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| HAVANA: Fidel Castro said Tuesday that he would step down as president of Cuba, ending one of the longest tenures in the world of an all-powerful, Communist head of state. The announcement was made in an open letter to the nation, which was read on radio and television programs. In the letter, Castro said his failing health made it impossible for him to return to the presidency. "I will not aspire to neither will I accept - I repeat I will not aspire to neither will I accept - the position of president of the Council of State and commander in chief," he wrote in the letter, which was posted on the Web site of the state-run Granma newspaper in the early hours of Tuesday. There seemed to be little if any outward reaction to the news, which many Cubans have been expecting for months. Schools remained open, garbage continued to be collected and clusters of ordinary people waiting for a bus or truck to take them to work seemed as large and numerous as ever. |