Castro warns of bleak future for globe

HAVANA - Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro painted a bleak picture of the future, saying the world was in its worst situation ever as Cuban television aired on Monday part of a six-hour event last week touting his newest memoir.

The 85-year-old Castro, whose last known public appearance was at a Communist Party congress in April 2011, had to be helped to his chair, but was animated and engaged as summaries of the two-volume tome were read and questions were taken from an audience of admirers.

The two-hour program was the first of three parts to be broadcast on state-run television this week and, with its echoes of the lengthy speeches he once gave, appeared aimed in part at showing that the old comandante is in pretty good shape.