MOSCOW: As many as 1.5 million Russians, more than one per cent of the population, could be HIV-positive, the country's top AIDS expert has said.
Russia, where the virus was virtually unknown a decade ago, faces a fast-growing epidemic that shows few signs of abating, Mr Vadim Pokrovsky, head of Russia's official AIDS centre, said.
Official figures underestimate the problem partly because the crumbling health system has struggled to respond to the spread of HIV and many doctors do not have the means to test for it. - (Reuters)
29 die in Cuban bus crash
HAVANA - Twenty-nine people died, and 67 were injured in a crash involving a bus and a truck on Cuba's national highway, the country's National Information Agency has said.
The accident occurred early yesterday near the central Cuban city of Santa Clara when one of the vehicles swerved to avoid an animal crossing the road. - (AFP)
UK police to carry stun guns
LONDON - A controversial new weapon in the war on crime are to be issued to armed police in England and Wales - the electric stun gun, or Taser.
The Taser temporarily disables suspects with a 50,000-volt charge and is designed to cut the number of people killed by armed officers.
But human rights groups have condemned its introduction, claiming it could be responsible for at least three deaths in the US. - (Reuters)
Media group criticises Serbia
PARIS - An international watchdog criticised Serbia's government yesterday for banning the media from freely reporting a state of emergency declared after the assassination of prime minister Zoran Djindjic.
The government declared the state of emergency after reformist Djindjic was murdered in Belgrade on March 12th but also introduced restrictions banning news organisations from reporting anything about the move except its official line. - (Reuters)
Suspect in Pearl case in custody
KARACHI - A key suspect in the kidnapping in Pakistan last year of American reporter Daniel Pearl has been found in police custody, his lawyer said yesterday.
Defence lawyer Mr Khawaja Naveed said Fazal Karim was tracked down by his relatives after being held incommunicado by the police for the last eight months. - (Reuters)
Zimbabwe accused of torture
JOHANNESBURG - Zimbabwe police stepped up harassment and torture of political activists during this year's cricket World Cup despite promising to permit peaceful protests, senior church leaders said yesterday.
The Solidarity Peace Trust, a new group of South African and Zimbabwean bishops, said human rights monitors documented at least 80 cases of protesters detained in connection with three World Cup cricket matches held in the city of Bulawayo. - (Reuters)
Milan plane crash was an accident
MILAN - Italian investigators have shelved their inquiry into why a small plane crashed into a Milan skyscraper a year ago, saying it was an accident and that the case should be closed, judicial sources said yesterday.
The plane hit the 30-storey Pirelli Tower, Italy's highest building, killing the pilot, Luigi Fasulo, 67, and two women who worked inside and briefly reviving fears of a September 11-style attack. Another 29 people were injured. - (Reuters)