Cuban TV shows a healthier-looking Fidel Castro welcoming Venezuelan students [View All]

Cuban TV shows a healthier-looking Fidel Castro welcoming Venezuelan students
HAVANA August 23, 2009 (AP)

Former Cuban President Fidel Castro appeared on state television on Sunday for the first time since June 2008, meeting with a group of students from Venezuela. The broadcast showed the 83-year-old Castro looking healthier and rested and talking with the students at an undisclosed location on Saturday.

Castro has rarely been shown on Cuban TV since he fell ill three years ago. He ceded power to his brother Raul and has not been seen in public since. Castro formally stepped down as president in February 2008.

In Sunday's broadcast, Fidel Castro told the students the globe faces a grave threat posed by climate change.

"Even the Pentagon has put global warming among the things that threaten the security of the United States," he said.

The students presented Castro with a T-shirt and sang, "We love you, Fidel. We love you." Castro, wearing a blue track suit, tells the students Cuba stands by the leftist Venezuelan government of President Hugo Chavez, a close friend and ally of Castro's.

The last time Castro was shown on Cuban TV was in June 2008 — in meeting with Chavez.

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=8396126