French official
joins effort to release nurses in Libyan AIDS case

French foreign minister Philippe Douste-Blazy on Thursday traveled to Libya, where he will appeal for the release of five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor convicted of deliberately infecting hospitalized children with HIV. Last month Libya's supreme court overturned the death sentences against the six, who have been jailed since 1999, and ordered a retrial. The court's decision came after Bulgaria, the United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Union agreed to set up an international fund to pay compensation to the families of the 426 children, at least 50 of whom have died. France has offered to help improve care for the surviving children. Douste-Blazy plans to meet with Libya's prime minister and foreign minister. (AP)