Clinton cancels tour of quake area

MALE, Maldives – Former President Bill Clinton canceled a tour Saturday of tsunami-hit areas of the Maldives as one U.N. official said he was exhausted while another said the cancellation was due to the weather.

Cherie Hart of the U.N. Development Program, who coordinated Clinton’s visit, said the former president, who underwent a heart bypass operation in September, was not sick. But Brenden Varma, a U.N. spokeswoman, said he canceled because of weather.

Clinton, named special U.N. envoy for tsunami recovery, did not meet tsunami survivors in the tropical archipelago off India’s southern tip as he planned to do Saturday, but he expects to hold talks with business leaders and government officials today at the resort.

Those meetings, set for this morning, have been pushed to the afternoon to let Clinton rest. Clinton’s spokesman said the rest of his trip was to continue and that Clinton will attend four meetings in the Maldives today and then travel to Banda Aceh, Indonesia. U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan appointed Clinton in February to be the world body’s point man for tsunami reconstruction, but a follow-up operation in March forced him to delay taking the job. Clinton said in April he could undertake any activities, and doctors told him his stamina should return.

Clinton is in the midst of a four-day trip to India, Sri Lanka, the Maldives and Indonesia to ensure that aid is being distributed properly.

The Dec. 26 earthquake and tsunami killed more than 176,000 people in 11 countries, and left about 50,000 missing and hundreds of thousands homeless.