:00:00. > :00:11.Scientists think they are a step closer to preventing inherited
:00:12. > :00:14.diseases being passed on in families.
:00:15. > :00:16.They've found a way to edit genes, removing the faulty DNA
:00:17. > :00:25.A method of being able to avoid having an effect on children,
:00:26. > :00:29.passing on the defective gene, could be really very important
:00:30. > :00:37.for those families and allow them to get out of this.
:00:38. > :00:39."Tampered with" - the company providing the technology
:00:40. > :00:41.for Venezeula's controversial election for a new assembly says
:00:42. > :00:48.Worth a quarter of a billion dollars - if Neymar moves
:00:49. > :00:50.to Paris Saint-Germain it would be the world's biggest
:00:51. > :00:54.And the end of an era - Prince Philip carries out his last
:00:55. > :01:12.scheduled public engagement and retires at the age of 96.
:01:13. > :01:16.Hello and welcome to World News Today.
:01:17. > :01:18.For the first time scientists have successfully repaired a faulty
:01:19. > :01:24.They used a process known as "gene editing" to correct DNA that causes
:01:25. > :01:33.The US and South Korean team allowed the embryos to develop for five days
:01:34. > :01:37.The technique is still at the early research stage but it raises
:01:38. > :01:40.the hope of preventing 10,000 gene disorders which pass
:01:41. > :01:48.Our medical correspondent Fergus Walsh reports.
:01:49. > :01:51.The goal could not be more ambitious, to eradicate
:01:52. > :01:58.These scientists have taken an impressive first
:01:59. > :02:01.step on a long road, editing DNA in human embryos.
:02:02. > :02:17.Inside the nucleus of each of our cells is our genome,
:02:18. > :02:20.It is the instruction manual for life.
:02:21. > :02:24.The scientists were targeting a faulty gene that causes
:02:25. > :02:37.They fertilise the egg with the sperm of it a man who carried the
:02:38. > :02:40.faulty gene. They then injected the gene editing
:02:41. > :02:44.system, which scans the DNA It then cuts both strands
:02:45. > :02:49.of the DNA, and removes the faulty gene, a healthy copy of the gene
:02:50. > :02:52.from the egg is then Here are some of the embryos
:02:53. > :02:56.from the study in the journal Nature after being edited,
:02:57. > :03:00.42 of 58 embryos were corrected. They were allowed to develop
:03:01. > :03:02.for five days, none was implanted. The research has been welcomed
:03:03. > :03:08.by a team in London, who have a license
:03:09. > :03:10.to edit human embryos. They say the technology
:03:11. > :03:19.could eventually help many families. There are some nasty genetic
:03:20. > :03:21.diseases like Huntingdon's, or a disease that affects heart
:03:22. > :03:24.function later in life, which can blight families
:03:25. > :03:33.for many generations. So a method of being able to avoid
:03:34. > :03:35.having affected children, passing on the defective gene,
:03:36. > :03:38.can be really very important Nicole Mowbray has the same
:03:39. > :03:41.heart condition that was She now has a defibrillator
:03:42. > :03:44.implanted in her chest, She has a 50% risk of passing
:03:45. > :03:50.on the condition, but is unsure of whether she would
:03:51. > :03:54.consider gene editing. I wouldn't want to pass on something
:03:55. > :04:01.that caused my child to have a limited life or a painful
:04:02. > :04:04.life, or a life of risk. That does, obviously,
:04:05. > :04:07.come to the front of my mind I wouldn't want to create
:04:08. > :04:18.the perfect child, in inverted commas, I feel like my condition
:04:19. > :04:23.makes me me. Previous attempts at editing human
:04:24. > :04:26.embryos in China led There is a lot of work needed before
:04:27. > :04:32.this can be considered safe, and it raises ethical issues
:04:33. > :04:35.about how far science should go In a deal that could be worth more
:04:36. > :04:49.than a quarter of a billion - yes, billion - dollars,
:04:50. > :04:52.the Brazilian football player Neymar appears to be a step closer
:04:53. > :04:54.to leaving Barcelona and signing That figure is more than twice
:04:55. > :05:02.the current world record transfer Our correpsondent Richard
:05:03. > :05:07.Conway is in Paris. Fans visiting the club shop
:05:08. > :05:10.here in the centre of Paris are getting excited because the deal
:05:11. > :05:12.for Neymar is inching We have seen in the past few days
:05:13. > :05:21.the player going from Shanghai where he was on commercial duties
:05:22. > :05:24.and flying back to Barcelona. He has been excused from training
:05:25. > :05:28.and now Barcelona are saying, pay us the money and Paris St Germain,
:05:29. > :05:31.you can have the player. We will see how it plays out
:05:32. > :05:37.in the coming hours and days. There is now an increasing
:05:38. > :05:45.certainty that Neymar will be a Paris Saint-Germain player this
:05:46. > :05:56.coming season and the indications for that are huge, of course
:05:57. > :06:00.for Barcelona, who will be without one of their leading players
:06:01. > :06:03.and for PSG who desperately want to bridge the gap
