in 2006 Cuban leader Fidel Castro came close to death , according to the latest secret US diplomatic cables published by the site Wikileaks.
Castro almost died after suffering a perforated intestine during an internal flight, unnamed sources told US diplomats in Havana.
The illness led Castro to hand power to his brother Raul, although he has since returned to public life.
In Cuba the 84-year-old's health is considered a state secret
The Wikileaks cables, published by the Spanish newspaper El Pais, reveal the intense efforts made by US diplomats in Havana to find out the nature of Fidel Castro's illness and his chances of recovery.
The names of the sources of information reported in the cables have been redacted by Wikileaks, but some apparently knew people who were close to the Cuban leader, or had access to his medical records.
The details of what they say cannot be independently verified.
One cable, sent in March 2007 by the then-head of the US interests section in Havana, Michael Parmly, quotes a report by an unnamed doctor on the moment Mr Castro fell seriously ill in July 2006.
"He will progressively lose his faculties and become ever more debilitated until he dies”
"The illness began on the plane from Holguin to Havana," reports the cable.
As it was a short flight there was no doctor on board and they had to land urgently once they knew of Mr Castro's bleeding. He was diagnosed with diverticulitis of the colon.
The source said Mr Castro had a perforation of the large intestine and needed surgery.
But it says he "capriciously" refused to have a colostomy, with the result that his condition deteriorated over time and he required further surgery.
"This illness is not curable and will not, in her opinion, allow him to return to leading Cuba," the report concludes.
"He won't die immediately, but he will progressively lose his faculties and become ever more debilitated until he dies."
DefianceFurther leaked cables quote other sources as saying Mr Castro was terminally ill, and examine statements by his medical team and reports of specialist drugs being brought into Cuba.
But the reports of his imminent death have proved to be exaggerated.
Castro has since made an apparent recovery and earlier this year returned to making speeches and appearing in public, though he has not taken back the reins of power from his brother Raul.
The former Cuban leader recently praised Wikileaks and its founder, Julian Assange, saying the leaks of thousands of diplomatic cables had brought the US "morally, to its knees".
"Julian Assange, a man who a few months ago hardly anyone in the world had heard of, is showing that the most powerful empire in history can be defied," he wrote in an article published by Cuban state media.
The US government and its intelligence agencies have been staunch enemies of Mr Castro and the communist government in Cuba for more than half a century.
So far, all their predictions of the imminent demise of communist party rule on the island have proved false.
An armed bandit has escaped on a motorbike after stealing, at least $1.5 million from the casino Bellagio resort in Las Vegas - something normally only in the Hollywood movies.
The thief took chips from the Bellagio resort and he may have carried out a similar raid elsewhere, less than a week ago.
But he may not have thought his plan through, as Rajesh Mirchandani reports. The $1,5 million was in casino chips that are only used in the same casino so the authorities are looking for someone that try to pass as a big winner in the Bellagio Hotel Casino.
What do you Think does he have a real plan as in the Hollywood movies?, or was only a bad robber's desicion?
The founder of whistle-blowing website Wikileaks, Julian Assange, has been granted bail in London on conditions including cash guarantees of £240,000.
But he will remain in prison pending an appeal against the bail decision lodged by Swedish prosecutors.
Mr Assange is fighting extradition to Sweden, where he is accused of sexually assaulting two women earlier this year.
He denies the charges, which he says are politically motivated and designed to discredit him.
His lawyer Mark Stephens said the case was turning into a "show trial".
A large crowd including demonstrators, reporters and a number of Mr Assange's high-profile supporters gathered outside City of Westminster Magistrates' Court for the bail hearing on Tuesday.
Journalists inside the court were given permission by the judge to report on proceedings live via micro-blogging website Twitter.
Mr Assange was granted bail on condition he provides a security of £200,000 to the court, with a further £40,000 guaranteed in two sureties of £20,000 each.
He must also surrender his passport, obey a curfew at an address in Suffolk, wear an electronic tag and report to a local police station every evening.
Mr Stephens said the court would hear the challenge to the bail decision within the next 48 hours.
Speaking outside court, he said: "The Swedes won't abide by the umpire's decision. They want to put Mr Assange through yet more trouble, more expense, more hurdles.
"They clearly will not spare any expense but to keep Mr Assange in jail."
'No access'
Mrs Assange also read a statement from him, which she had copied down when he spoke to her from Wandsworth Prison. In it, he defended the actions of Wikileaks, adding: "My convictions are unfaltering."
Mr Stephens said his client had not been given any of his post - including letters relating to legal letters - since being remanded in custody.
"He has absolutely no access to any electronic equipment, no access to the outside world, no access to outside media," he said.
The lawyer said the only correspondence his client had received was a note telling him that a copy of Time magazine sent to him had been destroyed because the cover bore his photograph.
In recent weeks, Wikileaks has published a series of US diplomatic cables revealing secret information on topics such as terrorism and international relations.
The latest release, published by the Guardian newspaper, shows that the US had concerns after the 7 July bombings that the UK was not doing enough to tackle home-grown extremists.
Another cable claims British police helped "develop" evidence against Madeleine McCann's parents after she went missing.
