BBC在线收听下载:奥巴马宣布启动“精准医学”计划

BBC news 2015-01-31

BBC News with Jerry Smit

The new Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis has told the eurozone senior official that his government does not intend to negotiate with representatives of the international creditors that provided the country's multi-billion bailout. His comments came following talks in Athens with the Dutch finance minister who advised Greece against taking unilateral steps. Mark Lowen reports from Athens.

Their body language was icy, their opinions poles apart. It was a sign of the tough talks that lie ahead. The Dutch finance minister said Greece should not take unilateral actions and that progress had been made in the past five years that must continue. But his Greek counterpart warned that his government would only cooperate with elected EU leaders and institutions, not the so-called troika - representatives of Greece's creditors. And he said the bailout programme would not continue, calling it anti-European and its logic.

President Obama has unveiled plans to collect and analyse genetic information from one million American volunteers to develop medicines that target illnesses of individual patients more efficiently. Mr Obama said the initiative wound lay the foundation for a new era for life-saving discoveries. From Washington Naomi Grimley.

Scientists will analyse the genetic data of thousands of volunteers - young, old, healthy, ill, male and female. It's part of what's called "precision medicine", meaning that drug treatments can be tailored to an individual's genetic make-up. It's particularly useful in treating diseases such as breast cancer, which can be driven by a variety of genetic mutations. Some civil liberties campaigners have raised questions about the collection of such data on a mass scale.

The man who led South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission has welcomed the decision to release an infamous killer from the apartheid era as a milestone in the country's healing. Archbishop Desmond Tutu said the granting of parole to Eugene de Kock was a credit to the country's ability to forgive. But the authorities have refused to release another high-profile murderer Clive Derby-Lewis. Grant Ferrett has more.

Eugene de Kock was a prolific killer, personally carrying out torture and murder. In recent years though he sought forgiveness from victims' families. In contrast Clive Derby-Lewis was convicted of only one killing. But his victim - the head of the South African Communist Party, Chris Hani - could hardly have been more high-profile. Now 79 and suffering from cancer, the former far-right MP was refused parole. The justice minister questioned the severity of his illness and said he'd failed to show remorse.

Grant Ferrett

The number of people killed in a bomb blast in a Shia mosque in Pakistan's southern Sindh province has gone up to 55. Forty others were injured in the blast which happened shortly after Friday prayers.

World News from the BBC

The Church of England and the Roman Catholic Church in Britain have urged members of parliament to reject proposals to allow the creation of human embryos using DNA from three people. Scientists have developed the technique to prevent some genetic diseases from being passed on. But the Church of England said it had to ensure that the new treatment was safe and that it worked.

The United States has criticised Israel's decision to issue tenders to build more homes in occupied Palestinian territory, saying it will further isolate the Israelis internationally. The White House spokesman Josh Earnest said such a move did nothing to bolster Israel's security or further the cause of peace. "We believe that settlements are illegitimate and counterproductive to achieving a two-state outcome. We have deep concerns about these highly contentious settlement construction announcements. They will have detrimental impacts on the ground, inflame already heightened tensions with the Palestinians and further isolate the Israelis internationally. You know, the United States, as a close ally of Israel, you know, uses our diplomatic influence around the globe to try to build support for Israel. And an announcement like this only serves to further isolate them."

Israel says it's simply re-marketing tenders for housing units that failed to sell last year.

New regulations have been published in Venezuela, allowing soldiers to open fire if they feel their lives are at risk during demonstrations. The regulations allow them to use deadly force to maintain public order as opposed to previous wording that allowed them to assert an imposing presence. The defence minister said the changes were made in direct response to three months of violent protests last year.

Thousands of Kenyan children have taken part in an attempt to break the world record for the number of people simultaneously reading aloud from the same book. The organisers hope the project will help to promote a culture of reading for pleasure.

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