Fidel Castro death

Proceedings began with the national anthem and speeches were made by visiting dignitaries.

President Raul Castro closed the rally, referring to his brother Fidel as the leader of a revolution "for the humble, and by the humble".

Fidel Castro, who came to power in 1959, died on Friday, aged 90.

Left-wing Latin American leaders were among those attending the event but other countries sent lower-ranking emissaries.

Opinion on Fidel Castro, who ruled Cuba as a one-party state for almost half a century, remains divided.

"Fidel Castro is dead!" Trump tweeted on the news of the 90-year-old's death.

The longtime revolutionary leader died Friday, presenting potential opportunities for change in a country whose relations with the United States have recently begun to improve.

The longtime revolutionary leader died Friday, presenting potential opportunities for change in a country whose relations with the United States have recently begun to improve.

In a statement read out by a presenter on Chinese state-TV, Xi praised the founder of Communist Cuba. He said Castro had made "immortal historical achievements for the development of world socialism."

But decades earlier, Fidel Castro himself didn't have such praise for the founder of Communist China.

"I believe that Mao (Zedong) destroyed with his feet what he did with his head for many years. I'm convinced of that. And some day the Chinese people, the Communist party of China will have to recognize that," Castro told American journalist Barbara Walters in May 1977.

His younger brother and successor as president Raul Castro announced the news on state television.

Castro toppled the government in 1959, introducing a Communist revolution. He defied the US for decades, surviving many assassination plots.

His supporters said he had given Cuba back to the people. Critics saw him as a dictator.

Ashen and grave, President Castro told the nation in an unexpected late night broadcast on state television that Fidel Castro had died and would be cremated later on Saturday.

It provided no further details.

Fidel Castro ruled Cuba as a one-party state for almost half a century before handing over the powers to his brother Raul in 2008.

His supporters praised him as a man who had given Cuba back to the people. But his opponents accused him of brutally suppressing opposition.

In April, Fidel Castro gave a rare speech on the final day of the country's Communist Party congress.

He acknowledged his advanced age but said Cuban communist concepts were still valid and the Cuban people "will be victorious".