Chavez discusses world, energy crises with Fidel Castro in Havana

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez discussed the world's food, energy and financial crises during a private three-hour meeting with the ailing Fidel Castro, state media reported Tuesday. No details about Castro's state of health were released by the online edition of the Communist Party daily Granma in its report on the Monday afternoon meeting. The newspaper also released no new images of Castro, 81, who has not been seen in public since he fell ill nearly two years ago and was last seen in a photograph in January. Granma said that during the 'animated and affectionate' encounter, the men also discussed the current situation in Venezuela, the strengthening of that country's state petroleum monopoly and regional elections. They also talked about the social missions the two countries participate in and the need to deepen them, the newspaper added.