03 July 2009- London, England- The prime minister made the comments in a message of support to the organisers of this weekend's march in London.

Mr Brown's wife Sarah is expected to join up to 1 million lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) marchers at Saturday's parade.

Peter Tatchell, the prominent gay rights campaigner and founder of the group Pride, said he would march with Mrs Brown.

He promised not to try to embarrass her despite an earlier row when he was not invited to a Downing Street reception for gay community leaders.

"Sarah's participation is much appreciated," said Mr Tatchell. "I won't embarrass her. I will be on my best behaviour.

"But I do plan to remind Sarah that she and Gordon were able to get married, whereas gay couples cannot. Her husband supports the ban on same-sex marriage. He won't give lesbian and gay partners the same right to marry as him and Sarah have enjoyed.

"I hope Sarah will be persuaded that the time has come for marriage equality, and that she'll have a word in Gordon's ear when she gets back to Downing Street after the parade."

Mr Tatchell said that the civil partnerships introduced by Labour for same-sex couples were "a form of sexual apartheid" because they institutionalised different marriage laws for heterosexual and homosexual people.

In his message to Pride London, Mr Brown described the creation of civil partnerships as one of a set of "massive strides towards equality" for the gay community made under the Labour Government.

"I'm very proud of all that this Government has achieved on LGBT rights these last 12 years - often in the face of fierce opposition," said the Prime Minister.

"But I also know that we quite simply couldn't have done it without the activism of our out and proud LGBT community, so I hope you're very proud of what your campaigning has achieved: you've changed laws, you've changed lives, you've changed the world.

"Together we've done a lot - but we can never be complacent and must always be vigilant to see that progress isn't reversed.

"This Government is committed to standing at your shoulders in the fight for equality and we are guided by one very simple principle when it comes to LGBT rights: you can't legislate love."

On Wednesday, David Cameron, the Conservative leader, publicly apologised for Section 28 - the law introduced by the Thatcher government banning local authorities from promoting homosexuality.

Mr Cameron, speaking at another Gay pride event, went much further than before in apologising for decisions taken by the party when Baroness Thatcher was leader.

He said: "I am sorry for Section 28. We got it wrong. It was an emotional issue. I hope you can forgive us."

Section 28, which became law in 1988, banned local authorities from portraying homosexuality in a positive light. It became a totemic issue for Conservative modernisers. In 2003, when it was abolished by the Labour government, Mr Cameron voted for only the partial lifting of the ban.

13 June 2009- Thousands of people across Europe on Saturday took part in colourful gay pride parades to protest against anti-gay prejudice.

In Rome, organisers said an estimated 200,000 people took part while in the French city of Strasbourg the turnout was put at between 2,800 and 3,500 by police and organisers.

Around 2,000 Greek gay and lesbian people also marked the annual gay pride event in Athens, with an estimated 1,000 taking to the streets in Warsaw and several hundred in Zagreb.

Gay rights activist Rossana Traitano in Rome said the country had more in common with "Russia than with France" in its attitude to gays and lesbians.

In Zagreb, special police accompanied the marchers and a few dozen anti-gay protesters carrying banners with slogans including "gay pride the shame of our city" booed and shouted insults.

"Despite our presence there is still a lack of freedom, a restrictedness," Marko Jurcic, a gay activist, told journalists before a 30-minute-long march through central Zagreb.

"We want that the city of Zagreb, its institutions and citizens recognise our existence and our support for an open and better Zagreb," he added.

"They (gays) are endangering the freedom of normal, heterosexual people who want to raise their families ... and live according to God's and natural laws," said Josip Miljak, head of the extreme-right Croatian Pure Party of Rights that organised the anti-gay protest.

Polish activist Tomasz Baczkowski said attitudes were changing slowly in the largely Catholic country.

"But the intolerance is still omnipresent, so much so that our parades are always useful," he said.

12 June 2009- Netherlands- A leaked report from the Dutch government has said that religious schools can refuse to employ gay teachers.

The report came from the Council of State, the highest advisory body to the Dutch government. It said that religious schools can exclude gay teachers if their behaviour is contrary to school beliefs, regardless of whether it is outside the classroom.

The advisory paper, which had been prepared for the government, was leaked to a newspaper with Christian values, NRC Handelsblad reports.

Although it said schools must not discriminate, the report said they have the right to demand "explicit loyalty" from staff with regard to school ethos. The vast majority of religious schools are, like non-denominational schools, state-funded.

In April, the village of Emst saw a gay male teacher suspended after he spoke to fellow members of staff at the school where he worked about being in a relationship with another man.

According to the school board, his sexual orientation was in conflict with the school's mission.

In the same month, the Dutch Labour party's minister for education, Ronald Plasterk, wrote to high schools and primary schools saying that they should not exclude gay staff on the grounds of Christian beliefs.

The school's dismissal of the teacher in Emst, and the leaked report from the Council of State both seem to contradict article one of the Dutch constitution which states that: "All persons in the Netherlands shall be treated equally in equal circumstances. Discrimination on the grounds of religion, belief, political opinion, race or sex or on any other grounds whatsoever shall not be permitted."

The Netherlands' current law on anti-discrimination policy states that no schools in the country, even religious schools, can allow the "single fact" of a person's sexuality, race or gender to affect whether they are hired for a position, or dismissed.

However the law currently allows what is known as "additional behaviour" to be taken into consideration. If a teacher leads “a certain lifestyle” which the school that employs them considers contrary to what the institution represents, they could run the risk of dismissal.

The Council of State has suggested removing the "single fact" rule from the anti-discrimination law. It would instead allow schools to consider "additional circumstances" and make distinctions and decisions based on these.

While religious schools praised the Council's report, which has yet to be officially released, it was met with condemnation by gay rights groups and left-wing parties.

British ambassador to Poland under fire for promoting gay rights

11 June 2009- The British ambassador to Poland has sparked a diplomatic incident after promoting a controversial gay pride march due to take place in Warsaw on Saturday.

Ric Todd has been told by the country's civil rights ombudsman that he has 'exceeded his authority' and Roman Catholic groups have accused the ambassador of representing the 'homosexual lobby'.

The problem arose after Mr Todd, who has been our man in Warsaw for almost two years, gave gay rights leaders a UK Guide To Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual And Transgender People And Their Rights, translated into Polish, earlier this week.

It was adapted from the so-called Transgender Toolkit, a political correctness manual for civil servants that the Foreign Office funds with taxpayers' money.

It came ahead of the gay pride march scheduled for this weekend.

But the move has provoked a storm of protest. 'Ambassador Todd has exceeded his authority,' Janusz Kochanowski, the Polish civil rights ombudsman, told The Daily Mail.

'He is being improper and doesn't understand the role of a diplomat. He represents the UK, he is not meant to intervene here in the way that he chooses. '

Mr Kochanowski added that Polish homosexuals do not live in fear of discrimination as the British ambassador seemed to be implying. 

Irish civil partnership condemned as “Sexual Apartheid” by UK gay campaigner

08 May 2009- Dublin, Ireland- Irish government plans to introduce British-style same-sex civil partnerships have been condemned as “retrograde, divisive, second best, discriminatory and sexual apartheid” by LGBT rights and Green Party parliamentary candidate Peter Tatchell.

He was speaking yesterday at the Marriage Matters symposium in Dublin, organised by the National Lesbian & Gay Federation of Ireland and attended by delegates representing Ireland’s LGBT organisations.

“The proposed Irish civil partnership legislation is a big mistake and an insult to same-sex couples. It is a rejection of marriage equality,” Mr. Tatchell said.

“Separate laws for gay people are not equal laws.

“Civil partnerships will reinforce the ban on same-sex marriage and thereby reinforce discrimination. They will extend discrimination by denying heterosexual couples the right to have a civil partnership.

“This is not equality,” he insisted.

“I urge the Irish government to take a principled stand in favour of equality by ditching its civil partnership proposals and instead bring forward legislation to extend civil marriage to same-sex couples.

“Civil partnerships are not good enough. They are second best.

“Same-sex couples deserve the same legal rights as heterosexual couples. Creating one law for gays and another for straights is a retrograde, divisive step.

“I urge the Irish government to not follow the flawed British system of civil partnerships. Let Ireland lead the way and outdo the Brits by giving full civil marriage rights to its lesbian and gay citizens.

“Equality has always been our goal. We should settle for nothing less,” he concluded.

07 May 2009- Scotland- Eight members of a paedophile ring, including the former head of LGBT Youth Scotland, were today found guilty of more than 50 child abuse images and abuse charges.

After deliberating for ten hours over two days, a jury at the High Court in Edinburgh found James Rennie, 38, guilty of sex attacks on children. Rennie, who worked with children in his post, was found guilty of abusing one child over a four-year period. The child was three months old when the abuse began.

Convicted sex offender Neil Strachan, 41, was convicted of attempting to rape an 18-month-old boy in Edinburgh on New Year's Eve in 2005. An image of the attack came to be known as the Hogmanay Image in court.

Strachan was also convicted of repeatedly touching a six-year-old boy indecently on the same night. Rennie was convicted of two charges of attempting to defeat the ends of justice by accessing insecure internet connections.

A jury of 14 men and women found the pair guilty of conspiring to abuse children, along with three other men. One jury member had been discharged during the trial. Ross Webber, 27, Craig Boath, 24, from Dundee and John Milligan, 40, of Glasgow, were all found guilty of conspiring to participate in the sexual abuse of children along with Strachan and Rennie. They were also convicted of child porn offences.

Colin Slaven, 23, from Edinburgh and Neil Campbell, 46 and John Murphy, 44, both from Glasgow, were also found guilty of child abuse images offences. Campbell was cleared of a charge of conspiracy.

All eight men were convicted for possessing and making indecent images. Seven of them were found to have distributed images, although a charge of distribution against Slaven was withdrawn. Nearly 125,000 indecent images were seized during Operation Algebra, which uncovered the internet group.

