Source: Sky News
Security & Justice
Lebanon’s Border Villages Face Renewed Devastation Amid Israeli Withdrawal
The Israeli army withdrew from the southern Lebanese village of Bani Hayyan on Friday morning, two days after entering the area in the Marjayoun district. According to local reports, Israeli forces demolished multiple homes as they retreated.
Friday, December 20, 2024
Interview Set to Shed Light on Mossad’s Decade-Long Covert Operation Against Hezbollah
In a highly anticipated episode of CBS’s 60 Minutes, recently retired Mossad agents provide unprecedented insights into a decade-long covert operation targeting Hezbollah. The agents, whose identities remain concealed with masks and altered voices, share with journalist Lesley Stahl the intricate details of their mission to sabotage Hezbollah’s communications network.
Friday, December 20, 2024
Opinion
Lebanon After the Assads
The United States has important equities in Lebanon, including a desire for a generally friendly government’s economic and political stability; security cooperation; long-standing relations with the large Christian community in Lebanon and Lebanese diaspora in the United States; and ultimately peace between Israel and Lebanon within a broader regional settlement. Achieving these objectives will require navigating a tumultuous period in the country’s history following a war between Hezbollah and Israel that has devastated a large part of the country, exacerbating Lebanon’s already challenging economic conditions. But perhaps the most important dynamic will be how a likely Sunni-dominated state of uncertain composition in Syria will differ in its intentions toward Lebanon from the previous Alawite-led minoritarian Assad regime.
Thursday, December 19, 2024
Europe’s Syrian Dilemma
The news of the sudden and unexpected demise of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria has met a mixed response in Europe. The jubilation that a murderous dictator and close ally of Russia and Iran has fallen is not just good for the Syrian people but serves as a morale booster for Eastern Europeans wondering whether Russia can be defeated
Wednesday, December 18, 2024
Sports
Cristiano Ronaldo Unveils New Private Jet Worth $73 Million
Cristiano Ronaldo, one of the richest global athletes, has unveiled his upgraded private jet reportedly worth $73 million. With its top-notch design, exceptional speed and range of 7500 nautical miles, the Gulfstream G650 is among the fastest jets in the world.
Monday, December 16, 2024
Guardiola Accepts Man City May Need to Sign More Players to Cope with Schedule
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola believes he will need a bigger squad to handle soccer’s ever-expanding fixture schedule.
Saturday, December 14, 2024
Friday 29 July 2022 15:00:52
Jab to ‘Cure’ Genetic Heart Conditions That Cause Sudden Death Could Be Just a Few Years Away
A "once-in-a-generation" jab that could "cure" genetic heart conditions that cause sudden death is just a few years away, scientists say.
An international team of researchers is developing the first cures for inherited heart muscle diseases by rewriting DNA with the aim of editing or silencing faulty genes.
They have been awarded £30m by the British Heart Foundation (BHF) to fund their research.
The hope is that within just a few years a "cure" injection can be delivered to patients as a jab in the arm, and could be used to prevent illness in family members who carry the same faulty gene.
Inherited heart muscle conditions are driven by different abnormalities in the heart but can cause sudden death or progressive heart failure.
Every week in the UK, 12 people under the age of 35 die of an undiagnosed heart condition, very often caused by an inherited heart muscle disease, also known as genetic cardiomyopathy.
All those with genetic cardiomyopathies have a 50-50 risk of passing faulty genes on to each of their children and, often, several members of the same family develop heart failure, need a heart transplant, or die at a young age.
Professor Hugh Watkins, from the University of Oxford and lead investigator of the CureHeart project, said cardiomyopathies are "really common" and affect one person in every 250.
"There will be one or two in every school," he told a briefing. "Every GP surgery will have several patients with these conditions, but there's quite a range of severity."
He said not all patients would require the new therapy being proposed, but "a very large number" would benefit.
He added: "This is our once-in-generation opportunity to relieve families of the constant worry of sudden death, heart failure, and the potential need for a heart transplant.
"After 30 years of research, we have discovered many of the genes and specific genetic faults responsible for different cardiomyopathies, and how they work. We believe that we will have a gene therapy ready to start testing in clinical trials in the next five years."
