Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez met for more than four hours with Fidel Castro and state media today published two new official photos of the men together, but provided no new details about the ailing Cuban leader’s health.

On his 80th birthday, Fidel Castro cautioned Cubans he faced a long recovery from surgery and advised them to prepare for “adverse news”, but urged them to stay optimistic, while a newspaper published the first photographs of the Cuban leader since his illness.

Communist officials have rallied hundreds in outdoor meetings to publicly declare their support for ailing leader Fidel Castro to reassure Cubans’ worried about their long-ruling leader.

Cuba’s vice president said yesterday Fidel Castro would return to work in a few weeks after intestinal surgery that forced him to hand over power temporarily to his younger brother.

Cuba’s communist leadership launched a campaign today emphasising Raul Castro’s revolutionary roots and loyalty to his older brother, an attempt to reassure Cubans that the revolution would continue while Fidel Castro recovers from surgery.