HAVANA - Cuban leader Fidel Castro will likely never fully recover from the illness that prompted him to hand over authority to his brother Raul, a U.S. official says.

The intelligence official added that Castro is, however, showing signs of becoming more active in the day-to-day operations on the communist island, The Miami Herald reported Wednesday.

Over the weekend, Cuba's state-run newspaper, Granma, ran several photos of Castro holding meetings with visiting Chinese officials.

Though still frail looking, the 80-year-old Cuban president appeared in better health than in previous photos.

Castro turned over power to his younger brother in late July after announcing he was suffering from a gastro-intestinal illness.

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