19 November 2003
Mr Hosni Mubarak, Egyptian president, collapsed in parliament while delivering a speech broadcasted live on television in Cairo. After forty-five minutes of medical attention, Mubarak returned to parliament. Parliament deputies applauded him as he continued with his speech. He told the members of parliament that he has not fully recovered from flu. Safwat el Sharif, Mubarak's information minister, informed the media that despite taking his medication Mubarak was observing Ramadan, the Muslim holy month of fasting. The opening of parliament was reschedule due to the president's ill health. The 75-year-old Mubarak succeeded President Anwar Sadat who was assassinated in 1981.    
References

BBC. 2004. 'Key Dates', Focus on Africa, January to March, v. 15 no 1, p. 9.