The men had used web cameras and other means to plot and take part in sexual offences, including rape. The offences were committed in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dundee and East Lothian between February 2004 to May 2008. It is believed to be Scotland's biggest paedophile network.

Rennie previously admitted to police that he looked at images of child abuse. He said: "I have discovered I have a somewhat addictive personality to sex. I just find it difficult and when I am not busy I kind of fall into a pattern of looking for sexual activity of all sorts."

When arrested he told the police: "Today I know I have lost just about everything I have worked so hard for a long time. I knew this day was coming."

Rennie was suspended from his post in December 2007 and resigned in February 2008.

Moscow bans gay parade

07 May 2009-Moscow- Russian news agencies say Moscow City Hall won't allow a gay pride parade that activists had planned to coincide with the Eurovision Song Contest's final.

RIA-Novosti and other agencies quote City Hall spokesman Sergei Tsoi as saying Thursday 'there have never been gay parades in Moscow and there never will be.'

Mayor Yuri Luzhkov has drawn international criticism by describing homosexuality as 'satanic.'

Russian gay rights movement leader Nikolai Alexeyev said the May 16 parade would go ahead regardless.

He said he hopes participants of the Eurovision Song Contest, which Moscow is hosting on the same day, will join the rally.

Court overturns first Greek gay 'weddings'

07 May 2009- Greece- A court in Greece has overturned the country’s first “homosexual weddings”, which took place last year as a result of a legal loophole.

Greek civil law does not specify the gender of a couple who intend to get married. As a result a gay and a lesbian couple tried to get married last year on the island of Tilos, despite warnings of criminal charges from officials.

However a public prosecutor from the island of Rhodes took the case to court and argued that neither the constitution nor the law refers to same-sex marriage. The prosecutor asked the court to cancel the weddings.

Vassilis Hirdaris, the defendant's lawyer said, “The court said the weddings were invalid … We will appeal within May ... but I fear the appeal court's decision won't be different, considering how conservative Greek courts are."

Hirdaris added that the couples wanted to take the case to the European Court of Human Rights if their appeal was unsuccessful.

The “marriages” were strongly criticised by the Orthodox Church in Greece, which performs around 90 per cent of weddings in Greece. The Greek Justice ministry also declared the “weddings” illegal.

Nationalists offer Moscow authorities help in fighting gay propaganda

24 Apr 2009- Russia- A Russian radical nationalist movement has appealed to Moscow authorities seeking tougher legislation on public actions promoting homosexuality, particularly the unauthorized gay parade expected in Moscow in early May.

The Movement against Illegal Immigration said that the proposals it made, which suggested introducing legal penalties for homosexual propaganda, were aimed at helping Moscow mayor Yuri Luzhkov, Kommersant daily said Friday.

“We want the mayor’s decision to ban gay parades to be based on laws, not just on his personal opinion,” the activists said.

Moscow’s mayor has banned numerous gay prides in the city, and is unlikely to give the go ahead to this year’s parade. The march is planned for May 16, the same day the Eurovision song contest final will be held in Moscow and thousands of tourists are expected to travel to the city to watch the show.

The Mayor’s Office, however, responded to the group by saying it did not need any extra help in governing the city. In March, Russian gay parade organizers filed a case with the European Court of Human Rights against the Moscow authorities, demanding $2.2 million compensation for failing to allow 155 gay-rights marches.

Gay pub wins its bid for male strippers

22 Apr 2009- London, England- One of the Europe's oldest gay pubs has been given permission to put on a male strip show.

The King Edward VI, in Bromfield Street, Islington, which is said to be one of the longest-running gay pubs in Europe, was granted a licence to offer male striptease at a town hall meeting yesterday (Wednesday).

Five neighbouring residents objected. One said: "The pub is the only building in the street which is used for non-residential purposes.

"We can see into the premises from our property. I do not wish to see any male striptease from my living room, nor do I wish my children to be able to do so."

But Kay Stokes, who owns the pub, insisted that the first floor was used exclusively as a restaurant and any striptease would be taking place on the ground floor out of view from the street. She said: "It's pretty innocent really. Nothing can be seen from outside and all the blinds are shut from 6pm every day."

Ms Stokes was delighted with the result. She said: "We hold a cabaret every Thursday and customers wanted a bit more so we decided to try to get a male stripper in every other week. They will only perform between 10.15pm and 11pm and I don't think it's hurting anyone.

Hungarian parliament passes same-sex partnership bill

21 Apr 2009- Hungarian- Parliament yesterday passed a bill that allows same-sex couples of over 18 to establish legal registered partnerships with 199 affirmative votes, 159 dissensions and eight abstentions. The bill does not permit gay couples to adopt children, however.

The Socialists voted with 183 affirmative votes and the Free Democrats with 16, while Fidesz, the Christian Democrats and six independent MPs dissented. Fidesz MPs said they consider the new bill unconstitutional.

The Constitutional Court voided the Registered Partnership Act in a ruling made public on December 15, 2008, arguing that the constitution protects marriage, preventing the legislation from taking effect on January 1.

The bill is now expected to come into effect from July, Kossuth Rádió reported.

High speed gay sex ends in tragedy

20 Apr 2009- Moscow, Russia- The police are investigating whether a recent Lamborghini Murcielago crash in Moscow that destroyed four cars happened because the driver was having sex with his passenger while exceeding the maximum speed level more than three times.

The $400,000 Lamborghini was driving at 200 kilometers per hour when it lost control and crashed into an oncoming Honda Civic. One of the sports car's wheels, which the collision sent spinning off, hit the gas tank of a passing Ford Mondeo, and set it on fire. The Mondeo then hit a taxi parked by the road, smashing it.

 Altogether, four cars were badly damaged in the crash that happened late on Thursday in Moscow's Vorobyovye Gory district. None of the drivers were fatally injured, although the driver of Honda is still in hospital with a head injury.

The driver of the Lamborghini, 22-year-old Yuri, was also taken to hospital. However his injuries were light compared to those of his passenger, 16-year-old Christian, Komsomolskaya Pravda daily reports.

Although Christian was sitting in the passenger seat, in the accident he managed to hit his head on the wheel and get a serious head trauma, making the police doubtful whether he was sitting up straight and buckled up, or had his head on the driver's lap.

The young men got acquainted just before the crash at Vorobyovye Gory, a district in Moscow where owners of fancy cars and bikes come to show off.

The Lamborghini Murcielago LP640 Versace can reach a speed of 100 km per hour in just 3.4 seconds. Its maximum speed is over 330 km per hour.

Dutch City Rules 'Euro Islam' Proponent Is not Homophobic

16 Apr 2009- Rotterdam has exonerated Muslim scholar Tariq Ramadan in an investigation over alleged homophobic and misogynistic statements he made in tapes aimed at immigrants. Holland's second largest city says it will retain him as an adviser to build bridges between its immigrant communities.

Last month, the Gay Krant, a newspaper for the homosexual community in the Netherlands, accused Tariq Ramadan of making homophobic and mysogenistic statements on tapes in Arabic destined for immigrant communities in Europe.

Ramadan, 46, a Swiss philosopher and theologist of Egyptian descent, was hired by the city of Rotterdam two years ago to "help lift the multicultural dialogue to a higher level". He dismissed the Gay Krant's accusations as slander.

The city of Rotterdam has since carried out its own investigation, the results of which were presented on Wednesday. The city had 54 Arabic-language cassette tapes translated and examined. According to council executive Rik Grasshof of the Green party GroenLinks, the Gay Krant's reporting was incomplete en inaccurate.

As a result, Ramadan's contract with the city will be extended for another two years, during which time he will lead public debates in an effort to bring the various communities in Rotterdam closer together.

The right-wing liberal party VVD, one of four coalition parties in the city government, had demanded Ramadan's resignation following the newspaper's accusations. "He can think what he wants but he cannot spread homophobic ideas in the name of the city of Rotterdam," VVD council member Bas van Tijn said.

Van Tijn also questioned what Ramadan brought to Rotterdam. "How can someone who doesn't speak Dutch bring the communities in Rotterdam together? Especially if that someone is constantly accused of having a double discourse?" Van Tijn asked.

Ramadan's principal message is that Islam and European culture do not have to be at odds. He is in favor of a " European Islam" that adapts to its surroundings. But his detractors claim that Ramadan propagates far more conservative ideas in his speeches in Arabic.

Former Pc jailed over boy abuse

02 Apr 2009- Portsmouth, England- A former police officer has been jailed for two-and-a-half years after admitting four counts of sexual activity with a 15-year-old boy.

Mark Brigham was serving with the Metropolitan Police when the incident took place in Portsmouth, in 2008.

The victim's family asked Brigham, a lesbian and gay liaison officer, for advice after their son came out as homosexual, the court heard.

The 38-year-old, from Hackney, east London, had resigned from the force. He had been suspended pending the case.

Portsmouth Crown Court was told that Brigham, a police constable for nine years, had attended a party last August where he befriended the boy.

The off-duty officer had been asked to talk with the boy to offer advice. But, the court heard, they performed consensual sex acts on each other.

Matthew Lawson, prosecuting, said that Brigham had described his victim as "stunning" to other people at the party during the evening but had been informed that the boy was only 15-years-old.

He added that after the party, Brigham kept in contact with the boy through text messages and through the Facebook internet site.

The boy later told his family what had happened. The hearing was told that Brigham had been going through a number of personal issues at the time including the break up of a relationship and had large debts.

Sentencing Brigham, Judge Roger Hetherington, said: "The offences are aggravated by the disparity of age between the two of you - you were more than twice his age.

"You were someone he could expect to look up to and expect some guidance from."  Brigham was jailed, ordered to sign on the sex offenders register for an indefinite period and banned from working with children.

Speaking after the hearing, Det Con Dave Anderson, of Hampshire police, said: "It's a sad end to an officer's career but also it will give some finalisation for the victim."

Sweden allows same-sex marriage

02 Apr 2009- Sweden will allow gay couples to be legally married from next month. Parliament voted overwhelmingly on Wednesday to recognise same-sex marriage, becoming the fifth country in Europe to do so.

