UNAIDS says many of the 45 women who died in the blaze were HIV-positive. The Russian Emergency Situations Ministry's top fire official says he is "90 percent" certain the blaze was deliberately started.
On the same day, at least nine people died in a fire at a mental-health clinic in the Siberian region of Kemerovo.
(AFP)
RFE/RL Reports On AIDS
FACES OF THE EPIDEMIC: HIV-infection rates continue to soar in many parts of RFE/RL's broadcast region, from Ukraine and Russia to Central Asia. RFE/RL frequently reports on the problems associated with the pandemic and efforts to combat them.
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