raul told a congress of primary and junior high school students in Havana, according to media reports Monday.

"He is not dying as some press in Miami report, but constantly improving. But as he himself has said it will take time," Raul said, adding that the student delegates would hold a special session with Castro in December.

Raul said he and other leaders held a long meeting with his brother within the past 48 hours during which they discussed various "affairs of state" and Castro gave various instructions.

Fidel has a telephone next to him "and he's using it more and more every day," Raul added.

Time magazine reported over the weekend that U.S. government officials believe Castro, 80, has terminal cancer. One official cautioned that definitive proof is not available.

Castro announced on July 31 that he was temporarily ceding his power to Defense Minister and younger bother Raul Castro after undergoing intestinal surgery.

He was last shown receiving private visits by world leaders during the Nonaligned Movement summit in mid-September, which was hosted by Cuba.

Last week, Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque said Fidel Castro will return to his post as the leader of the country, but he did not say when Castro will return.