Reporting from the bedside

As with most totalitarian regimes, finding out what is really going on at the highest political levels inside Cuba is near impossible even at the best of times.

Of course, this doesn't stop us from speculating ...

So, what are we to make of the latest report from Havana regarding Fidel Castro's supposed recovery?

The ever-loyal Minister for Foreign Affairs, Felipe Perez Roque, now says he cannot guarantee that Castro will make a public appearance come 2 December, the date designated by the regime to mark the dictator's postponed birthday celebrations.

Perez Roque told AP that Castro was getting better all the time (naturally), but when asked about a return to office, the minister replied: "It's a subject on which I don't want to speculate."