Cuba?s Communist daily released new photographs of ailing leader Fidel Castro yesterday, showing him in bed during a visit with his brother Raul and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on his 80th birthday.

The official Granma newspaper published six pictures of Sunday?s visit on its online edition, a day after the Communist Youth newspaper Juventud Rebelde published the first images of Castro seen since it was announced two weeks ago that he was undergoing intestinal surgery and temporarily ceding power to Raul. In the new pictures, Castro is in bed, wearing what looks like a red sweatshirt. In a seventh photograph, Raul Castro is shown embracing Chavez when he arrived in Havana on Sunday afternoon ? his debut appearance as the communist island?s acting president. ?Three Hours of Emotional Exchange,? Granma said of the afternoon visit by Chavez, who is Castro?s closest friend and political ally in Latin America.

Chavez gave Castro a dagger and a coffee cup that had belonged to South American independence fighter Simon Bolivar, Venezuela?s state news service ABN said. In the photos published Sunday, Castro looks a bit tired, but is sitting up straight, his eyes alert. He also had sobering words for Cubans, warning he faced a long recovery. ?To affirm that the recovery period will take a short time and that there is no risk would be absolutely incorrect,? Castro said in statement published by the newspaper. ?I ask you all to be optimistic, and at the same time to be ready to face any adverse news.? Granma had offered a rosier picture of Castro?s condition on Saturday, saying he was walking and talking again, and even working a bit.

Two of the pictures show Castro talking on the phone, wearing a red, white and blue Adidas warm-up jacket ? the colors of the Cuban flag. In another image he?s shown holding up a special birthday supplement included in the Saturday edition of the state newspaper.