Mates condoms Durex pleasuremax Vibrating condom Ribbed condoms - Econdoms

Three Irish women are taking Ireland to the European Court of Human Rights over their country's laws on abortion. The Irish Family Planning Association is supporting the case of the women, who have all had abortions in the UK within the past year.

The association estimates that 6,000 Irish women travel to the UK each year to have abortions.

Under Irish law, abortion remains illegal unless the mother's life would be in real danger without it.

The Irish Family Planning Association says it is campaigning to make abortion safe and legal in Ireland, and it will meet political leaders to discuss the matter over the next few weeks.

The three women, who have not been named, claim Ireland's laws violate articles within the European Convention on Human Rights, and that Irish law on abortion "jeopardises their health and well-being".

The campaign was criticised by groups opposed to abortion in what is a predominantly Roman Catholic country.

There have been some calls for a fresh referendum aimed at preventing the government from changing the law on abortion, although the government says it has no plans to introduce any legislation on what is a highly sensitive issue.

By James Helm
BBC correspondent in Dublin

BBC News

Sexy female tax inspectors are stripping off to expose tax frauds at beachside bars in Italy. Tax authorities have admitted that they have sent the undercover female tax agents posing as bikini-clad holidaymakers to the tourist region of Liguria to see if bars and restaurants were issuing customers with proper receipts.

News website Tgcom.it reported the trial project has been such a success, it will now be expanded to the rest of the country.

It is estimated the state loses millions of pounds a year in tax frauds by companies which do not give out proper receipts to customers.

Ananova.com

An Austrian museum is offering free entrance to anyone who turns up naked. With temperatures in Vienna reaching 36C, the Leopold Museum says its latest campaign has come at just the right time.

Spokeswoman Verena Dahlitz said: "We're offering free entrance to anyone who turns up in their birthday suit as a promotion for our latest exhibition The Naked Truth.

"We understand that some people may be shy, and so we'll probably let them in free in swimming costumes, but we're hoping once inside they'll realise how liberating it is to look at the art in the nude."

The exhibition features works by three of Austria's greatest artists Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele and Oskar Kokoschka.

Ananova.com

Teenage mums are being trained to go into schools and explode myths about sex and pregnancy. The scheme is being set up by Tameside Council, in Greater Manchester, to reduce the number of teenage pregnancies in the borough.

It comes after a survey revealed young people believed patchy sex education and under-age drinking were to blame for the problem.

Teachers, parents and school governors were also consulted.

Greater Manchester has one of the worst records in Europe for teenage pregnancies.

BBC News

Parents should be forced by law to teach their children about sex, teachers are expected to argue. Too many teenage girls are becoming pregnant because of lack of knowledge, the Professional Association of Teachers' annual conference will hear.

Tony Reynolds, a teacher from Cambridge, said many parents did not deal seriously enough with children's sex education.

The UK has one of the highest rates of teenage pregnancy in western Europe.

'Taking the blame'

Mr Reynolds, from Over Community Primary School, said a family in Derby, where three sisters aged 12, 14 and 16 were mothers, showed the seriousness of the situation.

Their own mother, Julie Atkins, blamed their pregnancies on schools for not teaching children enough about sex, he added.

Mr Reynolds said: "We don't need to go into the rights and wrongs of this case as to me it is clear that schools cannot and should not be left in a position where they may take the blame for the current situation.

"The delivery of sex education has to be the joint responsibility of both the home and the school.

"Of course, there will be too many parents unwilling or unable to do this at present.

"Therefore the government must ensure via legislation that parents have their responsibilities clearly set out."

Peer pressure meant many pupils were afraid to ask questions about sex when it is covered in class.

Meanwhile, many parents were too embarrassed to tackle the subject at home, he said.

The conference is debating Mr Reynolds's motion demanding new laws requiring parents "to take more responsibility for teaching their children about sex and morality".

BBC News

A third of young people admit they turn to food when they are unhappy about their love lives, a survey has shown. The Priory Group, which treats people with eating disorders, questioned 1,000 people, and found those aged 15 to 24 had the worst relation with food.

Just over 60% said they comfort eat with chocolate and 43% with fast food, which experts say raises concerns over their general eating habits.

Specialists warn a reliance on comfort foods can lead to eating disorders.

