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Mahathir to skip Davos meeting

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has cancelled a planned visit to Switzerland this week, diplomatic sources said on Sunday.

The 74-year-old leader had been scheduled to attend the annual World Economic Forum meeting in the Swiss resort of Davos from January 27 to February 1 and return home on February 3.

A diplomat told Reuters there was no immediate reason for the change. Government officials denied media reports that Mahathir had fallen off a horse while holidaying in Argentina last week.

The diplomat said Mahathir, now on holiday in the Caribbean, would still go ahead with visits to London and Paris before returning home at the end of this month. Mahathir is to meet French President Jacques Chirac in Paris on January 29.

According to the Davos programme, Mahathir was scheduled to deliver a speech and participate in a dialogue between leaders of Muslim and Western countries.-Reuters