Egyptian President Mubarak cancels US trip

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Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has cancelled a trip to Washington due to the death of his 12-year-old grandson, the White House says.

Muhammad Mubarak, 12, died on Monday in a hospital in Paris and was buried on Tuesday in Cairo. The cause of death was not publically released.

President Mubarak was due to visit his US counterpart Barack Obama for talks next Tuesday.

Muhammad was the president's eldest grandchild, son of Alaa Mubarak.

The BBC's Christian Fraser in Cairo says the 12-year-old boy was thought to have had an existing health condition. He was known to be very close to his grandfather.

<a class="inlineText" href="/1/hi/world/middle_east/6045958.stm">Hosni Mubarak,</a> 81, is thought to be grooming his younger son, Gamal, to succeed him as Egypt's head of state.