Amnesty International today (January 20) renewed its call on the government of Swaziland to take immediate and visible steps to prevent the torture and unlawful killing of crime suspects and political opponents by the police. In a letter to the Head of State, King Mswati III, Amnesty International expressed its concern that the government's failure to act against torture is persisting, contrary to the obligations of Swaziland under international and regional human rights treaties it has ratified and contrary to the new Constitution's Bill of Rights.

The UAB-affiliated Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia (CIDRZ) is accepting applications for our internship program, termed "HIVCorps." Now in its 3rd year, the HIVCorps program sponsors volunteers in HIV prevention, treatment, and research activities in Lusaka, Zambia. Expatriate volunteers - usually pre-medical / medical students, or recent MPH graduates - are paired with Zambian counterparts of similar training and experience and work under a UAB-CIDRZ faculty mentor. This is a one year commitment and we expect to accept 4-6 expatriate volunteers (and a similar number of Zambian volunteers) for the 2006-7 year.

Reporting directly to the Executive Director, the Research Directors will design, manage and complete research projects for which they are responsible. In most cases, this involves preparing a detailed project design in consultation with experts, recruiting a research team and project advisers, supporting the research team both logistically and in substance, editing draft and final reports, and holding a range of meetings and events during the research and after publication to discuss and publicise the project's findings.