Bono, Bob Geldof Meet With British Prime Minister Tony Blair To Discuss HIV/AIDS Pandemic
Irish rock star and AIDS advocate Bono, along with Bob Geldof, organizer of the 1985 Live Aid benefit concert, during a meeting on Thursday with British Prime Minister Tony Blair called for world leaders to "end their disagreements" about the recent war in Iraq and "focus on the fight against AIDS in Africa" and other regions, VOA News reports (VOA News, 5/22). Bono said that U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell had referred to AIDS as the "greatest weapon of mass destruction" and also said that the war against terrorism is "bound up against the war on poverty," the Irish Times reports. "[W]hen a military man says something like that you know you have to start paying attention," Bono said. He also said that there is an opportunity for Blair to negotiate an agreement on the epidemic at the upcoming G8 summit set to take place next week in Evian, France, according to the Times (Irish Times, 5/23).
'Beautiful Day'
In related news, Bono has donated the original sheet music for U2's song "Beautiful Day" to the Songs of Hope 2 auction to benefit the National Cancer Institute's City of Hope National Medical Center in Los Angeles, which conducts cancer, HIV/AIDS and diabetes research, London's Mirror reports (Kelleher, Mirror, 5/22). Recording artists 'NSYNC, U2, Eminem, the Bee Gees, Coldplay, David Gray, Enrique Iglesias, Norah Jones and others are also contributing sheet music and memorabilia to the online auction, which will run from May 26 through June 4 (Yahoo! News, 5/22).