Castro is back

Cuban leader Fidel Castro has given his first interview since emergency surgery forced him to give up power last summer. The interview was taped by a Cuban journalist and broadcast on the government's nightly television programme.

In the interview, the leader appeared stronger, adding credibility to official reports that he has almost fully recovered.

Fidel Castro was forced to hand over power temporarily to his brother Raul Castro last July for the first time since he seized power in a 1959 revolution. Fidel Castro has not been seen in public since last July.