Ukraine fights spreading HIV epidemic

BUCHA, Ukraine (AP) — Andrei Mandrykin, an inmate at Prison No. 85 outside Kiev, has HIV. He looks ghostly and much older than his 35 years. But Mandrykin is better off than tens of thousands of his countrymen, because is he receiving treatment amid what the World Health Organization says is the worst AIDS epidemic in Europe.Ahead of World AIDS Day on Saturday, international organizations have urged...

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Awareness of HIV Risk Has Dropped Among Gay Men Even As Infection Rates Rise

More than 30 years after the dawn of the HIV epidemic, the significance of the infection and awareness for how it's transmitted has dropped precipitously among young people, especially among gay men, according to new data from the federal government.National statistics for 2010 show that more than one-quarter of all new HIV infections are among youths ages 13 to 24. Of the estimated 47,500 new infections...

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Health officials: Athens has spiraling HIV crisis

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Athens is seeing an alarming increase in new HIV infections, particularly among intravenous drug users, health officials warned Friday, as Greece struggles through a protracted financial crisis in which funding for health care and drug treatment programs has been slashed.While there were about 10-14 new HIV infections per year among Athens drug users from 2008 to 2010, that...

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Zurich puts Sandy storm damage claims at $700 million

 Natural gas distributor Laclede Group Inc is buying two utilities from Energy Transfer Equity LP for $1 billion, doubling its customer numbers and boosting its exposure to more stable state-regulated income.More than 91 percent of Laclede's earnings will come from rate-regulated business after the acquisition of Missouri Gas Energy and New England Gas Co, owned by Energy Transfer's affiliate,...

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Laclede to double customers in $1 billion deal with Energy Transfer

 Natural gas distributor Laclede Group Inc is buying two utilities from Energy Transfer Equity LP for $1 billion, doubling its customer numbers and boosting its exposure to more stable state-regulated income.More than 91 percent of Laclede's earnings will come from rate-regulated business after the acquisition of Missouri Gas Energy and New England Gas Co, owned by Energy Transfer's affiliate,...

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Sun Life sells U.S. annuity business, shares drop

 Sun Life Financial Inc will sell its U.S. annuity business for $1.35 billion to a firm connected to Guggenheim Partners in a deal that should reduce the exposure of the insurer's earnings to market swings and boost its cash levels.While the deal could bring long-term benefits to Sun Life, whose earnings have been derailed by wild market swings during recent years, investors pulled the company's...

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FactSet forecasts second-quarter results largely below estimates, shares fall

FactSet Research Systems Inc reported lower-than-expected first-quarter revenue, and the financial information provider forecast current-quarter results largely below estimates as banks and brokerages cut costs.FactSet shares fell 5 percent before the bell on Tuesday.The company, which provides data to portfolio managers, research analysts and investment bankers, forecast second-quarter earnings of...

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Jefferies results beat estimates on higher fixed-income revenue

(Reuters) - Jefferies Group Inc reported a higher-than-expected adjusted quarterly profit as the investment bank benefited from higher earnings from its fixed-income unit, and said its business expansion in Asia has started delivering.The midsized investment bank has been expanding in China and India and recently poached bankers from the Royal Bank of Scotland to expand its business in China.Jefferies...

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Facebook Shrugs Off Instagram's New Class Action Lawsuit

For Instagram, there's good news and there's bad news about the class action lawsuit just filed against them. Bad news first: Somebody just filed a class action lawsuit. Good news: the lawyers from Instagram's parent company, Facebook, have plenty of practice getting rid of these pesky things. That might explain why they're so dismissive about the legal inconvenience a group of disgruntled Instagram...

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How 'Doctor Who' Kept Its Big Christmas Secret Off Twitter

Tonight Doctor Who fans get to gorge on their annual Christmas fix -- a full-length special episode the series has produced every year for the holiday since 2005. This time, however, there's some extra spice in the form of a new regular cast member: Jenna-Louise Coleman debuts in "The Snowmen" as the Doctor's next companion.Except it's not her debut. Coleman actually made her first appearance in the...

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