There is speculation among bloggers and on Twitter about the health of the Tunisian president, Zine el Abidine Ben Ali. The president, who is 73 and won a fifth presidential term in elections last month, abruptly cancelled a visit from the king of Spain which had been scheduled for last Tuesday.

The day before the king was due to arrive, the official Tunisian news agency reported that Ben Ali's doctor had advised him to take "a period of five days' rest after an acute inflammation of the pharynx" (i.e. a sore throat). 

This was followed by rumours that the president has swine flu, allegedly passed on by a relative who caught it in a school.

Yesterday, there were unconfirmed reports on the internet that he was "weakened by a long illness" and had been sent abroad urgently for treatment.

Posted by Brian Whitaker, 29 November 2009.

UPDATE: State media reported that the president returned to duties with several meetings on November 30. On December 1 he appeared at the opening of a conference.