Christian groups in Britain begin a legal challenge today to the granting of licenses allowing scientists to develop embryos containing both human and animal tissue.They also insist that scientific advances have made use of these embryos unnecessary.Here is our religious affairs correspondent Robert Pigert.

"Controversial proposals to allow scientists to grow human stem cells inside animal eggs are contained in legislation currently going through the Parliament,but the Christian Legal Center insists that the existing legislation dating from 1990 doesn't permit the process.The group which includes Christian lawyers and doctors claims that the human fertilization and embryology authority's granting of licenses to Newcastle University and King's College in London was therefore illegal.It will today ask the high court to overturn the licenses."

The police investigation in Vietnam has found that 30 new-born babys and young children were sold by a criminal gang in the six month up to February this year.Police said the infants were bought from poor families and rural parts of Vietnam and sold on to childless couples in China.The Vietnamese authorities have arrested 11 people so far and are searching for another four.