Castro appears in TV interview

HAVANA: Convalescing Cuban leader Fidel Castro has appeared in a taped television interview, the first images of him since June 5.

Wearing a track suit, Castro, 81, has more shades of grey and appears thinner, although apparently in better health, in his interview with 'Informative Round Table.'

Cuban television said the one-hour interview was taped earlier on Friday.

Castro has not been seen in public since handing power to his brother Raul, the defence chief, on July 31, 2006, while he recovers from surgery. He was last seen in a video broadcast June 5.

The lack of Castro images over the past months triggered wide speculation in the Cuban exile community in Miami that the longtime communist leader was dead.

Castro handed power to his brother Raul, the defence chief, on July 31, 2006, after undergoing gastrointestinal surgery for an undisclosed ailment.

He has not appeared in public since. But since March, he has written a regular column in the official newspaper Granma titled 'Reflections of the Commander in Chief.'

Earlier in the day Castro's top ally and friend, Venezuelan Hugo Chavez, said that Castro had undergone several blood transfusions but could 'live 100 more years.'