Sweden was one of the first countries to give gay couples legal "partnership" rights, in the mid-1990s, and allowed them to adopt children from 2002.

The new law lets homosexuals wed in either a civil or religious ceremony, though individual churches can opt out.

The law was passed by 226 votes to 22 and will come into force on 1 May.

"The decision means that gender no longer has an impact on the ability to marry and that the law on registered partnership is repealed," the government said on its website.

Six of the seven parties in parliament backed the bill, while the Christian Democrats, one of four parties in the governing coalition, refused.

The Lutheran Church, the largest church in Sweden, has offered to bless gay partnerships since January 2007, but has still not given formal backing to the term "marriage", and will allow individual pastors to refuse to carry out gay weddings.

Sweden has become the fifth European country, after the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain and Norway, to recognise same-sex marriage.

Elsewhere, Canada and South Africa have also passed such legislation, as have some US states and local authorities in other countries.

29 Mar 2009- Burundi- Journalists are targeted, poor peasants whipped into frenzies of protests, and the roughly 400 gay people living in Burundi find themselves Target No. 1 in their own land.

For the past month or so, this tiny country long forgotten by most of the world has been in the spotlight for the one thing people may have never suspected — a mirage-legislature rising up against both the president and the allies — the missionary churches dotted throughout the country.

There are few things as unpopular in Africa as homosexuality. It is seen as a particularly virulent and sinister strain of the West’s unwelcome foray around here. To be gay is to be evil, criminal, and un-African. You can lose your family, livelihood, and sometimes your life.

There just happens to be no law against it in Burundi.

It hadn’t made much of a difference until one was proposed by the president and defeated by his senate. It was a blow to the president, and a temporary confidence-booster for people who live in secrecy and fear.

An article in an amendment to the national penal code that would have made homosexual acts punishable by up to two years in prison was pulled out by the Senate on February 24.

It was a shock to the system in Burundi, where legislatures more often than not are rubber stamps of the head of state. President Pierre Nkurunziza took it as a slap in the face.

“The president’s power is weakening,” said Pancrace Cimpaye, chairman of the opposition party and member of senate. “We must take advantage."

Burundians are deeply religious. The church and the Word of God are transcendent. That includes President Nkurunziza, who attends the local Church on the Rock in Bujumbura.

Though founded in Texas, much of the Church on the Rock operates abroad, in places like Burundi, Third World states where fates and livelihood still hinge on the mercies of nature.

From Rwanda to Brazil to the Philippines, these modern-day missionaries have found converts and a powerful voice. So, in the past weeks, the government, together with this and other churches, has gone on an all-out campaign to reverse the Senate’s decision.

 
29 Mar 2009- UK- New laws to allow a gay Royal couple to take part in a civil partnership and become joint monarchs of England were demanded yesterday.

The call followed Gordon Brown’s move to bring equality to the Monarchy by scrapping the law which gives males priority over females in the Royal line of succession.

He also wants to sweep away the ban on members of the Royals Family marrying Roman Catholics – unless they give up their claim to the throne.

Ben Summerskill, chief executive of gay rights group Stonewall, says the review is an ideal opportunity to end similar discrimination against homosexuals.

He wants measures to let future generations of Royals take part in a same-sex wedding – without losing their right to inherit the throne.

Mr Summerskill said: ‘I have little doubt that in 21st and 22nd Century Britain the public will judge the quality of their monarch by much more than their sexual orientation.’

He said the subject could be debated openly now because, as far as he was aware, there are no gays in the Royal Family.

Zurich elects a gay woman as mayor as city gears up for Euro Pride

29 Mar 2009- Zurich, Switzerland- As the city prepares for Euro Pride, the people of Zürich have today elected an openly gay woman as the Mayor.

Forty-eight-year-old Corine Mauch has been living with her partner for many years.  In today’s election, the social democrat won against her liberal opponent.

The organisers of EuroPride 09 said in a statement this afternoon that they were “overjoyed by the result of the election and congratulate Corine Mauch on her victory”.

EuroPride said today that the newly elected mayor will deliver a speech at the opening ceremony of the traditional parade together with European Parliament member Daniel Cohn-Bendit and Moldavian human rights activist Mihaela Copot.

‘This is a real stroke of luck for the EuroPride in Zürich,” commented Michael Rüegg, spokesman of the EuroPride.

“None of us really expected that.  The election was held because Corin Mauch’s predecessor went into early retirement.

“It only became known near the end of 2008 that the office would be up for election.”

With the election of Ms. Mauch, Zürich is now in good company.  Paris, Berlin and Hamburg have had openly living gay mayors for some time.  Zürich has now what is believed to be the first openly lesbian mayor among international top cities.

29 Mar 2009-moscow, Russia- Russian gay pride events will coincide with Moscow's hosting of the Eurovision Song Contest this May and competitors will be asked to back homosexual rights onstage, Russian gay activists said on Sunday.

Moscow city authorities have repeatedly banned events organised by gay activists and those that have taken part have often attracted violent protests by anti-gay demonstrators.

While homosexual sex is legal in Russia, it faces strong disapproval from the influential Russian Orthodox Church. "Moscow Pride will take place on May 16th, the day of the Eurovision song contest final," gay pride organisers stated on the website gaypride.ru.

This year's 54th Eurovision was already shaping up to be one of the most politically charged final in the history of the competition, one of Europe's most watched annual television shows.

Georgia, which fought a war against Russia last August, has already said it will pull out of the competition after the governing body banned its song for containing political references, perceived as a thinly-veiled swipe at Russian Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin.

Russia's own entrant has been criticised by some nationalists because the singer comes from Ukraine, another country which has tense relations with Moscow.

Russian gay rights Nikolai Alekseev was quoted on the site as saying of the timing decision:

"We believe this is the best way for those who support democratic values in Europe and who take part in the show to bring support to human rights campaigners in Russia."

The website said Russian authorities have banned 167 gay events in the past.

Eurovision performers will be asked to wear lapel pins to show support for gay rights during the live show. The activists also say they will announce full details of their planned events later this month.

Russia is due to host the contest for the first time this year after Dima Bilan won the competition in Belgrade last year.
 

25 Mar 2009- London, England- MPs last night voted against keeping a free speech protection in the ‘homophobic hatred’ offence by 328 votes to 174.

The matter will pass to the Lords where a much closer battle is expected. The earliest opportunity for a Lords vote will probably be May.

In the Commons last night supporters of free speech included a Labour backbencher who had never voted against the Government before.

A number of homosexual MPs voted in favour of free speech, as did the Conservative Party leader David Cameron.

The result represents a small shift in favour of a free speech clause. When the House of Commons debated the same issue in January 2008 a similar clause was rejected by 338 votes to 169.

Last night’s Commons amendment to keep the free speech protection was tabled by Labour MP David Taylor and had cross-party support.

Insisting that the Government had failed to justify removing the protection, Mr Taylor said: “It simply makes it clear that discussion or criticism of sexual conduct is not caught by the homophobia law.”

“We need free speech about sexual conduct to be put beyond doubt. Joe and Helen Roberts, the Bishop of Chester, Iqbal Sacranie, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Glasgow, and Lynette Burrows—I could go on—are all names synonymous with vexatious complaints to the police and with heavy-handed police intervention against people whose actions were not inciting hatred against anyone.”

The Minister responsible for the Bill, Bridget Prentice, insisted that the homophobic hatred law has built in safeguards and that “The additional provision was and still is unnecessary.”

However, other Members were not convinced. Shadow justice secretary Dominic Grieve said: “I believe that [the free speech clause] is sensible. …I can think of no good reason for us to get rid of it on the basis of the arguments that I have heard this afternoon.”

He also referred to “deep anxieties about the erosion of freedom of speech” that have led public figures such as comedian Rowan Atkinson to publicly back the free speech clause.

During the debate former minister Tom Harris MP said: “I am speaking against the Government for the first time since I became a Member in 2001 and face the prospect of voting against the Government on a three-line Whip, which I have never done before.”

Later he explained his decision on his blog: “If it is not the government’s intention that people of faith who criticise homosexual practice should be prosecuted for doing so, why are they insisting on the removal of this phrase?”

“If this phrase is removed from the Act tonight, it will be seen as a green light to all those who believe they can silence anyone who disagrees with them.

“There are a great many things in the Bible – the New as well as the Old Testament – which many people would find objectionable if they only bothered to read it.

“If it hasn’t already happened, I can see, in the not too distant future, a complaint being raised with the police because a quote from the book of Leviticus or I Corinthians on a placard outside a church is ‘incitement to homophobic hatred’.”

Conservative MP Ann Widdecome said: “Out there in the country, in case Ministers are completely oblivious to it, there is a swelling unease about freedom of speech.

“The religious hatred and sexual orientation laws, and myriad other laws that seek to bring equality, have an oppressive heart. The face may be liberalism, but the heart is oppression.

“We need [the free speech clause] to ensure that the Bill contains the clearest possible explanation—hammered home and spelled out—so that there can be no doubt in the mind of anyone responsible for interpreting and implementing the law that the ordinary exercise of free speech is not caught by it.”

Denmark OKs adoptions by gay couples

20 Mar 2009- Copenhagen Denmark’s Parliament has passed legislation allowing same-sex couples to adopt children.  The bill puts gay and lesbian couples on the same footing as opposite-sex couples.

The measure was passed on a 62-53 vote with 64 absentees.

Gay couples had been fighting for a decade to have the law passed. They found backing in the latest attempt from the opposition Social Democrats and Socialist People’s Party. While the center-right government opposed the bill, seven members of the ruling Liberal Party voted in favor of the bill.

Passage of the law puts Denmark in line with other European Union countries, including Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium and Sweden, allowing same-sex couples equal rights in adoption.

In 1989, Denmark became the world’s first country to allow civil unions for gays. In 2001, the Netherlands became the first country to offer full marriage rights to gay couples.

