A round-up of today's other world stories in brief
US officials to appeal injunction which halts new stem cell funds
US – Government officials in the US say they will appeal a US District Court injunction that stops new federal funding of human embryonic stem cell research. About 35 per cent of the $200 million (€158 million) the US government planned to award this year in grants for embryonic stem cell research will not be distributed after the judge's ruling. The ruling has no direct effect on researchers or firms working with private funds, but government funding often kick-starts the most basic, and risky, biological work.
Scientists are working to use stem cells to repair severed spinal cords, regenerate brain cells lost in Parkinson's disease, and restore the tissue destroyed by juvenile diabetes.
The National Institutes of Health will withhold $54 million in annual grants it expected to renew in September, plus $15 million to $20 million for new projects being considered in the next month, Francis Collins, the agency’s director, said this week. The ruling temporarily halted US funding for the research, based on a decision that a 1996 law couldn’t be overruled by a presidential order. The Justice Department said it would appeal. – (Reuters and Bloomberg)
Lorry driver jailed 21 years after rape
LONDON – A lorry driver was jailed today for raping a woman two decades ago – after he was identified by a DNA sample he gave last year for a motoring offence.
Leslie Marshall (51), of South Lanarkshire, was given a six-and-a-half-year sentence for the brutal sex attack, after evading justice for more than 20 years.
The father of five raped a 22-year-old in a parked car in a country lane in Burnley, Lancashire, in 1989.
He was finally caught after his arrest for a minor driving offence last July.
Marshall, of Stonefield Road, Blantyre, was detained for interfering with the tachograph in his lorry.
During the police investigation, his DNA was taken and proved a match for the cold case. – (PA)
Wikileaks releases new CIA report
Whistle-blowing website Wikileaks has published a CIA memo examining the implications of the US being perceived as an "exporter of terrorism".
The three-page report from February 2010 says the participation of US-based individuals in terrorism is "not a recent phenomenon".
The memo cites several cases of alleged terrorist acts by US residents.
An official played down the report from the CIA's so-called Red Cell, saying it was "not exactly a blockbuster paper".
The Red Cell was set up in the wake of the 9/11 attacks to offer an "out-of-the-box" approach and "produce memos intended to provoke thought rather than to provide authoritative assessment," according to the CIA website.