Breaking news: Time's up?

There could be something in this ...

The normally very reliable Spanish newspaper El Pais has a story in its Tuesday print edition revealing that Fidel Castro is indeed near death.

The paper says the 80-year-old dictator, who has not been seen in public for nearly six months, has undergone at least three major operations to deal with what is described as a "very serious" intestinal infection.

The operations were unsuccessful and resulted in further complications, the paper added, quoting senior "medical sources" at the Gregorio Maranon hospital in Madrid, the same hospital that has been providing Castro with medical equipment and expert staff.

The full story is here, in Spanish.