Cuba's Castro appears in first interview in 10 months

HAVANA (AFP) - Cuban leader Fidel Castro appeared Monday in his first television interview in 10 months of a long convalescence from intestinal surgeries, describing his meeting with a top Vietnamese official.

Cuban television showed a clip of Castro, 80, describing his impressions of the president of the Vietnamese Communist Party, Nong Duc Manh.

"He is very intelligent, with solid experience, a lot of energy," Castro said.

"He came to work, to visit places of interest, which is to say, a truly working visit," he said, appearing animated, according to the brief images transmitted over official television.

The full interview is to be aired on Tuesday.

The moderator of the interview show, Round Table, Randy Alonso, introduced Castro.

Cuban television showed clips of the nearly two-hour interview with Castro, who has not appeared in public since July 31 when he handed power to his brother, Raul Castro, to undergo surgery.

He has been seen in video images from his hospital bed, most often in the company of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

Full-length shots of the two leaders show Castro standing and giving the Vietnamese leader a hug.

Castro told Manh of his "admiration for the heroic Vietnamese people and their advances in the economy, education and healthcare."