The Health Development Institute has said that it is concerned over contracting financing. Last year, the institute handed out more than 2 million clean needles to drug addicts in the country. It also distributed about 700,000 condoms. There were more than 170,000 visits to needle exchange rooms and 4,045 people used the services for the first time that year. Last year the budget of the HIV/AIDS state prevention strategy was 46.5 million kroons (2.97 million euros) 's but this year's budget has been slashed to 38.14 million kroons, 18 percent lower. The state drug-addiction prevention budget has also contracted. According to TAI the estimated number of injecting drug addicts in Estonia is 13,800, more than half of whom are carriers of the HIV virus. Needle exchange is one of the most important services in order to prevent spread of the disease. Further spread of HIV among injecting drug addicts is stabilizing, but the general spread of the infection is still very high.
The driver of a car belonging to the Finnish Embassy has run over the foot of an employee of AS Uhisteenused who was regulating traffic in central Tallinn. On Feb 13 at the National Library at Tonismagi, a Mercedes-Benz car with blue diplomatic license plates ran over the foot of 20-year-old Aiar. "The regulator redirected the driver to a detour along Toompea Street, but the driver ignored the regulator's orders and drove over the regulator's foot, stopping the car on his foot for three seconds," Uhisteenused managing director Kristi Hunt told BNS. He said the driver returned five or 10 minutes later and wished to apologize to the regulator one more time. When he heard that the police had been called, he offered the regulator 2,000 kroons (128 euros) as compensation, but the regulator refused to accept the money.
Estonian troops working alongside Afghan security forces and British units have successfully completed a mission against Taliban positions in the central part of the southern Helmand province. The battle that erupted during the operation began on the morning of Feb. 14 and lasted into the night, continuing on Feb. 15 until the enemy retreated, military spokespeople in Tallinn said. The Estonian, British and Afghan troops suffered no casualties whereas the Taliban units sustained losses in both personnel and armaments. The objective of the joint operation was to drive the enemy from and ensure security in the Nawa area. Estonian units are serving in southern Afghanistan under the British-led Task Force in Helmand. Currently almost 150 Estonian military are stationed in Afghanistan.
A court has ruled against a debt collection agency after the company demanded nearly 26,000 kroons (1,661 euros) from a man who failed to pay back a 3,000 kroon loan he took out two years ago. The man took an express loan from a company called SMS Laenud (SMS Loans) in February 2007. A month later the sum of the loan to be repaid was 3,000 kroons plus 700 kroons of interest. Sizeable arrears were added to the loan every day. The Harju County Court, however, decided to adjudge from the man only the main part of the loan and the 700 kroons interest.