Danish LGBT groups hope passage of the adoption law will spur lawmakers to support same-sex marriage legislation.

MSPs back wider hate crime laws

18 Mar 2009- Scotland- A new law widening the definition of hate crimes to include attacks on gay or disabled people has been passed in principle.

MSPs voted unanimously in favour of making them aggravated offences that can be more severely punished. The bill, proposed by Green MSP Patrick Harvie, is expected to become law later this year.

Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill said it would send out a signal that such crimes would not be tolerated.

He said: "People whoever they are, whatever disability they are afflicted by, whatever sexual orientation they possess, are entitled to the full protection of the law and to be treated with dignity, with compassion, and to be fully and properly protected."

Violent assaults

Under existing law, crimes motivated by religious or racial hatred are singled out for special treatment.

The Offences Aggravated by Prejudice (Scotland) Bill widens the definition of hate crime to include people victimised because of their sexual orientation, transgender identity or disability.

Mr Harvie said hate crimes against gay and disabled people were a "significant" problem.

"Disabled people are four times more likely to be violently assaulted than non- disabled people," he told MSPs.

The bill now moves to its second and third stages for more detailed scrutiny.

Court rules homosexual couple can adopt foster son

11 Mar 2009-Jerusalem, Israel-  Fourteen years after arriving at his foster parents' home, the Ramat Gan Family Court ruled Tuesday morning that Yosi Even-Kama, now 30 years-old can be adopted by his foster parents, a homosexual couple.

As a result of family court  Judge Alissa Miller's decision to recognize Professor Uzi Even and Dr. Amit Kama as Yosi's parents, they will now have the same rights as biological parents of any child. In order for the adorption to be official, Yosi's biological father had to agree to renounce his paternal rights to his son.

In 1995, Yosi was kicked out of his biological family's home after they discovered that he was homosexual. The Even-Kamas took the teenager into their house and got the authorities to recognize them as Yosi's foster family.

The Even-Kamas petitioned for recognition as Yosi's foster family, which they received in a ground-breaking decision shortly after they took the fifteen-year-old in, becoming the first homosexual couple to gain legal recognition as foster parents.

In 2004, Even and Kama were married in a ceremony in Toronto, Canada. A year later, they said that they planned to petition the Supreme Court to recognize their union.

But the family did not consider applying for full legal adoption until 2007, when Yosi was accepted to university studies and the university's appeals board decided that he was not entitled to receive the reduced tuition to which the son of a professor is entitled. It was at that point that the family turned to attorney Dori Spivak for legal counsel regarding the possibility of adoption.

Following the family's petition, the Welfare Ministry opened a probe to ascertain the nature of the family dynamics and specifically determine whether the three had a parent-child relationship. After reviewing the ministry's findings, Judge Miller ruled that "I was convinced that the necessary conditions as proscribed by the laws concerning adoption of children had been fulfilled."

"The significance of this decision is that tomorrow homosexual couples can turn into a family and adopt a child," wrote Kama Tuesday. "After speaking with Dori Spivak we decided to shoot into the mist and we said that we don't have anything to lose. The Welfare Ministry was shocked by our demand to recognize the adoption.

"The parent-child relationship has existed with us for 14 years. Its not that we adopted a child yesterday. We always were a loving, living family but were not recognized by the authorities. Personally, there is great excitement and great happiness. The authorities and the state know now officially that the life that we live is the life of a loving family. This is a great victory."

This is not the first case in which a homosexual couple was allowed to adopt, but in the previous precedent-setting case, one of the members of the couple was already the biological parent of the children in question. In that October 2005 ruling, which followed eight years of legal hurdles, the Supreme Court ruled that Tal and Avital Yarus-Hakak - a lesbian couple - could adopt each other's biological children.

09 Mar 2009- London, England- A 46-year-old man has been charged with murder after the double stabbing of an elderly gay couple.

Gerry Edwards, 59 was knifed to death in the suspected homophobic attack at their home in Bickley on Wednesday night.

His long-term partner, Chris Bevan, 56, was also repeatedly stabbed injured at their home on Page Heath Villas around 8pm. Police say he is "clinging to life" in hospital - Edwards died at the scene,

David Kilcullen, 46, from Bickley in Bromley, Kent, will stand trial for murder and attempted murder.

He will appear at Greenwich Magistrates Court today.

A 59-year-old man also arrested in connection with the attack was bailed to return in April pending further inquiries.

Survivor gives Det "vital clues"

Mr Bevan, who survived the attack has given detectives vital clues. Det Ch Insp Cliff Lyons said:

"A man came to the premises, it would appear, and, from the information given by one of the surviving victims, it was a homophobic attack. That is a line of inquiry that we are pursuing."

It is thought they had been living together for a number of years.

The detective refused to be drawn on whether the couple had been targeted in the past but admitted an attack on two people in their home was a "very unusual crime". He added:

"That particular night it was quite windy, there was heavy rain and it would be quite unusual for individuals to be around at that time of night."

Bevan worked as a healthcare assistant and had been a member of Unison for a number of years.

Police keeping an 'open mind'

Police say they are keeping an open mind about the attack but a murder enquiry has been launched.

The detective added:

"We have found no evidence of a break-in and we are not ruling out that it may have been a homophobic attack."

Thousands Protest To Criminalize Being Gay In Burundi

07 Mar 2009- Burundi- A demonstration thousands strong in Bujumbura, Burundi Friday called on lawmakers to criminalize being gay.

It was the largest protest yet since President Pierre Nkurunziza came to power in 2005, attracting between 10,000 and 20,000 people.

The protesters were angry that senators had rejected an amendment that would criminalize being gay when voting on a new draft criminal code law on February 17. In November, Burundi's lower chamber of Parliament had voted in favor of the amendment that prescribes two years in jail for being gay.

Speaking to reporters at the event, CNDD-FDD Party Chairman Jeremie Ngendakumana said, “The CNDD-FDD is protesting today to support the [view of the] majority of Burundians that homosexuality should be punished by law.”

“Homosexuality is a sin. It is a culture which has been imported to sully our morals and is practiced by immoral people.”

“If we love our country, if we love our culture, we must ban this practice which will draw only misfortune for us,” he added.

Critics accused Nkurunziza and his CNDD-FDD Party of “manipulating” the issue in their favor by pandering to the country's popular opposition to being gay to retain power in 2010.

Anti-gay sentiment in Africa has been on the rise in recent years. Ethiopian religious leaders recently called on lawmakers to constitutionally ban being gay. In making their case, the religious leaders called being gay “the pinnacle of immorality” and blamed it for an increase in sexual attacks on boys and young men.

Nigerian leaders attempted to pass a law last year that would have criminalized associating with a known gay person. Gambia's president has called for the beheading of gay men and women. And human rights groups have condemned the harsh eight year prison sentence given to nine men in Senegal who were found guilty of being gay.

The anti-gay U.S. religious right exports homophobia to Africa

04 Mar 2009- A seminar which features Scott Lively and is designed to attack lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Ugandans under the cloak of religion has been strongly condemned by the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) and Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG).

The three-day seminar in Kampala, which opens today (March 5), features an array of U.S. speakers known for their efforts to dehumanize LGBT people and for their belief that homosexuality can be “cured”

In addition to Lively, the speakers include, Don Schmierer and Caleb Lee Brundidge.  All are leading voices in the crusade by religious extremists to roll back basic human rights for LGBT people in the United States.

Brundidge is affiliated with Extreme Prophetic Ministry in Phoenix, Arizona while Schmierer is on the board of the so-called ‘ex-gay’ organisation, Exodus International.  Lively is infamous for his belief that the Nazi Holocaust never happened and his anti-gay crusading group Watchmen on the Walls which is closely associated with the New Generation Church in Riga, Latvia.

“The American religious right is finally showing its hand and revealing the depth of its support for homophobia in Africa,” IGLHRC’s executive director Cary Alan Johnson said this afternoon.

“This seminar will increase violence and other human rights abuses against LGBT people, women and anyone who doesn’t conform to gender norms.  This newest form of colonialism is deplorable and must be stopped.”

The seminar is hosted by the by Family Life Network (FLN), a Ugandan non-governmental organization founded in 2002 that claims to be committed to the “restoration of Ugandan family values and morals”.

The FLN opposes access to safe, legal abortions.  It also opposes the use of condoms and promotes abstinence-only programming as its approach to HIV prevention.  The FLN makes the sensationalised claim that homosexuality is “spreading like wildfire in schools”.

Seminar organisers have invited parents, teachers, government workers, politicians, counsellors and faith leaders.  The seminar costs 25,000 Ugandan Shillings a day (approximately $12.60) to attend.  Books and materials are extra.

“This seminar is just another way of encouraging hatred and abuse,” said a spokesperson from SMUG.

“We condemn their discriminatory words and actions that only lead to violence.  Suffering is all that they are bringing to Uganda — all in the name of God.”

Ugandan Bishop Dr. Christopher Ssenyonjo, who was expelled from the Anglican Church for supporting gay people, pointed out that there is a lot of misunderstanding about human sexuality.

“This workshop is going to bring more conflict, greater hostility, increased intimidation,” he said.  “We need love ... in the long run, love will overcome.”

The U.S. religious right has a history of exporting homophobia to Africa.  With support from anti-gay organizations and faith leaders such as Family Watch International and Pastor Rick Warren of Saddleback Church, Pastor Martin Ssempa from Makerere Community Church has attacked not only gay men and lesbians, but also women’s rights and HIV activism.

Pastor Ssempa has stated, “there should be no rights granted to homosexuals in this country”.  In 2007, he organised a multi-denominational rally against LGBT rights in Kampala, where one cleric called for the “starving to death of homosexuals”.

In response to this ongoing pattern of violence and abuse, SMUG launched its Let Us Live in Peace campaign, aimed at decreasing violence against LGBT Ugandans.

