US President George W. Bush said yesterday it was a high priority for the US to secure the release of five Bulgarian nurses sentenced to death in Libya for infecting children with HIV.
"We strongly support the release of the Bulgarian nurses in Libya," Bush said in Sofia, where he was wrapping up his eight-day European tour.
"It's a high priority for our country," Bush said. "Our hearts also go out to the children that have been infected by HIV and AIDS."
The five nurses and a Palestinian doctor were convicted in December of deliberately infecting 426 children with HIV in a highly politicized trial that has hampered attempts by OPEC member Libya to restore full relations in the West.
On Sunday, Saif al-Islam, the son of Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi, indicated that efforts to free the six foreign medics -- jailed since 1999 -- may be nearing conclusion after a "positive" initiative from the EU.
The medics say they are innocent and were tortured to make them confess.
On Sunday, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier -- whose country holds the EU's rotating presidency -- traveled to Libya to try to win their release.
"The German EU presidency and the European Commission are striving to exert the necessary influence on Libya so that the individuals in question are released as soon as possible," the German government said yesterday in a statement.
Bush's European journey was marked by underlying tensions between the US and Russia over missile defense systems, Kosovo and democracy.
Bush, while continuing to call Russian President Vladimir Putin a "friend," in a speech in Prague criticized Russia for backsliding on democracy.
Bush yesterday reaffirmed a demand for Kosovo to be given independence but said Serbia could get membership of NATO and better relations with the West if it agreed.
"As we seek independence for Kosovo, we have also got to make it clear to Serbia that there is a way forward, maybe in NATO maybe in the EU and definitely in better relations with the United States," Bush said after talks with Bulgarian leaders.
Bush said yesterday said he hoped that a plan for US and Russian experts to analyse each other's proposal for a missile defense shield would be beneficial.
"There's a process where we can collaborate, share information in a very transparent way which I think will be beneficial," for designing systems that "protect us all," Bush said.
DISASTER: The Bangladesh Meteorological Department recorded a magnitude 5.7 and tremors reached as far as Kolkata, India, more than 300km away from the epicenter A powerful earthquake struck Bangladesh yesterday outside the crowded capital, Dhaka, killing at least five people and injuring about a hundred, the government said. The magnitude 5.5 quake struck at 10:38am near Narsingdi, Bangladesh, about 33km from Dhaka, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said. The earthquake sparked fear and chaos with many in the Muslim-majority nation of 170 million people at home on their day off. AFP reporters in Dhaka said they saw people weeping in the streets while others appeared shocked. Bangladesh Interim Leader Muhammad Yunus expressed his “deep shock and sorrow over the news of casualties in various districts.” At least five people,
ON THE LAM: The Brazilian Supreme Court said that the former president tried to burn his ankle monitor off as part of an attempt to orchestrate his escape from Brazil Former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro — under house arrest while he appeals a conviction for a foiled coup attempt — was taken into custody on Saturday after the Brazilian Supreme Court deemed him a high flight risk. The court said the far-right firebrand — who was sentenced to 27 years in prison over a scheme to stop Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva from taking office after the 2022 elections — had attempted to disable his ankle monitor to flee. Supreme Court judge Alexandre de Moraes said Bolsonaro’s detention was a preventive measure as final appeals play out. In a video made
It is one of the world’s most famous unsolved codes whose answer could sell for a fortune — but two US friends say they have already found the secret hidden by Kryptos. The S-shaped copper sculpture has baffled cryptography enthusiasts since its 1990 installation on the grounds of the CIA headquarters in Virginia, with three of its four messages deciphered so far. Yet K4, the final passage, has kept codebreakers scratching their heads. Sculptor Jim Sanborn, 80, has been so overwhelmed by guesses that he started charging US$50 for each response. Sanborn in August announced he would auction the 97-character solution to K4
SHOW OF FORCE: The US has held nine multilateral drills near Guam in the past four months, which Australia said was important to deter coercion in the region Five Chinese research vessels, including ships used for space and missile tracking and underwater mapping, were active in the northwest Pacific last month, as the US stepped up military exercises, data compiled by a Guam-based group shows. Rapid militarization in the northern Pacific gets insufficient attention, the Pacific Center for Island Security said, adding that it makes island populations a potential target in any great-power conflict. “If you look at the number of US and bilateral and multilateral exercises, there is a lot of activity,” Leland Bettis, the director of the group that seeks to flag regional security risks, said in an
RSS