A group of 'eco-sex activists' is making and selling online access to amateur 'ecoporn' to raise money for and awareness of the earth's endangered rain forests.

On Monday, a full ban on the testing of cosmetic products on animals came into force in the European Union. The complete ban was welcomed by animal rights groups but some in the cosmetics industry remain unconvinced.

Lost amongst the Europe-wide furore concerning the discovery of horsemeat in processed foods, on February 14 the European Union quietly announced a partial lifting of the ban on animal proteins in feedstuffs.

Prague - Rock stars Bono, Edge, Sting, Peter Gabriel, and Yoko Ono Lennon have paid the costs of a tapestry that will be unveiled next month at the Prague airport, which has been renamed after former Czech President Vaclav Havel.

Researchers have shown that the chemical triclosan is particularly harmful to the ecological status of rivers and its use not sufficiently controlled. Triclosan is a common chemical added to hand sanitizers used in the home and in hospitals.

Global environmental campaigning group Greenpeace is urging the European Union not to authorise herbicide-tolerant genetically engineered (HTGE) crops, stating such crops lead to herbicide-resistant super-weeds.

It was a very good year for organizers of the IIHF World Championships, who made a healthy profit despite protests about skyrocketing ticket prices.

Bratislava - Handing over a bribe for access to health-care is commonplace in Slovakia. Now the Doctors Trade Union LOZ has launched the anti-bribe campaign "No thanks, I don’t take bribes.”

A video by a Slovakian photographer Adrian Skippy Purkart, shows ants swarming around the queen already half-eaten by a crab spider. The video shows the males repeatedly trying to mate with their dying queen as the crab spider eats her alive head-first.

Two young boys are suspected of accidentally setting fire to a Gothic castle in eastern Slovakia whilst trying to smoke. Both boys are under 15 and cannot be prosecuted under Slovakian law.

The Sedin brothers are exceptional for many reasons, identical twins with loads of talent, a great work ethic and durability. And you can add this to their list of accomplishments: they are the first Swedes to make the all-time NHL family-scoring top 20.

New York - Moody's has announced that it has downgraded the credit rating of six European countries, while three other nations had their outlook cut to negative. These downgrades come as the European debt crisis persists and the economy remains weak.

Budapest - Hungary has seen the largest demonstration since the end of Communism, comprising civil society groups, as well as the Roma minority and Hungarians from former Hungarian lands in neighbouring countries.

No other nation offers a remote threat to America’s global military dominance, yet the nation spends nearly as much as the rest of the world combined on defense. The U.S. is in an arms race, but against whom?

Buffalo Sabres goalie Ryan Miller, this season the NHL's version of a pinata, is looking for the NHL to do more to protect goalies in their crease. On Dec. 22, Miller held conference with reporters and talked about a solution - more penalties.

Napoli - Napoli player Marek Hamsik must have felt like hiding under a rock following a recent game with Juventus. After scoring a penalty, he celebrated as if he'd won the World Cup. The penalty was then disallowed, before he completely spooned the re-take.

New York - The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has posthumously recognised the efforts of a Hungarian politician in wartime Slovakia who was the only member of the Slovak Parliament to vote against a law expelling Jews from the country.

Some NGOs genuinely contribute to enhancing welfare, to the mitigation of hunger, the furtherance of human and civil rights, or the curbing of disease. Others are ideologically biased, religiously-committed and, often, at the service of special interests.

Kosice - He’s far from Canada’s most likely candidate when it comes to scoring the big goal in overtime. But defenceman Alex Pietrangelo took advantage of an unlikely situation in the final game of the preliminary rounds at the 2011 IIHF World Championship.

Comparative quality-of-life and economic data suggest Australia, Canada, and the Netherlands lead thirty-three nations among the world's advanced economies. But there is more to the story.