The campaign was launched shortly after human rights defenders Victor Mukasa and Oyo Yvonne filed a lawsuit against the Attorney General related to an illegal raid on Mukasa’s home.

The plaintiffs won their case in December 2008 — a landmark victory by organisers in a country that still punishes homosexuality by life in prison and has repeatedly made efforts to silence human rights leaders.

04 Mar 2009- UK- A man aged 59 was stabbed to death and his male partner is fighting for life after being seriously injured in a possible homophobic attack in their south London home.

Police said they were called to a flat in Page Heath Villas, Bromley, at 8pm yesterday and found the victim unconscious. He died at the scene. Another man, aged 50, was taken to hospital where his condition is described as critical. He had also been stabbed.

A police source said at this stage they were treating the attack as a "stranger murder". The 50-year-old victim was able to tell detectives that he heard his partner being attacked and when he went to investigate he was also set upon.

Scotland Yard issued an appeal for anyone who may have seen a white man in his forties in the area of the address last night to contact them. A spokesman said that they were not ruling out the possibility that the attack was homophobic.

The victims are believed to have been stabbed repeatedly. The men lived in a flat in a converted house in a tree-lined street. The street was cordoned off today as police forensic science teams were examining the scene.

‘Fashion for Gay’ appears on local catwalk

23 Feb 2009- The HCM City-based Café FTV was full with curious audience members who came to watch the first fashion show of NewUrbanMale, the famous fashion brand for gays in Singapore.

NewUrbanMale is a luxurious fashion series for men which came on to the market in 2003. It is known for its special logo with the figure of a spermatozoon and products for gays. It has 17 shops in Singapore. NewUrbanMale products are sold online in many Asian countries and this is the first time it has opened a shop in Vietnam.

NewUrbanMale’s style is very manly but unique and colorful. This brand is famous for underwear, sea-wears, footwear, bags, and T-shirts for men.

NewUrbanMale has more than 200 salesmen. Many of them were the winners of gay beauty contests, or are models for fashion magazines and TV channels.

NewUrbanMale was presented in Vietnam by the first free show at café FTV in HCM City, which had that participation of some local models, three models from Singapore, and Vietnamese singers Cindy Thai Tai, Wanbi, and Ocean group.

NewUrbanMale invited Aaron, the winner of the Menstyle 2008, a beauty contest for gays in Vietnam, as its ambassador in Vietnam.

20 Feb 2009- Italian singer Giuseppe Povia is causing outrage in Italy over "Luca era gay" (Luca was gay), a song about a gay man who goes straight. See the clip and read more...

Material for this post was compiled by our Observer in Milan, Alberto Celani.

Giuseppe Povia is launching the song at the famous Sanremo festival, something of an Italian Eurovision, which opens on Tuesday and is broadcast on state TV channel RAI. The somewhat ambiguous lyrics tell the tale of a young man, looking back on his past, who realises why he was gay:

"I was too smothered by my mother", and decides to turn straight. It's not the first time the singer has caused offence over the subject. He was previously quoted in an interview saying "you're not born gay, you become gay through your social surroundings".

The president of a gay rights organisation, quoted by Ansa agency, said that the song is "an insult to all gay people fighting homophobia and ignorance in Italy". A good number of Italians are pushing for a similar message to be broadcast on public TV. The debate comes not long after Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who's also been chided for homophobic notions, made sexist remarks about rape.

"Luca was gay and today he's with her, he speaks with his heart, Luca says he's another man.

Luca says ‘before telling the tale of my sexuality change, I'd like to say that while I believe in god, I don't recognise myself in the thinking of men, who are divided on this subject.

I didn't go to see a psychologist, a psychiatrist, a priest or a scientist. I dug into my past, and I came to understand things about myself. My mother wanted too much of me, something that became an obsession, I suffocated from so much attention.

My father never took decisions and I came to never speak to him. He was always out at work, although I had the idea that wasn't entirely true. Indeed, mother asked for a divorce, I was 12, I didn't understand very well, father said it was for the best and then took to drinking.

Mama always talked badly about papa, she told me never to marry for pity, she was terribly jealous of my friends, and I became more and more confused about who I was.

This is my story, simply my story, no sickness, no cure..."

London Lesbian and Gay Film

Event: London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival
Date: March 25th until April 8th

Between March 25th and April 8th London will be the place to be to see the very best in gay and lesbian cinema productions.

Taking place for the 25th time, the London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival will celebrate the latest in queer cinema from around the world, showcasing powerful movies and documentaries focused on issues relevant to gay people.

Visitors will have the opportunity to see productions such as Les Biches, a character study of an obsessive lesbian relationship, and 3 Women, which examines aspects of female desire.

Another highlight is Promiscuous Pop, which sees a new generation of performance artists queer the boundaries between art and entertainment to explore notions of desire, self and identity.

It is not just films which attendees will enjoy, as a series of other events will also take place, including Amy Lame's Pom Pom International, which aims to promote peace and understanding across the world through Pom Pom making.

There will also be a special celebration of the centenary of Bette Davis, workshops for up-and-coming filmmakers as well as dancing, performance and cabaret.

For movie fans, this event is a must and something else which is required is somewhere smart and comfortable to stay afterwards.

The luxury London hotel the 41 is that place.

By choosing the Suite Dreams package, lovers can enjoy a bottle of Joseph Perrier Rose champagne, chocolate-dipped strawberries, a three-course table d'hote meal for two and much more.

Burundi senate rejects gay bill

18 Feb 2009- Burundi- Burundi's senate has rejected a draft law that criminalises homosexuality. The draft proposed a sentence of three months to two years in prison for homosexual conduct.

It was approved by the lower chamber of parliament, the national assembly, last year - provoking criticism from human rights groups.

US-based Human Rights Watch has warned that the country would be in breach of international human rights treaties if the legislation is passed.

The draft, amended by the senate, will now go back to the lower chamber.

Married man blackmailed after visit to gay website

18 Feb 2009- UK- A man tried to blackmail a married man he met through a gay social networking site by demanding £500 not to tell his wife, a court heard.

David Beales, 41, had arranged to meet up with the victim who was a retired married man after they met on the gay website, but Norwich Crown Court heard that after Beales was “stood up” by the victim he sent a threatening text in which he demanded “£500 for his cheek” of messing him about or he would tell his wife that he had been using a gay website.

The text message added “if you don't pay up I will see your wife and tell her all about me.”

Lori Tucker, prosecuting, said that the victim decided to then tell his wife what had happened and police were called in and Beales arrested.

Beales, of Trafalgar Road, Great Yarmouth, admitted blackmail.

Jailing him for two years, Recorder Peter Guest told him: “Blackmail is often described as one of the most serious offences in the criminal calendar. It was a mean, nasty and cruel act on your part and in my judgement you chose to exploit a married man who carried with him a secret.”

He said he believed the victim thought that Beales would carry out his threat to tell his wife. “There can be no other reason for him to tell his wife of his secret and express a fear that you could come to his home.”

Jonathan Morgans, mitigating, said that Beales was genuinely full of remorse.

He said he had sent the text in a “fit of pique” as a direct result of the victim not turning up at the meeting. He said Beales had insight into his offending and at the time had not realised the full consequences of his actions.

The Spanish ministry of defence has said it will reform legislation to allow transsexuals to serve in the armed forces.

12 Feb 2009- Spain- The move follows a publicised battle by a 28-year-old male transsexual who has been rejected by the army on two occasions because he does not have a penis.

The man, who has only been named as Aitor G R, was born female but underwent a mastectomy and hormone treatment several years ago in the first step of "gender reassignment". He is on a waiting list for an operation to reshape his genitals into a penis.

Although the Spanish army recruits women, Aitor G R is recognized as a man legally and was declared medically unfit by army recruiters because of his lack of male genitalia.

He was first turned away in Feb 2007 but reapplied earlier this month only to be refused again. He said it had always been his dream to join the army since playing with toy soldiers as a child.

"I want to be a soldier, not a porn star," the transsexual from Jaen told Spanish media, stating that he would appeal the decision.

Carme Chacón, Spain's minister of defence, has promised to revise legislation concerning medical reasons for exclusion from the armed forces.

A ministry spokesman said on Thursday that under the new guidelines the lack of a penis would no longer be sufficient reason for excluding a male army candidate.

09 Feb 2009- South Africa- Gay rights activists and lawyers who have worked on LGBT human rights cases met in South Africa last week.

The four-day workshop on legal strategies for promoting lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights in Africa was attended by 45 participants from 11 countries— Botswana, Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Morocco, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda, and Zimbabwe.

The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC), Global Rights, Interights and the Kenyan Section of the International Commission of Jurists were among those taking part.

It was the first meeting between lawyers who have worked on litigation related to LGBT rights and African LGBT leaders. Participants reviewed key pieces of litigation to document lessons learned.

These cases included an unsuccessful challenge to Botswana's sodomy laws in 2003 (Kanane v. Botswana), the prosecutions of 11 gay men in Cameroon in 2006, the arrests of two women in Rwanda on charges related to sexual orientation in 2008, and the ongoing trial of 18 young men in Northern Nigerian on charges of cross-dressing and homosexuality.

A high point of the meeting was the discussion of Ooyo and Mukasa v. Attorney General of Uganda, a case settled in December 2008, in which two transgender activists successfully challenged the unconstitutional invasion of their home and their mistreatment by local police and elected officials. One of the litigants, as well as the lead counsel, key donors, and local organizers from Uganda were present at the meeting.

Lawyers, activist leaders and donors attending the meeting acknowledged the importance of impact litigation for repealing sodomy laws and challenging other discriminatory statutes and policies.

Such litigation however needs to be situated within the context of local, national and regional LGBT groups.

Participants discussed the need for security for lawyers defending LGBT clients and causes. Many of the lawyers at the meeting had faced attacks on their reputations, attempts at disbarment, and even physical violence.

The event concluded with a call to create a multi-faceted LGBT legal fund for Africa and a training and support network for African lawyers working on sexual rights cases.

