UN derails ban on human cloning

The move meant that members did not get the opportunity to vote on a proposal by the US and Costa Rica which would have banned human cloning.

The issue has divided the 191 member states on the committee.

No consensus

BBC science correspondent Richard Black says negotiations on human cloning started over a year ago at the UN, but were postponed for a year in the face of a fundamental division between two groups of nations.

One, headed by the US and Costa Rica, wanted to ban all kinds of human cloning.

The other, led by France and Germany, wanted to ban reproductive cloning but allow therapeutic cloning - research which could lead to a new generation of medical treatments.

However, the decision to approve the Iranian call for a delay meant that neither of the rival proposals for a ban could be put to the vote.

Scientists dismayed

Fifteen countries abstained in the vote on the Iranian motion, which diplomats said was intended as a compromise measure reflecting the lack of consensus.

The US deputy ambassador to the UN, James Cunningham, said 100 nations supported the US view that a total worldwide ban on human cloning was needed.

He said countries advocating a partial ban had backed the call for a delay because they feared they would lose the argument.

However, the UK's Department of Health said it was pleased that the UN had decided "not to press ahead with a ban on all forms of cloning".

The statement added that the UK Government would continue to encourage research into therapeutic cloning "which offers so many patients and their families the hope of life-saving treatments".

Correspondents say the outcome is likely to dismay mainstream scientists and ethical campaigners alike, as it leaves the door open to maverick attempts to create a human clone.

Iran's "king of pop" is dead. Vigen 
Derderian died of cancer yesterday 
in Los Angeles He was seventy-three 
years old. Vigen, as he liked to be 
called, had a career that spanned 
half a century. He was considered 
Iran's first male pop and jazz star, 
with a smooth style that won him 
the nickname "The Sultan of Jazz.'' 
Vigen was born in 1929 to a modest 
family in western Iran. And even 
though he was from Iran's minority
Armenian community, he was loved 
by all Iranians. In fact, Vigen almost 
always sang in Farsi. In 1979, after 
the Islamic revolution banned pop 
music, Vigen left the country
and began a new life in Los Angeles. 
He performed there and in Europe, 
often to sold out audiences. 
He will be remembered as one of 
Iran's greatest entertainers.

Also, Here is the link to BBC's 
news article on Vigen:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle

_east/3218885.stm

Listen to his music here