Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has undergone successful surgery at a German clinic for an inflamed gall bladder.
State media say he had the operation after complaining of gall bladder pain while in Germany for talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Prime Minister Ahmad Nazif has reportedly assumed presidential powers until Mr Mubarak returns.
After the surgery, Mr Mubarak, 81, was said to be convalescing in hospital. He is in the intensive care unit of Heidelberg university hospital.
The BBC reports the president underwent back surgery, also in Germany, in 2004, and handed over power temporarily to his prime minister.
In 2003, he collapsed during a televised speech in parliament, apparently from a bout of flu.
Mr Mubarak has been president since 1981.
