<p><br /> New photographs of a smiling, tracksuit-clad Fidel Castro greeting workers at a scientific think tank have been posted on the internet.<br /> </p><p><br /> The images, which appear on the blogs of two Cuban journalists and a Cuban state media website, offer a rare glimpse into the life of the reclusive revolutionary leader.<br /> </p><p><br /> The 83-year-old former Cuban leader appears slightly stooped but otherwise healthy in the pictures, which were said to have been taken on Wednesday during a visit to the National Centre for Scientific Investigation in Havana.<br /> </p><p><br /> One set of four photos appeared on the blogs of two official Cuban journalists and apparently were taken with a worker's mobile phone.<br /> </p><p><br /> More images from the same event were posted later in the day on Cubadebate, a state-run media website.<br /> </p><p><br /> The photos were provided by a Cuban worker, who said Castro stopped, said hello and blew kisses to the employees.<br /> </p><p><br /> "They didn't let us get close to him, but when he left, there were too many people standing around and I was standing just three metres from him," the worker said.<br /> </p><p><br /> Cuban media are strictly controlled by the government, and the fact the photos appeared on blogs of two official journalists and later on Cubadebate is significant.<br /> </p><p><br /> Castro had not been photographed in public since falling seriously ill in July 2006. The illness forced him to turn over power to his younger brother Raul, who is 79.<br /> </p><p><br /> Fidel remains head of Cuba's Communist Party and continues to publish his thoughts on world events in frequent opinion pieces.<br /> </p>
