Rice Honored for
Helping Bulgarian HIV Nurses

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice received Bulgaria's highest honor for urging the Libyan government to release five Bulgarian HIV medics from one of its jails, Reuters reported on Wednesday. The Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor were sentenced to death for allegedly infecting over 400 Libyan children with HIV. The group was released from jail last year after the European Union forged a deal with the Libyan government.

The Stara Planina medal, created during the Communist era, has in the past been awarded to foreign leaders such as Saddam Hussein and Romanian Communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu, according to the report. Last year, French president Nicolas Sarkozy and his ex-wife, Cecilia, were awarded the medal for their involvement in the same case. Bulgarian president Georgi Parvanov presented Rice with the award.

"I am glad that they are home safe," Rice said at the ceremony. "It was indeed a terrible ordeal, one that I am very glad has ended." (The Advocate)