:06:04. > :06:05.from being Champions League wannabes to winners and also for Uefa,
:06:06. > :06:08.given Financial Fair Play, clubs have a requirement
:06:09. > :06:10.to live within their means. The size of this deal and the money
:06:11. > :06:13.involved in this potential transfer is such that many clubs
:06:14. > :06:15.and individuals at the highest levels of football are looking at it
:06:16. > :06:19.and wondering if PSG can live For now the fans here just
:06:20. > :06:22.want to know one thing, With me is the football
:06:23. > :06:40.journalist Tim Vickery. I read your article or later. Is
:06:41. > :06:50.this a negotiating ploy or does look like a deal? It looks like it is
:06:51. > :06:54.going to happen. The speculation and negotiation comes as no surprise
:06:55. > :06:59.whatsoever. I am still a little surprised that it looks like it is
:07:00. > :07:07.Neymar's decision. He wants to go. I just hope it is his decision and
:07:08. > :07:14.what he wants to do. Not what his entourage would prefer. It is not
:07:15. > :07:19.quite as simple as signing Neymar, is it? He has a complicated
:07:20. > :07:26.structure around him. Including his father. You always worries about
:07:27. > :07:30.that because it condemns the footballer to a permanent
:07:31. > :07:34.childishness, if you like. But his career has always been managed by
:07:35. > :07:39.his father on a step-by-step basis. Amongst the final objectives is
:07:40. > :07:46.winning the Fever world Player of the Year award. That is taken with
:07:47. > :07:58.great importance in Brazil. Five Brazilians won on it different
:07:59. > :08:02.occasions. Neymar will be seen by himself and many of his compatriots
:08:03. > :08:06.as something of a disappointment that he does not win that a word. He
:08:07. > :08:12.is unlikely to win it if he is not outstanding player in his own team.
:08:13. > :08:21.And also if he does not have a team around him. People from his camp are
:08:22. > :08:32.saying he has been seduced by this project of Paris Saint-Germain. And
:08:33. > :08:38.it will be the World Cup sin, where he plays at 26 years old, closest to
:08:39. > :08:43.his peak, and perhaps during the French lead they will be able to
:08:44. > :08:48.coast a little more leaving him with enough gas in the tank for the World
:08:49. > :08:54.Cup next year. And still able to walk away from the experience of
:08:55. > :09:03.playing up front with Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi. The people in his
:09:04. > :09:08.entourage with the strategy do not have the joy he has, like a
:09:09. > :09:12.collective childhood they have on a weekly basis with his players, there
:09:13. > :09:18.is no animosity between them, they look like one force, and it is sad
:09:19. > :09:26.in one way that he is turning his back on that and you just hope it
:09:27. > :09:29.really is what he wants to do. And you can find that article on the BBC
:09:30. > :09:31.sport website. Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro
:09:32. > :09:33.plans to swear in a new assembly It follows a controversial election
:09:34. > :09:38.in the country on Sunday, where the turn-out figure
:09:39. > :09:40.was manipulated - that's according to the technology company
:09:41. > :09:44.which provided the voting system. Antonio Mugica, the boss
:09:45. > :09:47.of Smartmatic, said his firm estimated the difference
:09:48. > :09:51.between actual participation and the one announced
:09:52. > :09:54.by the authorities was at least It is therefore with the deepest
:09:55. > :10:02.regret that we have to report that the turnout numbers on Sunday
:10:03. > :10:07.30th of July for the constituent assembly in Venezuela
:10:08. > :10:16.were tampered with. The automated election system used
:10:17. > :10:18.in the Venezuela is tamper-evident and self-reports any attempts
:10:19. > :10:24.to interfere with it. Our correspondent Will Grant
:10:25. > :10:39.is in Caracas for us now. Has the government responded? Yes,
:10:40. > :10:44.they are currently issuing the credentials for the new deputies in
:10:45. > :10:49.quite a ceremony outside the building of the National electoral
:10:50. > :11:05.Council and every high-profile new deputy, including Nicholas Monroe's
:11:06. > :11:11.wife -- Maduro's wife. There does not seem to be any recognition of
:11:12. > :11:18.the comment about the tampered votes from them. Reuters started the day
:11:19. > :11:21.saying they had seen an internal memo from the Venezuelan electoral
:11:22. > :11:27.authorities that suggested by half past five on the day of voting only
:11:28. > :11:31.3.7 million people had voted, and the polls were due to close a couple
:11:32. > :11:37.of hours later, and the government said 8 million people voted, so how
:11:38. > :11:41.something around 4.3 or 4.4 million people voted in just a couple of
:11:42. > :11:47.hours is beyond most people's imagination in Venezuela. It strikes
:11:48. > :11:51.me that almost everything in Venezuelan society has become
:11:52. > :12:00.politicised. Can we say that this firm making these claims is neutral?
