South Africa's government, the ruling African National Congress and the state broadcaster came under fire Tuesday for releasing television footage of a frail Nelson Mandela flanked during a visit by political big-wigs. The images aired by public broadcaster SABC on Monday showed an unsmiling Mandela who appeared dazed, seated upright on a couch, with his legs covered in a blanket. He was flanked by smiling ANC leaders including President Jacob Zuma, who said the ailing anti-apartheid icon was doing well and "up and about".

Former president Fidel Castro will be the subject of a new volume of memoirs about his life as a Cuban revolutionary, the country's larger-than-life leader and a longtime nemesis of the United States. In the twilight of his life, the latest tome about Castro will be written by Katiuska Blanco, a former reporter with official newspaper Granma who penned two earlier books about the 86-year-old.

US President Barack Obama's national security advisor on Monday held bruising talks with top Russian officials in Moscow, days after the former foes exchanged Cold War-style blacklists in a row over human rights. White House National Security Advisor Tom Donilon is the highest-ranking American to visit Russia since Obama's inauguration for a second term in January, but his trip coincides with one of the trickiest moments in bilateral relations in recent years.

By Belinda Goldsmith LONDON (Reuters) - British musician Colin Davis, who led orchestras all over the world but was most closely associated with the London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) where he was the longest-serving principal conductor, has died aged 85. Davis, internationally renowned for his interpretations of Mozart, Sibelius and Berlioz, first conducted the LSO in 1959 and became its principal conductor from 1995 to 2006 after a fiery start to his career when he was known for his tantrums.