The Egyptian twittersphere has been on fire over rumors that President Hosni Mubarak has passed away in Germany. The frantic re-tweeting and attempts to get further information were in full swing Saturday afternoon after reports that Russian television ran a story saying the Egyptian president was dead."I wonder if Mubarak really has died, maybe they want to delay [the] announcement till we're over Tantawy's death? Lest Tantawy takes spotlight?" wrote one Twitterer concerning the possible death of the president.
It is the question that will surely continue until either confirmation comes from the government or the president is seen in good health.
Rumors have been ongoing for the past three days after local state-run media reported that the aging president had tissue removed in surgery, but that he did not have cancer. They said he had been taken out of the intensive care unit in a German hospital and was in stable condition. It is unclear at this point what the exact situation is in Germany.
"What's interesting, though, is that we've been hearing the same bit of news over Mubarak for 3 days now. Weird, isn't it?" asked another Twitter user.
Despite the online chatter, Egyptian officials have denied that Mubarak has died. This comes only days after Grand Sheikh of al-Azhar Mohamed Sayyid Tantawi died of a heart attack in Saudi Arabia at the age of 82.