:12:01. > :12:04.That is a very good question. The thing is, I think, that is
:12:05. > :12:10.interesting and important here is that the government have heralded
:12:11. > :12:13.that from themselves as the reason the elections are free and fair.
:12:14. > :12:18.They have done the elections and run the voting machines here since 2004,
:12:19. > :12:24.so the idea that they suddenly wouldn't they, and they are all very
:12:25. > :12:27.well respected company, used around the world for elections everywhere
:12:28. > :12:35.from the Philippines to parts of Latin America, so you're right,
:12:36. > :12:39.everything in Venezuela is politicised and no doubt this will
:12:40. > :12:44.be too but the Maduro government has always pointed to this company and
:12:45. > :12:49.their machines as the reason why results are believable.
:12:50. > :12:52.Let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news.
:12:53. > :12:56.A man and a child have been killed after a small aircraft made
:12:57. > :12:58.an emergency landing on a beach in Portugal.
:12:59. > :13:00.Local media reports say the incident took place on a beach
:13:01. > :13:03.at Caparica in Almada, south west of Lisbon.
:13:04. > :13:05.Reports said the pair were sunbathing when the plane
:13:06. > :13:09.A local newspaper said members of the plane's crew were unharmed
:13:10. > :13:11.and were being interviewed by authorities.
:13:12. > :13:13.The US Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, has stressed
:13:14. > :13:16.that his country is not seeking to topple the North Korean
:13:17. > :13:19.government and it wants dialogue with Pyongyang.
:13:20. > :13:22.Mr Tillerson said, "We are not your enemy",
:13:23. > :13:24.but warned Pyongyang that its ballistic missile
:13:25. > :13:26.tests were presenting an "unacceptable threat" to the US,
:13:27. > :13:31.and Washington would have to respond.
:13:32. > :13:35.The boss of Apple has said his company had no choice
:13:36. > :13:38.but to stop providing apps in China that allow users to circumvent
:13:39. > :13:41.the country's tough internet censorship.
:13:42. > :13:44.Tim Cook said the technology firm would rather not have stopped
:13:45. > :13:46.offering virtual private network, or VPN apps, but had
:13:47. > :13:53.Amazon has also confirmed that customers using its cloud
:13:54. > :14:00.computing services cannot now use unauthorised VPNs.
:14:01. > :14:03.And we just want to show you one marine researcher's close encounter
:14:04. > :14:11.Definitely not safe to go back in the water.
:14:12. > :14:14.Well, luckily it was only a marine researcher's camera the shark
:14:15. > :14:18.Greg Skomal was diving off the coast of Massachusetts in the US.
:14:19. > :14:32.Both he and his camera remained intact.
