Cuban Vice President Carlos Lage sought to dispel growing speculation about Fidel Castro’s health, saying he does not have stomach cancer and is recuperating well after surgery that prompted him to step aside temporarily.

Fidel Castro still appeared to be running the show in Cuba yesterday after undergoing abdominal surgery and naming his brother acting president, while police and civilian groups patrolled neighbourhoods that have seen civil disturbances in the past.

Cuba, seeking to reassure its people after Fidel Castro temporarily stepped down from power for surgery, released a statement from the long-time leader saying his health was stable and the defence of the island guaranteed, even as it sent more police today into neighbourhoods that have seen civil disturbances in the past.

Fidel Castro’s inner circle has sought to reassure Cubans after intestinal surgery forced him to temporarily cede power to his brother for the first time in 47 years, issuing a statement from the communist leader saying his health is stable, his spirits are good and the defence of the island is guaranteed.

Cuban foreign minister Felipe Perez Roque says US president George Bush should not attend the Summit of the Americas in Argentina this weekend, because he was neither liked nor respected in Latin America.

Cuban Parliament Speaker Ricardo Alarcon has called on the US government to release five Cuban men serving long prison terms on espionage conspiracy charges after a US federal appeals court threw out their convictions and sentences.