Lusaka, Zambia - Zambia's Information Minister Mike Mulongoti, in an emotional special radio and television broadcast Thursday, said President Levy Mwanawasa was still alive, despite widespread reports he had died in Paris. Appealing to the public to ignore what he called false rumours, Mulongoti said, "We spoke with the people at Mwanawasa's bedside a few minutes ago, including his wife, Maureen, who said president Mwanawasa was still alive and breathing."
Doctors at the military hospital in Paris, where Mwanawasa was transferred from Egypt on Tuesday night after suffering a stroke on Sunday on the eve of an African Union summit, had assured him the president was still alive and receiving treatment, he said.
The nation would be updated at 6 p.m. (1700 GMT) on the president's condition, he said.
Lusaka was abuzz with reports Thursday that Mwanawasa had died. While several senior sources told Deutsche Presse-Agentur
