US to help clean anthrax island

The United States has confirmed that i ha's reached an agreement with Uzbekistan to provide financial assistance to clean up a former Soviet biological weapons testing facility.

Tonnes of biological weapons, including anthrax spores, have been buried at the site on an island Vozrozhdeniye in the Aral Sea.

US officials have had access to the base for several years, but correspondents say the clean-up has taken a higher priority because the Aral Sea is drying up and the island is now connected to the mainland.

The New York Times newspaper has said the United States will provide $6m for the clean-up.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service