For the first time since its establishment in 2002, Gamal Mubarak missed a scheduled meeting of the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP)'s influential Policies Secretariat. The younger Mubarak is currently accompanying his father, President Hosni Mubarak, who is in Germany for medical treatment. Half of the secretariat's 700 members reportedly skipped the meeting in light of Gamal Mubarak's absence. NDP Secretary-General Safwat el-Sherif was forced to wait more than 45 minutes for the arrival of Finance Minister Youssef Boutros-Ghali before he could officially commence the meeting. All government ministers skipped the meeting, with the exception of Ahmed Darwish and Moushira Khattab, both of whom left early. Most other attendees departed as soon as the meeting wrapped up. Notably, hardly any security measures were taken for the meeting, during which participants' mobile phones rang continuously. Translated from the Arabic Edition.
