Castro lashes out at US as he turns 90

Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro revived old enmities with the United States as he celebrated his 90th birthday yesterday, skewering Havana's Cold War foe for its repeated attempts on his life.

Castro, who retired from public life in 2006 due to ill health and appointed his brother Raul in his place, criticized US President Barack Obama for failing to explicitly apologize during his historic visit to Japan in May for Washington's decision to drop the atomic bomb.

"That's why you have to stress the need to preserve peace and that no power has the right to kill millions of people," Castro said in an article published by official media.

According to Cuban intelligence services, Castro faced 634 plots between 1958 and 2000. Several of those have been substantiated by US officials; some reportedly involved slipping poisoned or explosive cigars to the cigar-loving Cuban leader.

Castro's brother Raul restored diplomatic relations with Washington last year.

Castro warned in his article about the risks of global overpopulation, calling it "the greatest threat in the history of mankind." He singled out China and Russia as "great powers that cannot be subjected to threats of deploying nuclear weapons."