Egypt's ex-president sick

Almaty. February 15. Kazakhstan Today - Hosni Mubarak is sick and has fainted on at least one occasion at the Red Sea holiday villa where he has been staying after he stepped down from his post, according to sources close to his entourage, Kazakhstan Today reports.

Hosni Mubarak, whose presence was felt and feared throughout Egypt for 30 years, has fallen quickly and astonishingly out of sight, his exact whereabouts unknown, The Washington Post reported.

The prime minister declared Sunday that Mubarak was here, in a favored southern Sinai resort, and a senior U.S. administration official said the White House also believes that Mubarak is staying in Sharm el-Sheikh.

But the ousted authoritarian leader has remained out of sight. He is widely rumored to be ill. Sameh Shoukry, Egypt's ambassador to the United States, said Monday that he had heard through personal, unofficial channels that Mubarak was "possibly in somewhat of bad health." Shoukry, who was interviewed on the "Today" show, said he did not have enough information to provide any specifics.

Mubarak had been rumored to be ill since gallbladder surgery in Heidelberg in March, and the weekly magazine Der Spiegel reported last week that he would soon be bound for a German clinic.

Egypt's deposed president has previously denied having been treated for cancer. Yesterday locals in Sharm el-Sheikh said they had been told by his police guards that he was largely bedbound and needed help in walking, The Daily Telegraph informed.

The Egyptian daily Masry al-Youm reported that Mr Mubarak, 82, had slipped into a coma. That was denied by a pro-government newspaper, but it said Mr Mubarak was "in a severe psychological condition and is declining treatment, despite his illness".

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