BBC Monitoring

Text of report in English by Egyptian news agency MENA

Cairo, 3 September: The Higher Council of Journalism bureau Monday [3 September] entrusted the council's committee on preparing reports on the conduct of the press with drafting a technical and specialised report on the latest rumours on the health of President Husni Mubarak.

The drafters of this report include experts and academics.

The committee held a meeting Sunday - the first in a series - to examine the way the national and partisan press were performing lately.

The committee is to finalise a report within the coming two days on the press's handling of the latest rumours that have had quite influence and were propagated directly or indirectly.

The committee groups a number of experts in the journalism field and is chaired by the former dean of the Faculty of Mass Communications, Dr Faruq Abu-Zayd.

The report, once completed, will be referred to the Higher Council of Journalism under Safwat al-Sharif.

The bureau also decide! d to form a legal committee to follow up the report prepared by the technical committee, and to decide on the legal measures needed to confront the matter that concerns the nation's stability, public interest and to raise the results to the council's bureau in its meeting on Sunday.

Rumours were rife lately on the ill health of President Husni Mubarak, which have been categorically refuted by the president's appearance at several public functions.

Source: MENA news agency, Cairo, in English 1359 gmt 3 Sep 07