Bush Condemns Pearl Murder

BEIJING (voa) - Kidnapped American news reporter Daniel Pearl has been murdered in Pakistan, where he was kidnapped last month. President Bush says the killing of the Wall Street Journal correspondent was "an act of barbarism that made all Americans sad and angry." Speaking in Beijing early Friday after learning of Mr. Pearl's death, Mr. Bush said his heart goes out to the reporter's family. The president said the attack on Mr. Pearl will "only deepen U.S. resolve to rid the world of all agents of terror." U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan also condemned the killing. He said journalists have the right to work without fearing for their lives. In Islamabad, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf vowed to hunt down every member of the gang that kidnapped Mr. Pearl on January 23 in Karachi. News reports say Pakistani and U.S. authorities confirmed Mr. Pearl's death late Thursday, after receiving a videotape of what is described as a gruesome murder. It is not clear when the Wall Street Journal reporter was killed. Mr. Pearl's parents and sisters issued a statement from their Los Angeles home, saying they had clung to the hope that no human being could harm such a gentle soul. U.S. officials had hoped Mr. Pearl was still alive as late as this week, after conflicting statements given by one of the suspected kidnappers, who was arrested by Pakistani police.