No excuse' for Pak's inaction against terrorists: US
WASHINGTON: The US on Thursday said the current "status quo" in Pakistan's restive tribal areas, which has become a safe haven for Taliban and al-Qaida terrorists, is "unacceptable" amid growing fears that Islamabad was not doing enough to battle militants holed up near the Af-Pak border.
Robert Gibbs , the White House press secretary, told reporters that there is "no excuse" for not taking action against the al-Qaida and Taliban terrorists and their allies in the tribal and border areas of the country.
Top US officials have repeatedly asserted that the restive tribal areas near the Af-Pak border is a safe haven for terrorists and Pakistan needs to act fast.
Gibbs assertted that while "we understand that the status quo as are there now is also not acceptable." He said there is "no excuse for not taking action" against the al-Qaida and Taliban terrorists.
The issue would be taken up with the top Pakistani leadership, who would be in Washington later this month to attend the third US-Pak strategic dialogue.
While Gibbs indicated US taking tough stance against Pakistan's continued inability to address America's concerns with regard to the terrorist from its safe haven posing a serious threat to the US, he was also appreciative of the steps taken by the Pakistan army in the last one year.
The Obama administration, Gibbs said, is "heartened" by the steps taken by Pakistan to put al-Qaida "under pressure" in the tribal areas.
"We will continue to work on the relationship," he said.
Describing the relationship between the US and Pakistan, Gibbs said it is a "difficult and complex" situation.
"We see improvements in some aspects, but more improvements have to be made," Gibbs said.
The hard hitting US statement comes amid a media report that Pakistan's powerful spy agency ISI is pushing the Taliban to attack US troops and their allies based in Afghanistan.
Several similar charges against ISI have been made in the past but 'The Wall Street Journal' has suggested that this one was the "strongest yet" and showed a "deteriorating relationship with an essential ally in the Afghan campaign" which had received billions of dollars in aid.
Coppied by http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics/nation/No-excuse-for-Paks-inaction-against-terrorists-US/articleshow/6709985.cms
Showing posts with label against. Show all posts
Showing posts with label against. Show all posts
Friday, 8 October 2010
Tuesday, 24 August 2010
US court rules against Barack Obama's stem cell policy
We are saw this US court rules against Barack Obama's stem cell policy
WASHINGTON: A US district court issued a preliminary injunction on Monday stopping federal funding of human embryonic stem cell research, in a slap to the Obama administration's new guidelines on the sensitive issue.
The court ruled in favor of a suit filed in June by researchers who said human embryonic stem cell research involved the destruction of human embryos.
Judge Royce Lamberth granted the injunction after finding the lawsuit would likely succeed because the guidelines violated law banning the use of federal funds to destroy human embryos.
"(Embryonic stem cell) research is clearly research in which an embryo is destroyed," Lamberth wrote in a 15-page ruling.
The Obama administration could appeal his decision or try to rewrite the guidelines to comply with US law.
The suit against the National Institutes of Health, backed by some Christian groups opposed to embryo research, argued the NIH policy violated US law and took funds from researchers seeking to work with adult stem cells.
The US department of justice, White House and NIH had no immediate comment.
Key to the case is the so-called Dickey-Wicker Amendment, which Congress adds to budget legislation every year. It bans the use of federal funds to destroy human embryos. That was not an issue for the NIH until the discovery of human embryonic stem cells in 1998.
In 2001, then-President George W Bush said he could only allow federal research money to pay for work done using a few batches, or lines, of the cells.
Many stem cell researchers objected, saying they could not do work needed to fulfill the promise of the powerful cells, which can give rise to all the tissues and cells in the human body.
Privately funded researchers could do as they pleased, but federal funding is the cornerstone of such basic biological research.
New policy
As one of his first acts after taking office, Obama overturned that decision and the NIH set up a careful process for deciding which batches of human embryonic stem cells could be used by federally funded researchers.
The new guidelines do not allow the use of federal dollars to create the stem cells but do allow researchers to work with them if they are made by another lab.
Dr. James Sherley of Boston Biomedical Research Institute and Theresa Deisher of Washington-based AVM Biotechnology, who both work with adult stem cells, filed the original suit saying the guidelines would harm their work by increasing competition for limited federal funding. They both oppose the use of human embryonic stem cells.
Sherley was not immediately available for comment.
"There is no after-the-fact remedy for this injury because the Court cannot compensate plaintiffs for their lost opportunity to receive funds," Lamberth wrote.
He found that the injunction would not seriously harm researchers who focus on human embryonic stem cells because it would preserve the status quo and not interfere with their ability to get private funding.
With the preliminary injunction in place, the two sides will likely present arguments and case history to the judge over whether the guidelines can be permanently blocked or be allowed to go into effect.
Coppied by http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/US-court-rules-against-Barack-Obamas-stem-cell-policy/articleshow/6423597.cms
WASHINGTON: A US district court issued a preliminary injunction on Monday stopping federal funding of human embryonic stem cell research, in a slap to the Obama administration's new guidelines on the sensitive issue.
The court ruled in favor of a suit filed in June by researchers who said human embryonic stem cell research involved the destruction of human embryos.
Judge Royce Lamberth granted the injunction after finding the lawsuit would likely succeed because the guidelines violated law banning the use of federal funds to destroy human embryos.
"(Embryonic stem cell) research is clearly research in which an embryo is destroyed," Lamberth wrote in a 15-page ruling.
The Obama administration could appeal his decision or try to rewrite the guidelines to comply with US law.
The suit against the National Institutes of Health, backed by some Christian groups opposed to embryo research, argued the NIH policy violated US law and took funds from researchers seeking to work with adult stem cells.
The US department of justice, White House and NIH had no immediate comment.
Key to the case is the so-called Dickey-Wicker Amendment, which Congress adds to budget legislation every year. It bans the use of federal funds to destroy human embryos. That was not an issue for the NIH until the discovery of human embryonic stem cells in 1998.
In 2001, then-President George W Bush said he could only allow federal research money to pay for work done using a few batches, or lines, of the cells.
Many stem cell researchers objected, saying they could not do work needed to fulfill the promise of the powerful cells, which can give rise to all the tissues and cells in the human body.
Privately funded researchers could do as they pleased, but federal funding is the cornerstone of such basic biological research.
New policy
As one of his first acts after taking office, Obama overturned that decision and the NIH set up a careful process for deciding which batches of human embryonic stem cells could be used by federally funded researchers.
The new guidelines do not allow the use of federal dollars to create the stem cells but do allow researchers to work with them if they are made by another lab.
Dr. James Sherley of Boston Biomedical Research Institute and Theresa Deisher of Washington-based AVM Biotechnology, who both work with adult stem cells, filed the original suit saying the guidelines would harm their work by increasing competition for limited federal funding. They both oppose the use of human embryonic stem cells.
Sherley was not immediately available for comment.
"There is no after-the-fact remedy for this injury because the Court cannot compensate plaintiffs for their lost opportunity to receive funds," Lamberth wrote.
He found that the injunction would not seriously harm researchers who focus on human embryonic stem cells because it would preserve the status quo and not interfere with their ability to get private funding.
With the preliminary injunction in place, the two sides will likely present arguments and case history to the judge over whether the guidelines can be permanently blocked or be allowed to go into effect.
Coppied by http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/US-court-rules-against-Barack-Obamas-stem-cell-policy/articleshow/6423597.cms
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