:14:33. > :14:37.Scientists have used a process called gene editing to correct DNA
:14:38. > :14:42.that causes a deadly heart condition. Fergus Walsh had the
:14:43. > :14:49.story and I played his report earlier. How easily do the
:14:50. > :15:00.techniques translate more broadly to genetic issues? This particular form
:15:01. > :15:03.of gene editing, it was only discovered five years ago and it is
:15:04. > :15:11.incredibly cheap and easy and efficient so it has been adopted by
:15:12. > :15:15.medical researchers, animal and plant researchers, because you can
:15:16. > :15:25.edit the DNA of any living object using this technique. The sky is the
:15:26. > :15:28.limit regarding how it can be used. In terms of 10,000 inherited gene
:15:29. > :15:37.disorders there is enormous potential. But we are really at the
:15:38. > :15:42.foothills of a giant mountain that needs to be claimed in terms of
:15:43. > :15:47.safety, efficiency. Some Chinese researchers had a previous call at
:15:48. > :15:51.this. Embryos they used were not very good quality, they were not
:15:52. > :15:56.clinical grade, and they had all sorts of errors and the one thing
:15:57. > :16:02.you do not want to do is to do this in the clinic with couples wanting
:16:03. > :16:04.to have a healthy child, a risk of passing on a fatal heart disorder,
:16:05. > :16:08.and then find you have created another problem. So it is a long way
:16:09. > :16:17.before we will see this in the clinic. Who decides the ethics of
:16:18. > :16:21.this? Individual countries. There was a conference in Washington 18
:16:22. > :16:26.months ago that I attended and it called for research to continue but
:16:27. > :16:33.a moratorium on using human embryo gene editing in the clinic. There
:16:34. > :16:39.are observers who are unhappy that this team from the US and South
:16:40. > :16:47.Korea have done this work. They said maybe they should be sticking to
:16:48. > :16:53.check in on mouse embryos -- chicken or mouse embryos. One country
:16:54. > :16:59.regarded internationally and sending good signals in terms of keeping an
:17:00. > :17:07.eye on what is happening is the UK. A team in London has also been given
:17:08. > :17:10.permission to do gene editing in human embryos and that has gone
:17:11. > :17:14.through the regulator here and they will be publishing their research at
:17:15. > :17:20.some point. They are also doing chicken and mouse embryos. The
:17:21. > :17:24.concern is that when something is possible, and it really is very
:17:25. > :17:29.easy, I have seen people do this gene editing in their garage in
:17:30. > :17:36.California when I was doing a documentary on it. When something is
:17:37. > :17:39.possible people will just do it. But then we had the same fears about
:17:40. > :17:45.human cloning many years ago as well. If you want more information
:17:46. > :17:45.on this story you can get it on the BBC news at.
:17:46. > :17:47.Thousands of Syrian refugees and fighters are being
:17:48. > :17:49.evacuated from camps on the Lebanese border today.
:17:50. > :17:51.The operation is part of a ceasefire deal struck
:17:52. > :17:53.between fighters belonging to the Lebanese Shia Hezbollah
:17:54. > :17:57.Over 100 buses will transport Syrian civillians, and also jihadi
:17:58. > :17:59.fighters, back into Syria and our Correspondent Carine Torbey
:18:00. > :18:17.is on the Lebanese border with the latest.
:18:18. > :18:20.This is the road that around 150 buses carrying thousands
:18:21. > :18:22.of civilians and hundreds of fighters from Jabhat Fateh
:18:23. > :18:23.al-Sham, the previously known al-Nusra Front,
:18:24. > :18:26.will be taking out of here, the outskirts of Arsal,
:18:27. > :18:29.on the border between Lebanon and Syria, into Syria.
:18:30. > :18:32.The convoy of buses will be accompanied by fighters
:18:33. > :18:34.from Hezbollah who drove the militants out of these
:18:35. > :18:38.mountains just two weeks ago in a six-day battle.
:18:39. > :18:41.The journey between here and Syria is expected to be a long
:18:42. > :18:48.and exhausting one and once the buses arrive to the opposition
:18:49. > :18:52.held area of Idlib, five Hezbollah fighters who were held hostage
:18:53. > :19:01.The completion of this whole operation will mark the end
:19:02. > :19:04.of the presence of militants from what was previously known
:19:05. > :19:09.as al-Nusra Front in Lebanon and is expected to further secure
:19:10. > :19:23.Poland is refusing to comply with a European Court order to stop
:19:24. > :19:25.logging in Europe's last remaining tract of primeval forrest.
:19:26. > :19:27.The government argues it's necessary to control a beetle outbreak.
:19:28. > :19:30.If the dispute remains unresolved, it could lead to hefty financial
:19:31. > :19:32.penalties and further strain the already tense relationship
:19:33. > :19:47.A relic of ancient woodlands and home to one of the world's
:19:48. > :19:48.largest population of European bison.
:19:49. > :19:55.Covering almost 150,000 hectares on the border of Poland and Belarus,
:19:56. > :19:57.the Unesco-listed Bialowieza forest is also the focus of a legal
:19:58. > :19:59.tussle over logging that has gone all the way
:20:00. > :20:07.It has issued a preliminary decision ordering the immediate
:20:08. > :20:09.suspension of all logging, but Poland is refusing
:20:10. > :20:11.to comply with the order, arguing it is trying to contain
:20:12. > :20:17.TRANSLATION: We have to fulfil the protective measures planned
:20:18. > :20:21.for the forest and this is what we are doing.
:20:22. > :20:23.The Polish government says authorities are conducting
:20:24. > :20:26.an experiment, which could last several years, to work out the best
:20:27. > :20:33.By then, though, conservationists warn the logging will have
:20:34. > :20:38.The dispute has led to scuffles on the ground.
:20:39. > :20:41.A cameraman was allegedly assaulted by a timber worker while trying
:20:42. > :20:43.to film logging operations after the court order
:20:44. > :20:50.The legal stand-off is just the latest challenge by Poland
:20:51. > :20:53.to the European Union's authority and could lead to a 4 million euros
:20:54. > :21:04.fine along with daily penalties if it continues unresolved.
