The body of late Palestinian President Yasser Arafat arrived in Cairo from Paris on Thursday for a military funeral which presidents and other dignitaries from around the world are due to attend. The plane carrying Arafat's coffin landed shortly before 11 p.m. (2100 GMT) in the Egyptian capital, where his funeral is to be held on Friday. Arafat, the symbol of Palestinian aspirations since the 1960s, died early on Thursday in a Paris hospital. After the Cairo ceremonies, his body is due to be flown back to the West Bank town of Ramallah for burial. Officials said his body would be kept in an Egyptian military hospital until funeral ceremonies expected to begin at 11 a.m. (0900 GMT) on Friday. Arab and Muslim heads of state and government, as well as leaders and ministers from around the world, will take part in a military funeral procession expected to start after prayers at a mosque on the edge of Cairo, officials said. Egypt's official Middle East News Agency said traffic would be redirected and the public kept away. A public ceremony is to be held in central Cairo's al-Azhar mosque on Friday. Security sources said that after the funeral, Arafat's body would be flown by plane and helicopter to Ramallah, where he is due to be buried in the compound Israeli forces confined him to for over 2-1/2 years. --SP 0052 Local Time 2152 GMT
