Bulgarian nurses Valia Cherveniashlka (right) and Snezhana Dimitrova (left)hold hands as they arrive at the Libyan High Court in Tripoli

Reports said that the authorities in Libya have freed the five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor convicted of infecting hundreds of Libyan children with HIV. The five nurses and the doctor left Libya for Bulgaria on board a French presidential jet. The French presidency said in a statement that the aircraft of the French republic has taken off from Libya bound for Sofia with the five Bulgarian nurses and the Palestinian doctor. Diplomats said that Libya wants the EU to renew its ties with Tripoli as part of the deal to free the medics.