Raul Castro makes rare public appearance at Fidel centenary event

US-indicted Cuban leader Raul Castro received a standing ovation as he appeared in public for the first time in months on Thursday, attending an event in Havana to mark the centenary of his brother Fidel's birth. The 95-year-old head of the Cuban armed forces and former president entered the Karl Marx Theatre for a celebration rally amid the island's worst crisis in living memory. He appeared at the event dressed in his trademark olive-green military uniform, AFP reporters witnessed, amid tight security. Cellphones were banned from the ceremony, bags were closely screened and delegates put through a metal detector by a sizeable security force. Castro is the last surviving leader of Cuba's 1959 revolution and is seen as still wielding power on the island, despite stepping down as president in 2018. In May, he was indicted by a court in the US state of Florida on four counts of murder. The charges related to the downing of US civilian planes by Cuban forces on February 24, 1996, when Castro was defence minister. Read moreCuba plunges into darkness as state energy firm reports new nationwide blackout He last appeared in public at a May 1 event in front of the US embassy in Havana, whe...