Qian in Egypt

The Chinese Foreign Minister, Qian Qichen, has accused the United Nations of double standards over the issue of weapons of mass destruction.

Mr Qian -- who's on a visit to Cairo -- said he doubted that Iraq still had such weapons and he said the UN arms inspectors in Iraq should base their search on proof not suspicions.

Earlier, Mr Qian -- who's on a tour of the region -- met the Egyptian president, Hosni Mubarak.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service