Castro appears fitter in TV appearance

Cuba’s Fidel Castro has appeared on TV, looking more healthy than he did on his last appearance four months ago.

The 80-year-old met the General Secretary of the Vietnamese Communist Party Nong Duc Manh in Havana.

His animated exchanges added weight to reports that he has put his health crisis behind him.

Observers point out that he appeared healthier and more alert than in January, when he was pictured on TV with the Venezuelan president.

Castro has not appeared in public since he underwent emergency abdominal surgery ten months ago, though he has started writing regular columns on world affairs while convalescing.

His life-threatening condition forced him to hand over the reins to his 76 year old brother, Raul, for the first time since he came to power in a revolution in 1959.

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