Peres cancels appointments after coming down with flu

By GREER FAY CASHMAN
Despite his usual good health, President Shimon Peres succumbed to a mild flu this week, and on Tuesday evening he cancelled an appearance at a gala dinner in Tel Aviv where he had been scheduled to address Israel's community of honorary consuls. Doctors told the 84-year-old president to stay home and rest. "This is a man who doesn't like to rest, even when he is sick," pointed out his spokeswoman, Ayelet Frisch. Still, on Wednesday he cancelled a series of ceremonies in which he was to receive the credentials of four new ambassadors, as well as a meeting with Romania's foreign minister. But on Wednesday evening, he rallied slightly to briefly address a delegation of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations. The event was closed to the media, even though it was initially listed as open, since Peres was still too frail to be surrounded by that many people, according to Beit Hanassi. The "reduced format" of the address precluded Peres having to face questions about the State Comptroller's Office's urge to audit Beit Hanassi. AP contributed to this report.