The Canadian government launches a formal challenge against the EU over its ban on Canadian seal products.

The Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto investigates the sudden death of 20,000 bees in a glass-enclosed beehive exhibit.

Colombia's Farc rebels release two more hostages, bringing the number released so far this week to three.

A cross-eyed, overweight opossum called Heidi gets a starring role in coverage of this year's Academy Awards - predicting the Oscar winners.

Actress Dame Elizabeth Taylor is admitted to hospital in Los Angeles for treatment of congestive heart failure.

The coldest weather in 20 years in northern Mexico has devastated the maize crop in Sinaloa state, threatening supplies of the national staple food.

A New York zoo offers a Valentine's gift for Americans who have caught the love bug: a chance to name a cockroach after their loved ones.

Thousands of riot police are deployed in the centre of the Algerian capital, Algiers, ahead of a planned anti-government protest which has been banned by authorities.