CUBA: State television has shown a video of Fidel Castro meeting Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez - the first images of the ailing leader shown in three months.

The 10-minute clip was reportedly taped on Monday in a private meeting.

Castro, who was standing, looked alert and heavier than in previous images. The film was said to have been shot during Chavez's visit to Havana.

"This is far from being a lost battle," Castro, 80, said of his current health problems.

The broadcast came six months after Castro's July announcement that he had undergone intestinal surgery and was provisionally ceding power to his younger brother Raul.

The new images seem to be aimed at knocking down recent rumours about Castro's health, including a report in a Spanish newspaper earlier this month that said he was in a "very grave" condition.