:21:05. > :21:09.After 65 years of official public engagements, Britain's Prince Philip
:21:10. > :21:11.has made his final solo appearance on royal duty today.
:21:12. > :21:13.He attended a parade by the Royal Marines,
:21:14. > :21:19.Now 96, he's the longest serving consort in British history.
:21:20. > :21:21.Our Royal Correspondent Nicholas Witchell is at
:21:22. > :21:32.It was the kind of afternoon weather-wise which might have made
:21:33. > :21:36.Quite apart from the fact that in the Duke's case he's been doing
:21:37. > :21:41.But there he was, on the forecourt of Buckingham Palace, a man of 96,
:21:42. > :21:44.standing to attention in the pouring rain for the salute he has
:21:45. > :21:53.There were many things to remind him of the past decade.
:21:54. > :21:55.The parade had been mounted by the Royal Marines,
:21:56. > :21:58.the fighting force which is part of his beloved Royal Navy.
:21:59. > :22:04.And in the background was the Palace where he has
:22:05. > :22:06.attended so many events, garden parties and the formal
:22:07. > :22:12.And where his programme, 22,000 solo engagements,
:22:13. > :22:18.more than 5,000 speeches, has been planned.
:22:19. > :22:22.The Duke strode across the forecourt, no stick for him
:22:23. > :22:24.and woe betide anyone who might suggest such a thing.
:22:25. > :22:27.And as he went, the crowd outside the Palace applauded.
:22:28. > :22:38.The Royal Marines gave him three cheers.
:22:39. > :22:42.The Duke waved his hat and strode away.
:22:43. > :22:47.And as he went the band of Her Majesty's Royal Marines
:22:48. > :23:01.After 70 years' service, and with his own separate programme
:23:02. > :23:03.of royal engagements now concluded, who today would have
:23:04. > :23:18.Nicholas Witchell, BBC News, Buckingham Palace.
:23:19. > :23:20.President Donald Trump has called the Russia sanctions legislation
:23:21. > :23:22.he just signed into law, quote, "significantly flawed".
:23:23. > :23:24.The new legislation is in response to alleged Russian interfering
:23:25. > :23:26.in the US election and limits Mr Trump's ability
:23:27. > :23:34.to negotiate sanctions without Congressional approval.
:23:35. > :23:35.For more, I'm joined by our correspondent
:23:36. > :23:50.If he doesn't like it, why did he sign it? He was in a corner.
:23:51. > :23:53.Congress went through with the legislation, unanimously approved by
:23:54. > :24:02.Republicans and Democrats, and the way that American democracy works as
:24:03. > :24:06.it landed on his desk. It sat there all weekend, he said he would sign
:24:07. > :24:09.it and he has but he has issued a flurry of responses as the number of
:24:10. > :24:17.reasons why he does not like it. One of those is that it will limit his
:24:18. > :24:21.ability to lift or waive sanctions against Russia or any other country
:24:22. > :24:25.in future but it also places limits on the amount of money that
:24:26. > :24:29.Americans can invest in, for instance, Russian energy projects.
:24:30. > :24:32.He believes some of these regulations will limit the ability
:24:33. > :24:38.for American firms to do business in Russia. That is one reason why he
:24:39. > :24:42.says he is finding this significantly flawed. But he does
:24:43. > :24:48.feel that Congress is stepping on his toes, overreaching itself,
:24:49. > :24:54.another reason why he says this is unconstitutional. Has Congress
:24:55. > :25:00.restricted presidents in a similar way in the past? They have done in
:25:01. > :25:04.the past but this is quite an unusual move by Congress and by
:25:05. > :25:13.signing it Donald Trump is effectively making it law which
:25:14. > :25:16.means he has to abide by it. He did try to work with Congress to try to
:25:17. > :25:21.change the language of the bill but here we are, he has been boxed into
:25:22. > :25:27.a corner, and Russia already retaliated over the weekend by
:25:28. > :25:31.saying they would expel half of the diplomatic staff, US diplomatic
:25:32. > :25:34.staff working in Russia. His hope of a new reset with Russia is in
:25:35. > :25:46.tatters at the moment. Our top story, for the first time
:25:47. > :25:54.scientists have prepared a faulty gene in human embryos using a
:25:55. > :26:02.process known as gene editing to correct DNA against a deadly heart
:26:03. > :26:14.Today was a pretty miserable day for large parts of the United Kingdom
:26:15. > :26:16.and it remains pretty unsettled over the next few