PARIS, Nov. 9 (Xinhuanet) -- Yasser Arafat is still alive and his brain, heart and lungs are still functioning while the possibilityof euthanasia has been ruled out, Palestinian Foreign Minister Nabil Shaath said here on Tuesday.

    "His brain, his heart and his lungs are still functioning and he is alive,"Shaath told a news conference.

    "We don't have a full understanding of why his state has deteriorated, which means we don't have a full diagnosis," Shaath said.

    "I want to rule out any question of euthanasia, " said the Palestinian foreign minister.

    He added that Arafat's long confinement in Ramallah by Israeli forces contributed to his deterioration.

    Arafat, 75, is in a deep coma at a French military hospital outside Paris. Enditem