Russia Has One Of The Fastest Spreading HIV Epidemics in World

Driven largely by the government’s refusal to institute measures to treat the country’s drug addicts — measures that have dramatically reduced HIV infections in drug addicts in other countries, including the U.S.

60,000 new cases of HIV were seen in Russia in 2009, up 8% from the prior year. At least 60% of those new cases were spread by intravenous drug use and a good portion of the rest of the new cases were likely the result of sex with drug addicts.

Russia blames America’s failure to eradicate Afghanistan’s opium crops for the IV drug problem in Russia.
BUT what’s really driving Russia’s problem? Politics. The country has a long-standing ideological opposition to the use of “substitute” maintenance drugs like methadone and buprenorphine to treat IV drug addicts.more HERE

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NGOs Demand That Lithuania Resume Inquiry Into Secret CIA Prison

International non-governmental organizations demand that Lithuania should resume investigation into a likely existence in the republic of a secret CIA prison.

Amnesty International is extremely disappointed that the case was closed for lack of political will, although it was only last November that Lithuania’s Prosecutor-General offered assurances that the inquiry would go on.

The London-based human rights organization Reprieve has also levelled criticism at the decision of the Lithuanian Prosecutor-General’s Office to close the investigation.

Poland Imposes Entry Ban On Lukashenko

Poland has imposed an entry ban on Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and several state officials following a post-election crackdown on the opposition in Minsk.
Along with Alexander Lukashenko, the list contains the names of the Belarusian judges, prosecutors, and state service heads responsible for persecution of opposition activists.

CZECH Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg is against severance of all relations with Belarus, but he would support sanctions against the country´s political representatives, such as restricting their opportunities to travel abroad. He is in favour of continued support to the development of civic society in Belarus.

The prepared new concept of Czech diplomacy places emphasis on human rights and democracy in the world. Representatives of the Belarussian democratic opposition called on the European Union in Prague last week to introduce sanctions against the regime of Alexandr Lukashenko.

More than 600 people, including presidential candidates, were detained in the Belarusian capital during a police clampdown on demonstrators after the December 19 presidential elections. International monitors called the polls “flawed.” Alexander Lukashenko, who has ruled Belarus with an iron rod since 1994 and has been dubbed by the United States “Europe’s last dictator,” gained a landslide victory in the polls with 79.67 % of the vote.