Police in Swedish gay sex party scandal

09 Feb 2009- Sweden- Partying police officers who simulated homosexual acts and ordered a male stripper are being investigated by Swedish authorities.

The nine male officers, who partied in a remote cabin, took pictures of themselves naked and posing with sub machine guns and attempted to play a 'dramatised' gay sex game.

But sadly for the male stripper, who had just turned up, the party was busted by senior instructors who sent everyone home.

The party was for mid-level officers finishing training for special tactical units. They were all experienced policemen.

All of them have been banished to desk duty during the investigation.

Gay Activists Ask Russia to End Ban on HIV+ Foreigners Entering Country

06 Feb 2009- Moscow, Russia –  A group of Russian gay activists launched today a campaign demanding their government to stop requesting foreign visa applicants for their HIV status.

In three letters sent to the President of the Russian Federation, Dmitri Medvedev, the Prime Minster, Vladimir Putin and the Foreign Affairs Minister, Sergey Lavrov, the activists ask for the cancellation of article 10 of the law of 1995 on prevention of distribution of HIV in Russia.

The law, which was signed by former President Yeltsin, bans HIV-positive foreigners from staying in Russia for more than three months.

It does not apply to diplomats and members of international organisations.

In applying this law, Russian consulates request a compulsory HIV test within one year from any foreigner applying for a visa which requests a stay above three months.

“Requesting HIV status in a visa application can be considered as an intrusion to private life in the definition of article 8 of the European Convention for Human Rights” commented Nikolai Alekseev.

“However, it has not yet been challenged at the European Court yet,” he added.

Russia and Armenia are the only countries who are members of the Council of Europe to impose a partial travel ban to HIV-positive foreigners.

Eleven countries around the world ban or limit the right of HIV-positive people to enter their territories.  The list also includes Colombia, Iraq, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Solomon Islands, South Korea, Sudan, and Yemen.  Although the US Congress passed a measure lifting the ban six months ago, the ban has not been fully lifted in USA.

In June 2008, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called for an end to discriminatory travel restrictions based on HIV status.

“This absurd policy prevent some talented HIV-positive foreigners from living and working in Russia,” said Nikolai Baev from GayRussia.

Activists further revealed that they recently tested the application of a multiple entry visa by an HIV-positive foreigner.

“Last October, we asked Michael Petrelis, a well known US gay HIV+ advocate, to apply for a one year visa at the San Francisco Consulate, Mr. Alekseev explained.

“He enclosed a HIV positive test in his application and received a visa with a right to stay only 90 days,” he added.

The Russian law, whose initial aim was to protect the country from the risk of the spread of the epidemic, is no longer in line with the current medical research on HIV transmission.

 “The disease is spread when safe sex is not practiced or drug users share needles … it is important to make education the key component to stopping HIV in Russia,” he added

“The problem of HIV infections rising in Russia, like in USA and EU, is not when foreigners with HIV visit, but instead the lack of full and honest messages about using condoms and not sharing needles to halt new infections,” he pointed out.

The Mayor of Moscow, one of the most homophobic politicians in Russia, came under heavy critics last December after he declared that safe sex practice only worsened the expansion of Aids.

“Some companies insist that condoms are a safe guarantee against Aids but contemporary science proved that it is not the case,” the mayor said, adding that “the slogan that condoms protect against AIDS 100% is used by manufacturing companies to increase their distribution markets”.

 “The Russian government should think whether it wants its nationals to face the same discrimination when travelling abroad,” said Mr Baev.

Last year, activists from GayRussia successfully obtained from the Russian government the end of the ban on blood donation by gays after a two years campaign involving letters and demos.

In October 2009, Moscow is due host the third International Conference on HIV/AIDS for Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

Gay pride flag flies at police HQ

02 Feb 2009- The flag to be hoisted to mark "Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual History Month" at North Wales Police, where Richard Brunstrom, the controversial chief constable is in charge.

However anger is growing about flying the flag, and whether special interest groups should be perceived to be favoured by the police.

David Jones, Tory MP for Clwyd West, called it "political tokenism".

He added : "I can't see any reason why any flag other than the Union Flag and the Red Dragon of Wales should fly outside our police headquarters.

"This is tokenism and posturing. People want to see their police force focus on fighting crime, not getting involved in political tokenism and gestures."

Darren Millar, who is Conservative Welsh Assembly Member for the constituency, commented : "It's very strange for this sort of flag to be flying from a public building.

"Whilst I recognise North Wales Police have done a great deal to make sure they are open and behave equally to everyone this seems to be political correctness gone mad. I don't think it's going to enhance their ability to catch criminals."

Mr Millar, a former member of the police authority, said : "Perhaps they should focus more on a significant morale problem among their officers, which showed in a recent Police Federation survey."

A retired senior officer from the force said : "I think the flying of symbolic flags by this chief constable is divisive and unnecessary.

"I was always dismayed when he took the decision not to fly the force flag any more, which was a symbol of a family force to which everyone belonged irrespective of race, colour or sexuality.

"Flying the flag of special interests, as worthy as they may be, is divisive."

It's flying "to mark the start of a series of internal staff activities aimed at celebrating Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual History Month," according to the force website.

On Friday there was a ceremony organised by the Gay Police Association North Wales and backed by the Association of Chief Police Officers and Stonewall Cymru together with supporters and "key public stakeholders".

The website explains that the flag "symbolises not only the continuous struggle for recognition and equality that many lesbian, gay and bisexual people have experienced over the years but its vibrant colours also represent celebration and hope for the future."

It quotes Assistant Chief Constable Ian Shannon praising the work of the Gay Police Association and adding : "Sexuality is a highly emotive and personal matter and I have great respect for those involved with the Gay Police Association who, over the years, have worked selflessly to promote equality within our organisation."

"I am immensely proud to support our gay officers and staff and I hope that this event sends out a clear message as we continue to strive for inclusivity and equality."

Jenny Porter, community liaison officer for Stonewall Cymru says: "It is a great sign to lesbian, gay and bisexual people in North Wales how much the police has changed and it is encouraging that people have confidence in the police to report homophobic hate crime."

"The flag signifies that we are celebrating the fact that the world is full of people with differing sexual orientations and that everyone should be treated equally and with respect."

26 Jan 2009- Bahrain’s gay community is outraged after a number of social networking sites were blocked as part of a government clampdown on porn.

Homosexuals previously used the Internet to meet new partners, but say their safety has been put at risk by a government decision to block access to sites such as www.gaydar.com.

One gay Bahraini man, who asked to remain anonymous, said they would now have to meet in public - exposing them to the possible wrath of family, society and the dangers of meeting strangers. He claimed the ban would lead to an increase in porn being sold on the black market, but said if the government wanted to address homosexuality it should start in its own schools.

"I also think a lot of expats will end up leaving now - they live here mainly because Bahrain is more liberal."

A gay expat man, who wanted to remain anonymous, agreed the move was a backward step.

"I'm really disappointed, but I have already found a way around it."

Meanwhile, a lesbian Bahraini who asked to remain anonymous said although she didn't use gay social networking sites herself, many of her friends did and were upset with the clampdown.

Outrage as Two Gay Men Beaten by Lebanese Army in Achrafieh

25 Jan 2009 -Beirut- The gay community in Lebanon is angry this weekend.  And so are human rights groups, according to two local French language web sites.

The anger is over the savage public beating of two men by soldiers in Sassine Square, Achrafieh in eastern part of Beirut, on Thursday evening.

The two men, thinking they were out of sight, were “engaged in lovemaking, in the lobby of an uninhabited building”, L’Orient Le Jour website reports.  The website of LGBT rights group Helem carries the same French language report.

Discovering the two men in action, the Lebanese army soldiers subjected the pair to a summary beating in the street.

The report said that the two men were subject to “punching, kicking, rifle butts, insults, humiliation”, says the report which was originated by the ALEF (Association Libanaise pour l’Education et la Formation) human rights group..

The beating only ends when bystanders start condemning the action by the Army.

Held overnight by troops, the two men were reported transferred to the Hobeiche barracks, on the order of Attorney General.

Barracks, as L’Orient Le Jour notes, is “known not to be particularly kind to prisoners”.

ALEF notes that “both men had sinned recklessly, even by mistake”.  But the group questions the “barbaric and unacceptable reaction of the soldiers facing the display of homosexuality”.

“But should we beat them and treat them like this?

“It is high time that the country’s lawmakers are looking at an obsolete law, ridiculous and totally from another era, that condemns and punishes homosexuality in Lebanon.

“At a time when gay marriage is permitted in many countries, the authorities hypocritically deny the simplest expression of a reality that [exists],” ALEF says.

Arrests After ‘Gay Swoops’ in Bahrain, Egypt and Morocco

23 Jan 2009- A top producer at Egyptian TV and a young man working with the foreign press were among four men arrested in Cairo earlier this month when a “network of homosexuals” was broken up, the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission says in a digest of press reports.

Almoheet, a Pan-Arab News Internet portal reported:  “On Jan 5, The Egyptian Security Services destroyed a network of homosexuals, following complains to the Morality Unit of the Interior Ministry that the young men frequented an apartment in Ahmed Orabi Street.

“At first, the detectives suspected that the place accommodated young girls with male clients, but the police soon found out that all people in the place were men.

“After surveillance, the detectives found out that all of the people who visited the apartment were gay, and the location was a place set up for gays to commit sodomy,” the report continued.

“The ringleaders of the gay prostitution operation were four people, including a top producer at Egyptian TV, a fabric merchant, an accountant, and a young man who worked with foreign press.

“Following the raid, eight people were arrested and police confiscated gay pornography on the detainee’s computers and on their cell phones.

In Morocco, an Italian man has been sentenced to four months in jail for operating was described as “a gay network” in the country.

