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Croatia issues warrant for ex-PM

Ivo Sanader in office as Croatian prime minister (image from 2006)Ivo Sanader stepped down as prime minister last year
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The Croatian authorities have issued an arrest warrant for former Prime Minister Ivo Sanader, soon after he left the country amid a corruption inquiry.

Mr Sanader crossed into Slovenia on Thursday, hours before parliament voted to lift his immunity from prosecution.

He is suspected of abuse of office during his time as prime minister until 2009.

Mr Sanader reportedly denied fleeing from prosecution.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Haiti orders recount of election

Haitians walk past a burning barricade in Port-au-Prince during protests against the election resultMore than half of the 19 candidates have called for the result to be annulled

Election officials in Haiti say they will review the disputed result of last month’s presidential election.

There will be an immediate vote recount in the presence of the top three candidates – Mirlande Manigat, Jude Celestin and Michel Martelly – and international observers.

The announcement follows violent demonstrations by supporters of Mr Martelly, the third-placed candidate.

He alleges the count was rigged to deny him a second-round run-off place.

The Provisional Election Council said it had “decided to immediately launch a rapid and exceptional process to verify at the counting centre the tally sheets linked to the 2010 presidential elections”.

More than half of the 19 candidates in the ballot on 28 November have been calling for the result to be annulled.

The strongest protests have come from supporters of pop star Mr Martelly, known to his supporters as “Sweet Micky,” who was widely expected to go through to the second round.

The results announced on Tuesday night gave 31% to the former first lady, Ms Manigat, with the governing party candidate, Mr Celestin, in second place with 22%.

Mr Martelly came third with 21%, about 6,800 votes short of Mr Celestin.

Violence erupted almost immediately after the results were made public.

Thousands of supporters of Mr Martelly took to the streets of the capital, Port-au-Prince, setting up burning barricades and clashing with UN peacekeepers.

On Wednesday both the headquarters of the governing party in Port-au-Prince and the international airport were closed because of the unrest.

There was also violence in several other cities.

On Wednesday Mr Martelly urged his supporters to hold only non-violent protests.

He accused the election commission of “plunging the country into crisis with its incorrect results”.

The outgoing president Rene Preval appealed for calm and defended the result.

Mr Celestin is widely seen as Mr Preval’s hand-picked successor.

Most observers said the first round of voting was grossly mismanaged, with widespread irregularities.

The US embassy said on Tuesday it was concerned the results were “inconsistent” with vote counts around the country.

The run-off is due to take place on 16 January.

A successful election is seen as crucial to establishing an effective government in Haiti after years of instability.

Whoever becomes president will face the task of rebuilding the country after the devastating earthquake that killed around 230,000 people last January, as well as battling a cholera epidemic.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Police guilty over Katrina death

Relatives of Henry Glover embracingFamily and friends of Mr Glover embraced following the jury’s decision
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A US federal jury has convicted three police officers and cleared two over the killing of a man after Hurricane Katrina flooded New Orleans in 2005.

The jury convicted former officer David Warren of manslaughter in the shooting of 31-year-old Henry Glover.

Officer Gregory McRae was convicted of burning Mr Glover’s body, while Lt Travis McCabe was convicted of writing a false report on the shooting.

Lt Dwayne Scheuermann and ex-Lt Robert Italiano were acquitted in the trial.

The trial was the first in a series of cases against New Orleans police officers for alleged abuses committed in the aftermath of the hurricane, when thousands of desperate people were trapped in the flooded city.

The five officers described the frantic conditions in New Orleans after the storm struck the city on 29 August 2005.

They told the jury that amid the chaos and with lives at stake, they only had time to investigate the most serious of crimes.

Prosecutors said the storm did not justify the officers’ action but may explain them.

Hurricane Katrina made the officers believe “no one was watching and no one would care about Henry Glover”, said prosecuting lawyer Tracey Knight.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Protein removal Alzheimer’s clue

A healthy brainAmyloid plaques build up in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s disease

Scientists suggest people with Alzheimer’s disease clear a damaging protein from their brains more slowly than those who are healthy.

It was already known that the beta-amyloid protein built up in the brains of people with the condition.

But the US study in Science suggests it is the poor clearance of the protein, not the build-up, that is the problem.

UK experts said the study of 24 people was small, but exciting, and could help understanding of the disease.

The ageing population means that dementia, including Alzheimer’s, is currently seen as one of the main health challenges in the UK.

Numbers affected are set to soar – figures suggest that more than a million people will have developed the disease before 2025.

Using a spinal needle to collect the fluid, the team of neurologists from the University of Medicine in St Louis measured the amount of beta-amyloid in the brain fluid of 12 patients with late-onset Alzheimer’s, and 12 patients who did not have the disease.

The levels were then sampled every hour for 36 hours.

“This exciting study gives us an insight into the building blocks of Alzheimer’s disease”

Dr Clive Ballard, Alzheiner’s Society

It was found that the clearance of beta-amyloid in people with Alzheimer’s was 30% slower than those without the disease.

They suggested beta-amyloid clearance rates could eventually be measured, perhaps via a blood test, in order to detect Alzheimer’s before the symptoms appear.

And they added that the results meant scientists could now look at how beta-amyloid is moved out the brain. This in turn could help scientists develop drugs to target that process.

The study of was welcomed by the Alzheimer’s Society.

Dr Clive Ballard, director of research, said: “This exciting study gives us an insight into the building blocks of Alzheimer’s disease.

“We now need further research to find out why the system is not working properly and whether amyloid is toxic in higher concentrations.

“The burning question is whether this process starts before the onset of symptoms as this could be vital to the development of new treatments.”

However Dr Simon Ridley, head of research at the Alzheimer’s Research Trust, was more cautious. He commented: “As the researchers themselves point out, this was a small study, and it is not yet clear whether increased amyloid is a cause of Alzheimer’s or a symptom of it.

“If we are to find the answers to these elusive questions and find an effective treatment for dementia, we must invest in more research.”

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.