The Council of Europe is asking the Czech Republic to stop the surgical castration of convicted sex offenders. The request was made after members of the council's anti-torture committee visited hospitals and jails in the country.

In its report, the committee wrote, "Surgical castration is a mutilating, irreversible intervention and cannot be considered as a medical necessity in the context of the treatment of sex offenders... the intervention removes a person's ability to procreate and has serious physical and mental consequences."

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon took a solar-powered cab to work on Friday to raise awareness about climate change and to promote environmentally-friendly technologies.

The ride on the Swiss-built Solartaxi took Ban from his home in New York to the UN Secretariat building. Louis Palmer, the Solartaxi's inventor, drove him to his office.

German naturists swimming and sunbathing on a nude beach near the Polish border are complaining about voyeurs from the other side of the border who stare at them.

One nude beach patron, Ines Muller, said beach-goers from Poland come to the beach in Germany to stare at nude swimmers and sunbathers.

A drunk Russian-speaking passenger who became unruly and started yelling he was a terrorist prompted a Lufthansa Airbus A320 to make an emergency landing in the Polish city of Katowice on Monday.

The middle-aged passenger cooperated though when an anti-terrorist squad removed him from the plane. He would be questioned by airport police as soon as he sobers up.

Amid security threats of possible Hezbollah attacks, tens of thousands visited Jerusalem on Good Friday to commemorate the crucifixion and death of Jesus of Nazareth at Calvary.

The religious visitors came from Spain, Poland, the Philippines, Brazil and other African nations. Fewer local Christians however were seen compared to previous years due to sporadic militant assaults from neighboring countries.