Cuban lawmakers to name new head of state

Havana: Cuban lawmakers are set to meet on Sunday to name Cuba's new head of state, just five days after an ailing, 81-year-old Fidel Castro said he would not accept another term as president.

Castro's 76-year-old brother Raul, the defense minister, is Castro's constitutionally designated successor as first Vice President, and is widely expected to be picked as president of the island's ruling Council of State.

Raul has headed Cuba's caretaker government for 19 months, ever since Fidel announced he had undergone emergency intestinal surgery and was provisionally ceding
his powers.