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Empresas y finanzas

Zambian president rushed to hospital in Egypt


    By Cynthia Johnston

    SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt (Reuters) - Zambia's President LevyMwanawasa was rushed to hospital in the Egyptian resort ofSharm el-Sheikh on Sunday after a health emergency, Egyptianhealth sources and state media said.

    Mwanawasa, 59, in Egypt to attend the African Union summit,had experienced sharp chest pains but was in a stablecondition, said Saeed Eissa, ambulance director for thesouthern Sinai peninsula.

    Another Egyptian health source said Mwanawasa appeared tohave suffered a heart problem and a third mentioned high bloodpressure. Egypt's state news agency MENA said that Mwanawasahad a "sudden health problem".

    The African summit, due to begin on Monday, is expected tofocus largely on the post-election crisis in Zimbabwe.President Robert Mugabe was sworn in on Sunday for a new termafter a one-candidate election on Friday which observers saidwas scarred by violence and intimidation.

    Mwanawasa, the current chairman of the Southern AfricanDevelopment Community, expressed understanding for Zimbabweanopposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai when he pulled out of thepresidential poll a week ago.

    "Elections held in such an environment will not only beundemocratic but will also bring embarrassment to the SADCregion and the entire continent of Africa," the Zambian leadersaid then.

    MENA reported that Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed AboulGheit was monitoring Mwanawasa's treatment in Sharm el-Sheikh,and that President Hosni Mubarak had visited him in hospital.

    Mwanawasa was expected to be flown to Cairo, where bettermedical care is available, overnight or on Monday, Egyptianhealth sources said.

    MENA said Mwanawasa had fallen ill during a session of theNew Partnership for African Development (NEPAD), aimed atreducing poverty and promoting good governance.

    Mwanawasa has become a favourite of the InternationalMonetary Fund and other Western donors, who have extendedbillions of dollars in debt relief in the wake of his crackdownon government spending and launch of an anti-graft drive.

    He became Zambia's vice president in 1991 after FrederickChiluba ousted founding President Kenneth Kaunda in landmarkmultiparty elections. Mwanawasa won the presidency in 2001.

    (Additional reporting by Yusri Mohamed and Opheera McDoom;writing by Cynthia Johnston; editing by Andrew Roche)