Ousted Egyptian President Mubarak Reportedly Has Stomach Cancer

AFP/Getty Images(CAIRO) -- Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is suffering from a variety of health issues that might include stomach cancer, his attorney said Monday.

Mubarak, who resigned following a three-week uprising earlier this year, has been charged with ordering the killing of protesters.

It's estimated that 846 people died at the hands of government forces trying to keep Mubarak in power.  He and others were charged with committing "premeditated murder, along with attempted murder of those who participated in the peaceful protests around Egypt."

If convicted, the 83-year-old Mubarak could be sentenced to death.

However, there are doubts whether Mubarak will be well enough to attend the trial scheduled for Aug. 3, given that he's been treated in April for heart problems at the Red Sea resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh.

Now, his defense lawyer says that there is "evidence suggesting" that Mubarak has stomach cancer, revealing that the ousted leader had his gall bladder and part of his pancreas removed in Germany last year.

A request to have a German physician examine Mubarak has not yet been approved by the military council that took over running Egypt in February.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

Prince William Marks 29th Birthday Quietly

Ben Stansall - WPA Pool/Getty Images(LONDON) -- So long to the carefree birthday celebrations of his youth and bachelor days. Just-married Prince William is marking the final birthday of his 20s on Tuesday at work.

William, a helicopter search and rescue pilot in the Royal Air Force, will remain on duty at a base in Anglesey, an island off the coast of Wales, and may even be pulling a 24-hour shift, palace officials confirmed.

"William has got to work on his birthday," Duncan Larcombe, royal correspondent for the UK's Daily Sun newspaper, told ABC's Good Morning America. The prince, he added, would have endured media and professional glare had he taken a birthday vacation.

"For an ordinary Royal Air Force pilot, it would be horrible if he was given the day off," he said.

A quiet day, away from the media spotlight may be just what the prince himself wanted for his 29th birthday, coming on the heels of what has been a whirlwind year for the royal.

"We see how William wants to start out," said Larcombe. "He will be a full-time, working royal."

The son of Prince Charles and the late Princess Diana was married to the former Kate Middleton at London's Westminster Abbey on April 29 in a fairy tale wedding that was watched by billions around the globe.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

Clinton Raises Women Drivers Ban with Saudi Prince; Still No Public Support

State Department photo(WASHINGTON) -- A growing number of Saudi women are defying the ultra-conservative country’s ban on women drivers by taking to the wheel in broad daylight. But despite their bravery, one of the world’s foremost advocates for women’s rights, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, has been notably silent on the matter -- at least in public.
 
The State Department said Monday that Clinton raised the issue during a call with Saudi Prince Saud on Friday that also touched on the instability in Yemen and Syria.
 
But why not express her support in public for the budding grassroots movement?
 
State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland told reporters Monday that Clinton’s outreach, and that of other U.S. officials, is part of a “quiet diplomacy” being employed to pressure the Saudis on the matter.
 
“I don't think that the -- anybody can question the secretary's commitment to universal human rights for women,” she said when asked why Clinton hasn’t said anything yet.
 
“I think she is making a judgment on how best to support universal human rights for women. There are times when it makes sense to do so publicly, and there are times for quiet diplomacy,” Nuland added, hinting at the delicate relationship with Saudi Arabia, a strategic U.S. ally in a volatile region.
 
Nuland refused to reveal the Saudi reaction to the call.
 
“I'm not in a position to characterize how she felt about the phone call, other than to tell you that the issue did come up,” she said.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

Michelle Obama Arrives in South Africa

MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images(GAUTENG, South Africa) -- The first lady has arrived in Pretoria for a weeklong trip in South Africa and Botswana focused on youth leadership, education and the political and cultural heritages of the two countries.
 
Mrs. Obama, dressed in a bright orange-and-black Duro Olowu sweater, a designer of African descent, was greeted at the Waterkloof Air Force base in Pretoria by U.S. Ambassador Donald Gips and his family and the South African Chief of Protocol Grace Mason, according to media.
 
First daughters Sasha and Malia are accompanying their mother on the trip, along with the first lady’s mother, Marian Robinson, and her niece and nephew, Leslie and Avery Robinson. Upon their arrival, the Obama daughters were given South African blankets in the colors of the nation’s flag as a gift, a welcomed accessory in the chilly 51-degree weather.
 
This is the first lady’s fourth trip to the continent of Africa and her first to South Africa. Tuesday, Mrs. Obama will meet with the first lady of South Africa, Nompumelelo Ntuli-Zuma, at the official residence of the president, before attending a reception with South African leaders organized by the U.S. Embassy. In the afternoon, the first lady and her family will spend time with Nelson Mandela’s wife, Graca Machel, who will give them a tour of the Nelson Mandela Foundation in Johannesburg. Later, they will also visit the Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg.
 
The trip, which is the first lady’s second solo official visit, is a continuation of her work to engage young people and encourage them to excel academically and serve their communities, a message she has shared on previous trips to Brazil, Chile, El Salvador, India, Mexico and the UK.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

Acting ATF Chief Faces Pressure to Resign over Botched Gun Operation

www[dot]ATF[dot]gov(WASHINGTON) -- Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Acting Director Kenneth Melson is facing pressure to resign over a poorly run gun-trafficking operation blamed for putting weapons in the hands of a border agent's killers.

