Havana  - A year after Fidel Castro announced his retirement, doubts persist as to how far removed the iconic Cuban leader really is from the decision-making progress in the communist island.

Many Cubans continue to refer to him as "comandante," including his successor, Raul Castro, who admits to still consulting his older brother on all major issues.

Washington, Feb 5 : Former Cuban President Fidel Castro is again using the Internet to let the White House know just what concerns Havana, raising a list of grievances with Washington going back five decades.

Castro asked President Barack Obama whether he is familiar with the damage caused by US policy of germ and bacteriological warfare against the island's people, animals and plants among many other aggressions dating back decades.

Havana  - In a surprising reversal, ailing Cuban leader Fidel Castro has attacked US President Barack Obama's foreign policy initiatives as "abusive," and compared them to those of George W Bush.

In two articles last week, Fidel had stressed the "sincerity" and "honesty" of the new White House resident.

But in his most recent piece published by Cuban media Friday, Fidel - who has not been seen in public since July 2006 - used harsh language previously reserved only for Bush.

Washington, Jan. 30 : Former Cuban President Fidel Castro has released another blog post, where he has criticized President Barack Obama.

In a post on Cuban Web site www. cubadebate. cu entitled "Deciphering the Thinking of the New United States President," Castro takes Obama to task for saying that returning Guantanamo to Cuban control would depend on whether it might have even a minimal impact on U. S. defense capacities.

Havana  - Ailing Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro says he believes new US President Barack Obama has good intentions, but there were still a number of open questions.

Castro also didn't miss the opportunity to rub in that Cuba's half-century-old communist regime has now survived 10 US presidents, despite more than four decades of the US economic embargo.

In fact, with his inauguration on Tuesday, Obama became the eleventh president in the Castro family's list.

London, Jan 12 : Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has said it is unlikely that former Cuban President Fidel Castro would take part in a public event ever again, but that the revolutionary idol would live on beyond this "physical life".

"We already know the Fidel that walked the streets and towns at night, looking like a warrior in his uniform, hugging the people, will never be seen again. He will become a memory," Mr Chavez said on his weekly "Alo Presidente" radio talk show.

He has often visited Fidel, 82, where he is receiving medical attention since undergoing gastrointestinal surgery in July 2006.