France and Germany have called on the United Nations to start work on an international convention to outlaw the cloning of human beings for the purposes of reproduction.

Paris and Berlin delivered their request to Kofi Annan, the UN Secretary-General, after Dr Severino Antinori, an Italian embryologist, said he would start cloning experiments within weeks. His scheme, intended to help childless couples, has brought condemnation across Europe. 

Pope is clement

Rome: The Vatican suspended its decision to excommunicate Mgr Emmanuel Milingo, 71, because of his marriage to a member of the Unification Church. The announcement came after the former Archbishop of Lusaka, Zambia, was granted an audience with the Pope.

Children Stabbed

Tokyo: A girl aged five and her brother, two, were stabbed to death and their six-year-old sister seriously wounded when an intruder broke into their home in Hiroo, on the northern island of Hokkaido. A man was being questioned by police after he gave himself up.