'Mubarak has a clean bill of health'

Egyptian minister denies reports that president is terminally ill.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. AP 311 (photo credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. AP 311
(photo credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Egypt has denied that President Hosni Mubarak's health is failing, Reuters reported on Wednesday.
"The president is in good health and has been given a clean bill of health by his doctors, following his recent gallbladder surgery in Germany," Egyptian Information Minister Anas El Fekky told Reuters.
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El Fekky added: "We obviously understand the interest in this issue given Egypt's geopolitical weight, and the president's role as a force for stability in the Middle East. However, the media reports published on the president's health are based on nothing more than rumor and speculation without any factual basis whatsoever, including a recent report citing anonymous intelligence sources."
The Washington Times had reported on Monday that Western intelligence agencies estimated that the Egyptian president is dying from cancer in his stomach and pancreas. A Central European intelligence officer told the Times that Mubarak would probably die within a year.
Earlier this month, Mubarak was reportedly treated in a hospital in France, and in March his gallbladder was operated on in Germany.