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AIDS: Bush promises help

GABORONE (Botswana) july 10. Visiting a country with the world's highest AIDS infection rate, the U.S. President, George W. Bush, said on Thursday that the disease was ``the deadliest enemy Africa has ever faced'' and promised that the U.S. would help meet the challenge.

``The people of this nation have the courage and resolve to defeat this disease and you will have a partner in the United States of America,'' Mr. Bush told Botswana's President, Festus Mogae, in a toast kicking off a festive luncheon.

``This is the deadliest enemy Africa has ever faced, and you will not face this enemy alone.''

Mr. Bush's brief remarks were greeted with chants of ``Pula! Pula!'' which means ``all good things''.

Mr. Bush came to this country near the southern tip of Africa bearing a $15-billion plan to combat AIDS, and he received a raucous welcome upon his arrival.

Dozens of children waving small American and Botswanan flags danced and waved, and scantily clad men and women performed tribal dances.

Mr. Bush stood at the edge of the scene smiling and waving, then plunged into a crowd of hundreds of people, many jumping up and down, offering both hands for handshakes.

Later, during a meeting with Mr. Mogae, Mr. Bush said his five-day trip to Africa was meant to demonstrate ``that we're not only a powerful nation, we're also a compassionate nation''.

``The average citizen cares deeply about the fact that people are dying in record numbers because of HIV/AIDS,'' Mr. Bush told reporters. — AP

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