The Almaghrebiya newspaper reported that on Jan 19, the Criminal Chamber of the lower Court in the city of Marakesh, sentenced an Italian citizen to prison and a fine of 1,000 Derham on charges of “homosexuality, filming and possession of pornographic images”

The man, named as Gian Paolo, will be deported from Morocco at the end of his sentence.  An Italian resident of Morocco, he confessed to the law enforcement officials that he headed a network of Moroccan and foreign homosexuals in Spain, Belgium, and the United States, the paper reported, saying he took pornographic images of “abnormal sexual situations” involving Moroccans and citizens of other countries, and posted them on the internet.

In Bahrain, the newspaper Alwaqht reported the two Asian men were sentenced to six months in jail with hard labour when found guilty of the “practicing of debauchery”.

Under the headline Men's Barbershop Became a Cruising Gay Scene, the paper reported that “the accused were arrested by the Public Morality Police for committing prostitution with their barbershop clients.

“After police were tipped off to their activities, undercover agents went to their place of business, pretending that they wanted to have sex with them.  The accused agreed to have homosexual sex for 10 dollars.  After their arrests, they confessed that they used to have sex with their clients for 10 to 20 dinars a trick.”

Cardiff fights gay bashing

19 Jan 2009 - Cardiff Council Leader Rodney Berman has welcomed the success of a pilot programme aimed at challenging and raising awareness of homophobic and transphobic bullying in
schools.

The Safe Space programme was created by the Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender Excellence Centre Wales and helps schools set up systems for tackling the problems they might encounter in dealing with sexual orientation and gender identity issues.

The programme was sponsored by Cardiff Council and involved performances by international hip hop artist Qboy. Presentation materials were developed in collaboration with the Council’s Schools and Lifelong Learning service.

As a result of the pilot carried out in Cardiff, and the promotional work carried out by the LGBT Excellence Centre Wales, initial expressions of interest to run similar programmes have now been received from other Welsh local authorities.

Safe Space was delivered to 460 pupils in total at three Cardiff High Schools. Three performances were delivered to all pupils in Year 9 at each school. These pupils have the advantage of being amongst the first cluster of pupils who have received
this pioneering workshop in Wales, leaving them and the whole school better equipped to understand and tackle homophobia and homophobic bullying.

Council Leader Cllr Rodney Berman said, "I am delighted that Cardiff took part in this Safe Space programme and am grateful to the LGBT Excellence Centre Wales for helping us take forward this pioneering work. I am pleased it was so well received by the schools which took part and that other local authorities in Wales are now considering using it as well. It is clear that the rapper QBoy's experiences and ability to communicate really struck a chord with pupils.

"Addressing bullying of any kind in our schools is vitally important, but in the case of homophobic bullying there is much to be done in ensuring people are aware of all the issues and able to understand what some of our young people may be dealing with.

“Research has shown that young people who experience homophobic bullying are more likely to leave school at 16 even if they are keen to continue their studies. Also, at its very worst, homophobic bullying can undoubtedly be a contributory factor to teenage suicides. This is not therefore an issue we can choose to ignore.

"Some young people may find themselves very isolated in dealing with homophobic bullying and may feel uncomfortable talking to anyone about what they are experiencing, including their own families. Anything that can help to promote better
understanding of this issue must therefore be welcomed."

18 Jan 2009- Dont´t get too excited. Let me start by stating categorically that I am NOT gay. I am not a big fan of gay folks either. If anything, I try to avoid them the most I can. Once, during a trip to Norway, a homosexual man in his mid-thirties tried to make advances at me. I almost broke his jaw.

However, in 2002, when the then-President of Nigeria, Olusegun Obasanjo signed the bill that forbade the same-sex marriage of Nigerians, I could not help but ask: What right does the President of the country have to tell his people who not to marry. The president did not give birth to them.

And then, the same scenario was repeated in Kenya recently. The Kibaki-led administration announced a ban on same-sex marriages in the country, calling it illegal. The punishment for same-sex marriage in Nigeria is five years behind bars.

For some reason, Africans want to be too sacred, and rather than our government solving the most pressing issues that affect Africa today- poverty, Health issues, Corruption, lack of accountability, ethnic clashes, and the sorts, our governments spend their time in parliament deliberating on laws that would make life harder and worse for the common man.

In an Africa that is full of so many problems, if a man decides that he will find solace spending the rest of his life in the arms of another man, why disturb him? Why have our Parliamentarians forgotten the Universal rights of human beings to express themselves in whichever way they deem fit?

I came across an old high school classmate of mine in South- Africa recently, and while we got talking, he told me how much he missed his home country of Nigeria, and how much he longed to go back. On asking him why he did not return to his country, he revealed that he left Nigeria so as to get married to his long-time boyfriend in South-Africa since it was the only African country that permitted the same-sex marriage. He was on exile from his own country, and he was not a criminal.

The Nigerian, Kenyan and other African governments should go back to the law that forbids the same-sex marriage and destroy it because it is actually senseless. If one finds happiness and contentment in marrying a member of the opposite sex, why prevent another from finding happiness because he or she has a different sexual orientation? If the government thinks banning the same-sex marriage will decrease immorality in the society, it had better thought again. Gays may not get married in these countries, but no one can stop them from living together under the same room and doing their thing.

My mother always forbade me from saying this, but the truth is, once an adult, one should be allowed to live his or her life the way they deem fit. The top countries in the world- America, Europe and Australia do not bother about trivial issues such as same-sex marriages and other related issues. They battle with major issues. Why should we bother with issues such as Gay people.

And so, Africa, live and let the Gays live.

15 Jan 2009 -Strasbourg- Members of the European Parliament on Wednesday urged EU states to put an end to discrimination against gays, women and gypsies within the bloc.

In a report which condemned the high number of human rights violations across the region, MEPs called on the 27 EU member countries to recognise the rights of same-sex couples, already enshrined in some of them.

It also criticised persistant gender inequalities, excessive anti-terrorism policies and the ongoing discrimination facing gypsies, notably by the police in countries like Italy.

"It is high time the EU practices what it preaches. The European Commission wants to be a champion of human rights, but sadly every day we hear about anti-discrimination laws being flouted by member states," said Spanish deputy Ignasi Guardans.

Same-sex marriage is legal in a number of EU countries, including the Netherlands, Norway, Spain and Belgium. While countries such as Britain, France and Germany recognise same-sex civil unions for tax, inheritance and other purposes.

12 Jan 2009- London, England- Retired police officer Brian Paddick has tied the knot with his partner of two years, Petter Belsvik. The pair were married in a ceremony in Belsvik’s homeland of Norway during the weekend.

They were joined by friends from Paddick’s stint on I’m A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here, at a party held in their honour in London last night.

Guests at the bash at the Hempel Hotel in Paddington included Simon Webbe, Nicola McLean and George Takei.

Paddick, who is Former Deputy Assistant Commissioner of the Metropolitan police, took part in the reality TV show last year. He was the sixth celebrity voted out and endured challenges including sleeping in a cage full of rats and skydiving.

On leaving the jungle, he said: ‘For a long time, in the police force, I've been doing serious stuff. It's all bad news I've been commenting on so I thought why not do something trivial.

'It was hard work, particularly the hunger. I lost a stone in weight in two weeks.’

Paddick ran against Boris Johnson and Ken Livingstone as the Liberal Democrat candidate in the London Mayoral elections last year, coming third.

The 50-year-old, who was previously married to a woman, told The Daily Mail about his plans to marry Belsvik in September

He said: ‘My ex-wife Mary had been very kind to me and remains a loyal supporter to this day.

‘The 'unreasonable behaviour' she cited in our divorce petition was me being more in love with my job than with her, rather than me being in love with another man.

‘And of course, fully realising I was gay meant marriage was never again going to be an option, or so I thought.

How the world has changed. I no longer have a job to be in love with, having retired from the police after 30 years.

‘And from January 1 next year, same-sex couples can actually get married, as opposed to entering a civil partnership, in Norway.

‘So, at the age of 50, I am taking the plunge again. This time it's with a man: my Norwegian boyfriend, Petter

Belarusian Army Will Not Now Call-up Openly Gay Activist for Military Duty
 

12 Jan 2009- Moscow  (GayRussia.ru)–   The openly gay editor-in-chief of the largest Belarusian LGBT site Gay.by, Alexander Paluyan, will not now be conscripted into the Belarus army.

Even though the sexual orientation of the 23-year-old conscript was known by the personnel of the military department, they called on him to report to Mozyr military department, as GayRussia and UK Gay News jointly revealed last week.

Mr Paluyan was until recently considered as ineligible for military duties due to a health problem.

But after an amendment to the law as passed at the end of 2008 which declassified Mr Paluyan’s disease as ineligible to service in the army.

After the details Mr Paluyan’s military call-up into the army were made public in both the Belarusian and International LGBT media, as well as the appeal of the members of the Belarusian Initiative for Sexual and Gender Equality to the Mozyr City Council about the staging of a picket in front of the military department, the decision to suspend the conscription was made.

Additionally, activists had launched a campaign calling on the Ministry of Defence of Belarus to start a comprehensive anti homophobia campaign in the army.

“According to the legislation, you are ready for military service and will be put on the list of conscripts, though we will put a special mark that you cannot serve in the army of the basis of your way of life,” Mr. Paluyan was told by the military authorities.

In the majority of known cases in Belarus, when a conscript declares his homosexuality during the medical commission, he is ‘diagnosed’ with having a ‘psychiatric disease’ which de facto exempts him from serving in the army.

As a result, Mr Paluyan became the first known Belarusian citizen to be exempted from serving in the army – but not diagnosed as being mentally ill.

“Frankly speaking, I am happy with the result,” Mr. Paluyan said yesterday in an e-mail to GayRussia.

“It is good that everything was done on time and many thanks to everyone for support which I received from friends and colleagues.

“Without their help, I would now be wearing the military boots. “I hope the military department will not change their decision,” he concluded.
 

Polish Politician to Former Polish Prime Minister: Are You Gay?
 

11 Jan 2009- Warsaw Poland-  It has to be one of the most startling Polish political blogs of all-time.  A politician publicly asking the former Prime Minister if he is gay.

