Castro falls

Santa Clara, Cuba

Cuban leader Fidel Castro tripped as he stepped off a stage after a public appearance last week, slamming to the ground and breaking a kneecap and arm. Panicked aides rushed to his side, and Cuban exiles in the U.S. immediately began buzzing with talk of the 78-year-old communist leader’s demise. Yanisset Rivero, an activist in Miami, said the mishap helped dispel the myth that Castro, who has run the Caribbean island for more than four decades, is “some sort of god.” Castro quickly appeared on state television. “I’m all in one piece,” he said. When asked whether the Bush administration wished Castro a speedy recovery, a State Department spokesman said, “No.”