Dr Peter Rowan, a consultant psychiatrist with the Priory Group, said: "These young adults, who will be raising the next generation, will pass their attitudes to food on to their children.

"If current trends are continued, eating behaviour will become progressively more detached from food and health needs, and the number of young people with eating disorders will continue to rise."

Almost 1.1 million Britons have been diagnosed with an eating disorder, but the number of sufferers is thought to be much higher.

'Hungry for love'

In total, the Priory Group estimates around 11m adults in the UK have issues or problems with food.

It found 52% of adults admit to gorging on chocolate when they feel down, and another 25% turn to junk food.

However, 63% said they felt less attractive when they felt overweight, and 74% felt better about themselves when they ate healthily.

Dr Rowan said: "These people are desperate to fill the void created by loneliness, low self esteem, depression and insecurity.

"You could describe this as 'hungry for love'.

"Sadly this form of comfort eating is bad for them, leading to a range of physical illnesses associated with obesity and with the development of eating disorders, which can be a severe form of mental illness."

He added: "We learn from infancy and the gifts of our mothers, to associate food with love.

"This lesson is not modified with time and the gift of food is used to reward us and for us to reward others."

Susan Ringwood, chief executive of the Eating Disorders Association, said: "Eating disorders can develop when someone uses food to try and control their feelings, which can be physically and mentally damaging.

"The best way to make a full recovery is to seek help as soon as a problem develops."

BBC News

Hundreds of music lovers attended a free musical festival celebrating gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender culture in Oxfordshire on Saturday. The Oxford Pride 2005 carnival, which hosted live acts and a funfair, was aimed at promoting diversity and acceptance, organisers said.

The annual festival, backed by the city council, was opened by Dr Evan Harris, Oxford West and Abingdon MP.

The event is also supported by Oxford Lesbian and Gay Community Centre.

Mr Harris said: "I am very pleased to be a patron of Oxford Pride. The campaign for full equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people has made real progress recently but there is still a way to go.

"Groups like Oxford Pride raise awareness, provide support to members of the community and have a key role to play in ending discrimination and changing homophobic attitudes and practices."

BBC News

Police in India forced nearly 200 cinema goers to do ten sit ups each for watching a porn film. The audience, in Balasore, Orissa, also had to promise never to watch porn again, reports the Hindustan Times.

It's part of a new police tactic of trying to prevent pornographic movies from being screened.

Instead of prosecuting cinema-owners, the police are trying to scare their audience away.

Balasore SP Sanjeev Panda said a police team, acting on a tip-off, raided the theatre and detained the audience. They were taken to a public place and made to do 10 sit-ups each.

"Earlier, we acted against the hall owners and their staff. But it failed to effectively check illegal screening of obscene movies. So we decided to crack down on the audience," Panda said.

The audience also included a large number of truant schoolchildren below 17. Their parents were called by the police and made to witness the punishment.

Ananova.com

A Ugandan MP is raising funds to send virgins to university for free. Sulaiman Madada says he wants to encourage schoolgirls to be morally upright and avoid early marriages.

"We do not want these girls to get exposed to Aids," he told the Associated Press. Uganda is often held up as a model of how to fight HIV/Aids.

Infection rates have fallen from 15% to 5% but critics say this could now rise because the government is promoting abstinence, rather than safe sex.

The call for abstinence in fighting HIV/Aids is backed by religious groups and Uganda's first lady Janet Museveni, who supports a campaign for young Ugandans to pledge abstinence until marriage.

Only girls in Kayunga district who pass a virginity test will qualify for the bursary, which will start next year.

Kayunga, in central Uganda, has one of the highest HIV/Aids infection rates in the country.

"I believe this bursary will make a difference," Mr Madada told the AFP news agency.

"I have contacted some NGOs and well-wishers to join me in this."

The number of scholarships will depend on his fundraising efforts, he said.

BBC News

A German man was arrested after repeatedly dialling '999' after falling in love with the operator's voice.

Cops managed to track down Guenther Bergmann by following the line of telephone booths he used to make the calls.

Bergmann, 45, from Duesseldorf, who had been drinking, told police he couldn't help himself.

"The first time I called it was an accident, I just pressed the wrong buttons. But the operator had such a sexy voice that I lost control and had to keep ringing back. I think I'm in love with her," he said.

He now faces charges for wasting police time.

Ananova.com