Cuban leader Fidel Castro appeared in a video broadcast on state television late on Tuesday — the first images released of the convalescing former president since January.

Castro, appearing with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and Cuban President Raul Castro, looked thin but animated.

In the video Fidel Castro talks to Chavez and his brother Raul, as well as his private secretary Carlos Valenciaga, though Castro's words could not be heard.

Fidel Castro has not been seen in public since he fell ill in July 2006. He resigned as president in February, relinquishing the post to his brother Raul.

The leader of the Cuban revolution was last seen in video and pictures when Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva visited on 16 January.

AFP