Fidel Castro 'surprised' that he is still alive

Fidel Castro

Former Cuban leader Fidel Castro has said that he decided to step down and transfer power to his younger brother, Raul, because he was diagnosed with a fatal illness in 2006.
In an article published to mark his 87th birthday, Fidel Castro said he didn't expect to survive the stomach ailment and live for so long.
"I was far from imagining that my life would extend for another seven years."
Castro had been in power since the Cuban Revolution in 1959. Castro left office for treatment in 2006 but only formally resigned as commander-in-chief and president of Cuba in February 2008.
The long article was only published by official newspaper Granma on Wednesday, a day after his birthday.
"As soon as I understood that it would be definitive, I did not hesitate to cease my charges as president," he said in the article.
Castro also revealed that Cuba had received weapons from North Korea in the early 1980s.
The revelations come as a team of UN experts investigate an incident in the Panama Canal involving a North Korean ship carrying an undeclared shipment of weapons from Cuba.