Egypt's former foreign minister dies

Egypt's former foreign minister Ahmed Maher died Monday at the age of 75, after suffering from heart problems for several years. Maher, a member of Egypt's National Council for Human Rights, has served as an ambassador in Moscow and Washington in the 1990s.
In 2001, the veteran diplomat became a foreign minister replacing Amr Moussa, who left the top diplomatic post to be the 22-nation Arab League Secretary General. His term ended in 2004, and was succeeded by the current Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul-Gheit. Maher's efforts as a minister were overshadowed in 2003, when Palestinian protestors threw shoes at him when he was entering Al-Aqsa Mosque, as they accused Egypt of treason for negotiating with Israel.