One of the three ATF agents who blew the whistle on the program, dubbed "Fast and Furious," told a congressional committee hearing last week that rather than shutting down the illegal gun trade to drug cartels, the operation helped arm them.

"ATF is supposed to be the sheepdog that protects against the wolves that prey upon our southern border," ATF Agent John Dodson said. "Rather than meet the wolf head-on, we sharpened its teeth and added number to its claws, all the while we sat idly by -- watching, tracking and noting as it became a more efficient killer."

Under "Fast and Furious," ATF agents recorded and tracked straw purchases of weapons and allowed the guns to "walk" across the U.S. border into Mexico in an effort to locate major weapons traffickers, rather than catching the low-level buyers.

The operation took a tragic toll when two weapons found on the scene where Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry was murdered were linked to the ATF program.

Melson has been acting director of ATF since April 2009.

Reports that Melson may be forced to resign were first reported Monday by The Wall Street Journal.

The ATF agents testified they had serious reservations about orders not to arrest known straw purchasers -- even though the guns were going to drug cartels -- and to stop monitoring individuals who had illegally purchased high-powered rifles including AK-47s and .50 caliber rifles. Heavily armed drug cartels have been blamed for the killings of more than 34,000 people in Mexico since 2006.

In November 2010, President Obama nominated Andrew Traver, the agent in charge of the ATF's Chicago office, to head the ATF, but the nomination has been held up in the Senate after the National Rifle Association spoke out against him.

The ATF has been without a confirmed director since 2006 due to political opposition and pressure from gun rights group.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

Syrian President Addresses Nation; Blames Violence on 'Saboteurs'

Sasha Mordovets/Getty Images(DAMASCUS, Syria) -- As security forces continue a brutal crackdown on protesters in Syria, the country's president addressed the nation Monday, pinning the violence on outside forces who are conspiring against the government.

Speaking on Syrian state TV, Bashar al-Assad blamed the violence in his country on "saboteurs" who are trying to take advantage of the demands for reform.

"What is happening today has nothing to do with reform, it has to do with vandalism," Assad said, according to the BBC.  "There can be no development without stability, and no reform through vandalism.  The demands of the street do not justify inflicting damage on the country."

The Syrian president showed regret for those who have died in protest, the BBC said.  Human rights groups estimate that at least 1,300 civilians have been killed in the country since demonstrations began in March.

Assad added that a national dialogue authority was being established to develop a reform plan, which he believes will be ready by September.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

China: More Rain Forecast After Dozens Killed, More Displaced

STR / Getty Images(BEIJING) -- It will be several days before parts of China get relief from the rain and flooding that has killed at least 175 people and forced thousands more to evacuate their homes.

Wet weather is expected for Suchuan, Shaanxi, Gansu, Henan and Shandong, according to the National Meteorological Center.

The Ministry of Civil Affairs estimates that the direct economic losses amount to at least $4.9 billion, or 32.02 billion yuan.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

Medvedev Rules Out Run Against Putin

DMITRY ASTAKHOV / Getty Images(MOSCOW) -- Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev has said he wants to run for a second tern, however has made it clear that he and Vladimir Putin wouldn't run against each other.

Medvedev revealed his feelings about next year's presidential elections in a Financial Times interview released Monday.

Medvedev says he will wait until later this year to decide if he will make a another run at the presidency. Putin has said the same.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

French Embassy Convoy Attacked in Iraq

Antenna Audio, Inc./Getty Images(BAGHDAD) -- A French Embassy convoy was hit by an improvised explosive device Monday morning while traveling through Baghdad, according to Iraqi police.

Four security guards assigned to protect the embassy officials were wounded in the blast.  Three Iraqi civilians were also injured by the roadside bomb.

No French Embassy officials were in the convoy at the time of the attack.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

NATO Says Errant Airstrike May Have Killed Civilians in Libya

U.S. State Department(TRIPOLI, Libya) -- NATO acknowledged late Sunday that one of its airstrikes in the Libyan capital of Tripoli may have killed civilians earlier in the day due to a "weapons system failure."

Libyan Foreign Minister Abdul-Ati al-Obeidi told reporters that nine civilians, including two children, were killed when NATO warplanes struck a residential village.  Libyan officials rushed Tripoli-based reporters to the scene of the building that was hit early in the morning, and escorted them back during the day.

Children's toys, teacups and dust-covered mattresses could be seen amid the rubble, as well as the bodies of at least four people said to have been killed in the strike.

"After [seeing the destroyed building], we were taken to Tripoli's central hospital," said BBC reporter Jeremy Bowen.  "A husband and wife and a baby, all dead, were in the mortuary.  Medical staff said they were killed in the attack.  Another dead baby was brought in.  Doctors were working on a man with a bad wound on his arm."

"Libyan officials said there were other casualties," Bowen said.  "The government spokesman said the attack had planted seeds of hatred."

The Libyan foreign minister called the bombing "deliberate" and said it should be "a direct call for all free peoples of the world and for all Muslims to initiate a global jihad against the oppressive, criminal West and never to allow such criminal organizations as NATO to decide the future of other independent and sovereign nations."

"NATO confirms that it was operating in Tripoli last night, conducting airstrikes against a legitimate military target," Wing Commander Mike Bracken said in a statement.  "NATO deeply regrets any civilian loss of life during this operation and would be very sorry if the review of this incident concluded it to be a NATO weapon."

NATO has repeatedly insisted it tries to avoid killing civilians.

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