New photos show Castro in good health on 83rd birthday

New photographs of former Cuban leader Fidel Castro have been released in Cuba showing him in what appears to be good health.

HAVANA, August 14 (RIA Novosti) - New photographs of former Cuban leader Fidel Castro have been released in Cuba showing him in what appears to be good health.

An exhibit of 83 photos opened in Havana to mark the leader of the Cuban Revolution's 83rd birthday on Thursday. The main photo is a one-meter high print of a picture taken one and a half months ago by Castro's 46-year-old son, Alex. The photo shows Castro carrying a little extra weight and smiling.

In 2006, Castro underwent intestinal surgery and ceded power to his younger brother, Raul, who officially became president in February 2008. Since then, Castro has rarely been seen in public.

Fidel also released a CD of a collection of his articles from the CubaDebate website. Castro's column reflects his thoughts on global political events and is usually full of praise for his allies, but critical of U.S. leaders.