Former Cuban revolutionary leader, Fidel Castro dies at 90

Former Cuban revolutionary leader, Fidel Castro, who ruled Cuba with an iron fist and built a communist state on the doorstep of the United States and for five decades defied U.S. efforts to topple him, died on Friday at the age of 90, his brother, President Raúl Castro announced.

Fidel Castro, a Cold War icon helped bring the world to the brink of nuclear war, tormented 11 American presidents and exerted almost total control over the last remaining communist government in the Western Hemisphere. 

He stuck to his ideology beyond the collapse of Soviet communism and remained widely respected in parts of the world that struggled against colonial rule.

Castro nearly died of an intestinal ailment in 2006 and has since then suffered poor health. He formally handed power to his younger brother, Raul, two years later.

President Raúl Castro delivered a statement on Cuban television to confirm his brother's death:

"At 10:29 at night, the chief commander of the Cuban revolution, Fidel Castro Ruz, died," Raul said.

"Ever onward, to victory," he said, using the slogan of the Cuban revolution.

Since the announcement, tributes has continued to pour in from around the world.

"History will record and judge the enormous impact of this singular figure on the people and world around him," U.S. President Barack Obama said, extending "a hand of friendship" to Cuba.

Venezuela's leftist President Nicolas Maduro urged "revolutionaries of the world" to follow Castro's legacy.

Pope Francis said he was grieving and praying for the repose of the professed atheist, whom he met in Cuba last year.

China's president, Xi Jinping, said 

"the Chinese people have lost a close comrade and a sincere friend".

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said on Twitter: "Fidel Castro is dead!."

Source: Reuters