Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, 82, spoke in a televised speech on Thursday, appearing in good health in his first public address since rumors that the leader in power since 1981 was dying of cancer.
Speaking on the eve of the 58th anniversary of Egypt's "July revolution," days after a US newspaper said he could have less than a year to live, the president had a busy week, meeting heads of states and attending military academy graduations.
"We celebrate today the anniversary of the revolution, remembering in admiration and respect those who led it," he said in a recorded broadcast, appearing healthy but thinner than usual. He vowed to press ahead with economic reform.
"The Egyptian nation, with its faith and determination, can progress and face the challenges and difficulties, as well as achieve its quest for a respectable life and a better tomorrow," added the president.
The Washington Times said on Sunday Mubarak was thought by Western intelligence agencies to be suffering from terminal cancer affecting his stomach and pancreas.
'Rumors and the lies'
Rumors about Mubarak's health have rattled markets in the past because he has no designated successor. He has not picked a vice president, the post he held before taking office.
"Brother and sisters, economic growth and social justice are the goals we must aspire to today and tomorrow," he said. "We have made significant achievements on that front and we will achieve more."
Mubarak called on political parties to offer their "visions and solutions" as Egypt moves toward achieving those two goals.
Authorities have dismissed reports about a deterioration in Mubarak's health as categorically false and stressed that the president had returned to a regular schedule of meetings with visiting officials. On Sunday he met Palestinian and Israeli leaders and other officials.
Mubarak had gallbladder surgery at Germany's Heidelberg University Hospital in March, staying away from Egypt for nearly three weeks, his longest absence while in power.
In an editorial published in the state-run al-Gumhuriyya newspaper, piercing criticism was leveled at the Israeli media's coverage of Mubarak's medical condition. "There has never been an Egyptian president as honest with his people about his medical condition as President Mubarak, but the rumors and the lies continue to haunt him," the article said.
Mubarak has not said whether he will run for a sixth six-year term in a presidential election in 2011. If he does not, his politician son Gamal, 46, is seen as a likely successor. Both Mubarak and his son deny any such plan.
The 1952 revolution was a bloodless coup led by military officers that brought an end to King Farouk's rule and marked the end of direct British influence.