Egypt: President in good health


  1. AfricaNews editorial desk
    President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt is recovering steadily after undergoing a gallbladder surgery in Germany 10 days ago
    Hosni Mubarak
    "The recovery is going well. Everything is fine," the hospital spokeswoman said in a Reuters report.

    Mubarak, 81, who has ruled Egypt for almost three decades, had surgery on March 6, treatment that has sparked rumours about the seriousness of his condition and weighed on Egyptian market share prices.

    Mubarak has not said whether he will run again for a sixth six-year term in the 2011 presidential election. Many Egyptians believe that if he does not, he will try to hand power to his politician son, Gamal, 46. Both Mubaraks deny any such plan.

    Egypt's al-Shorouk newspaper said an Egyptian television crew was heading to Germany to film Mubarak. Traders in Egypt had said the market was likely to stay under pressure until the president was seen on television.

    Mubarak, who has never appointed a vice president since he took over in 1981, handed powers temporarily to his prime minister, Ahmed Nazif, before the operation.