But that is what the controversial Member of the Sejm (MP) , Janusz Palikot asked today on his blog of Jarosław Kaczyński, the former Prime Minister.

Mr. Palikot, from the ruling Civic Platform party, astonished reporters at an April 2007 press conference by turning up in a t-shirt with “Jestem gejem” (I am gay) on the back.  He said he wore the t-shirt to highlight that the Public Platform should be the defenders of minorities.

Rumblings on the sexuality of Jarosław Kaczyński have been going on for years.  The sexagenarian, whose identical twin brother Lech is President of Poland, has never, it is said, had a girl-friend and has always lived with his mother and his cat.

It was the former trade union leader who rose to be Poland’s first post-Soviet era President, Lech Wałęsa, who ten years ago first hinted one the sexuality of Jarosław Kaczyński when he said on television the he had invited the Kaczyński twins to a party – Lech with his wife and Jarosław with his husband.

In asking his blunt question on his blog (in Polish), Mr. Palikot says that there is no problem for him whatever the answer.

“The problem would be to hide this from the public,” he writes.

And as an example of how to be candid, he ends this blog:  “Ja – niepytany – oświadczam, że jednoznacznie preferuję kobiety. A Pan, Panie Jarosławie?”

In English: “I – unasked – declare unequivocally that I prefer women.  And you, Mrs. Jarosławie?

Last year, Mr. Palikot said in an interview: “Uważam prezydenta za chama” (I think the President is a fool) – an offence under Poland’s stringent anti-defamatory laws.  He faces up to three years in prison.

Gay man killed himself after going on Jeremy Kyle show to dicuss homosexuality

08 Jan 2009- London, England-A homosexual killed himself after appearing on the Jeremy Kyle television show to discuss problems in his gay marriage. Roger Irons, 21, appeared on the controversial ITV daytime show with Matthew Millington, 26, whom he married in a civil ceremony in 2006.

But in August last year he was founding hanging from a tree in woods after telling his family he "couldn't take any more" homophobia.

An inquest heard how the care assistant became depressed by taunts about his homosexuality. His sister Lisa, 30, told the inquest in Truro, Cornwall: "Roger was happy and easygoing but he hid his problems.

"People being homophobic hurt him a lot. It really got to him and eventually it boiled over." Mr Irons, of Falmouth, Cornwall, and his partner appeared on the Jeremy Kyle Show on ITV1 in October 2007.

Mr Millington later said that appearing on the programme solved everything and that their relationship worked well afterwards.

He told the inquest: "Roger was bubbly and a happy easygoing person but he did get a lot of abuse about being gay."

Mr Irons hanged himself from a tree in Falmouth on August 2 last year after running out of a cocktail party to celebrate his sister Susan's 18th birthday.

She told the inquest: "He was crying and very emotional. He kissed me on the cheek and said 'I can't take it any more' and ran off."

The episode of Jeremy Kyle they appeared in was repeated on the Tuesday after his death. He had also developed epilepsy but controlled it with medication, the inquest heard.

As a child Mr Irons went to school at Beacon Junior and Infants and then Falmouth School, before becoming a care assistant at Sheldon House Nursing Home in Sea View Road.

His aunt, Bridget Irons, said: "He would help anyone out." Deputy coroner for Cornwall Andrew Cox recorded a verdict of suicide.

A spokesman for the Jeremy Kyle show declined to comment on the death of former guest Roger Irons.  She said: "His death was not linked to the show and came well after his appearance."

Plane diverted over gay jibes

06 Jan 2009- A packed holiday jet was forced to make an emergency landing after drunken passengers became violent, started smoking and made gay jibes at cabin crew.

The pilot of the transatlantic flight from Manchester was so concerned he took drastic action and touched down in Bermuda.

Three British men were ordered off the flight and arrested. They were held in police cells before being quizzed.

The incident occurred aboard a flight to the Dominican Republic on New Year’s Eve.

Grant Smith, 35, of Burnley, Lancs, has been charged with interfering with the performance of a crew member contrary to the Air Navigation Order 2005.

The two other men arrested are believed to have been travelling in the same party. One has been released without charge and the other was due to land at Gatwick this morning after being deported.

Officers investigating the alleged air rage incident said Smith was questioned about possible homophobic public order offences, affray and smoking on board the plane.

Chief Inspector Ed Henriet, of Sussex police, said: “People who endanger aircraft in this manner can expect to receive custodial sentences.”

The flight left Manchester at 12.15pm on New Year’s Eve and was due to reach Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic at 5.35pm local time.

Instead, flight TOM133 landed in Bermuda and the remaining passengers eventually made it to Punta Cana four hours late.

A Thomson spokesman said: “Flight TOM 133 Manchester to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, was diverted, and landed into Bermuda at 5.35pm local time on Wednesday December 31, due to disruptive passengers on board."

Smith flew back to England on Thursday where he was met by police at Gatwick airport and arrested on suspicion of endangering an aircraft.

He was charged on Monday and released on police bail. He is now due to face the charge at Crawley Magistrates on January 16.

Stars urged to back FA's anti-homophobia campaign

05 Jan 2009- England, UK- Football stars David Beckham and Wayne Rooney were urged to speak out against homophobia today in a video which could be shown in schools.

Plans to make a film to rid terraces of anti-gay chants have been confirmed by the Football Association (FA).

The initiative follows a barrage of abuse aimed at England internationals Sol Campbell and Ashley Cole, neither of whom are gay, at grounds in recent years.

Peter Tatchell, of gay rights group Outrage, said he hoped a host of players - including Beckham, Rooney, Campbell, Cole, Theo Walcott, Frank Lampard, David James and Cristiano Ronaldo - will be persuaded to take part.

The video is due to be released later this year and could be shown in schools, cinemas, on television and at grounds, he said.

Mr Tatchell praised the FA for backing the video "after years of lobbying."

He added: "The plan is to feature big-name stars speaking out against homophobia, in order to make anti-gay chants look as stupid, ignorant and uncool as racist ones.

"We also want the FA to put it on YouTube and distribute copies to every school in the country.

"Our aim is to give homophobia the boot - to kick anti-gay prejudice off the pitch and out of the terraces.

"It will also be a world first, since no other football governing body has even attempted anything as upfront and bold.

The FA and Kick It Out, the sport's diversity and inclusion campaign, confirmed they had approved the video but were unaware of its exact content.

"Homophobia has become a massive concern," said a spokesman for Kick It Out. "A release date has not been decided."

Mr Tatchell said authorities should impose big fines and match suspensions on players and managers who use anti-gay insults.

He added: "Stewards should be required to identify fans who shout homophobic abuse and the FA should secure the agreement of the police to arrest and evict them - in the same way that they arrest and evict racist fans.

"The appointment of Luiz Felipe Scolari to manage Chelsea should have been vetoed by FA and Chelsea bosses. He had previously said he would refuse to have a gay player in his team."

Gay row hits Sanremo festival

23 Dec 2008- Rome - Italian gay rights group Arcigay on Tuesday threatened to disrupt Italy's biggest musical event of the year, the Sanremo song festival, if a song apparently about 'converting' gays to heterosexuality is not pulled.

The song by 36-year-old Milan singer-songwriter Povia, entitled Luca Was Gay, was announced on Monday as one of 16 numbers that will compete for the title of best song at next year's festival in February.

Arcigay President Aurelio Mancuso said that despite the fact that the lyrics of the song have not been released, the title ''left no doubts about the theme and the position of the author''.

Mancuso said Povia was ''not exactly new'' to taking public stances against homosexuality, adding that he was famous for a magazine interview in which he declared that ''people aren't gay, they become gay on the basis of who they spend time with''.

The Arcigay president said Povia had gone on to say that he had ''had a gay phase, it lasted seven months, and then I got over it'' as well as claiming to have ''converted'' two of his friends who ''thought they were gay'' but were now married.

Mancuso claimed the song referred to a formerly gay man called Luca Tolve, who claims to have been ''cured'' of his homosexuality thanks to the controversial reparative therapies of American Catholic psychologist Joseph Nicolosi ''widely refuted by the global scientific community''.

Mancuso warned state broadcaster RAI, which shows the glitzy five-day event each year, that protests would be ''extremely strong, noisy and organised'' if the song was not withdrawn from the festival.

Some 200 people signed up to a Facebook protest group launched by Arcigay on Tuesday within hours of its going online.

But politician Luca Volonte' of the Catholic UDC party described Arcigay's efforts as ''a clear attempt at discrimination and censorship''.

''A firm response is needed to the violent verbal threats of Arcigay against Giuseppe Povia and his song, which is about real experiences of friendship,'' he said.

Volonte' added that last year Italian pop singer Anna Tatangelo had competed with a song entitled My Friend, written for a gay friend about the difficulty he faces in Italy because of his sexuality.

''Tatangelo can sing about these issues but Povia can't? That's intolerable, racist and fascist,'' he said.

High court rejects gay priest marriage case

16 Dec 2008- Sweden- A homosexual couple have lost their case in the Supreme Administrative Court (Regeringsrätten) against the Swedish tax authority (Skatteverket) for registering their marriage in Canada as a partnership.

Lars Gårdfeldt and Lars Arnell, who are both priests in the Church of Sweden, alleged discrimination when their marriage was classified as a civil partnership.

The couple have lost their case in the district court, the court of appeal and now in the Supreme Administrative Court, Sweden's highest court.

The couple argued that a same-sex marriage entered into in accordance with Canadian law should be recognized in Sweden, despite the fact that there is no legal basis for it under current Swedish law.

In their application to the court the couple argued that the "tax authorities can make an exception for a marriage where one party is under-age but not for homosexuals."

The authority confirmed that it does make exceptions to Swedish law with regard to under-age couples legally married overseas. But only for marriages involving a man and a woman.

Lars Gårdfeldt is a prominent debater of homosexual issues both within and outside of the church, reacted to the ruling, calling it discriminatory.

The court referred to the definition contained within Swedish legislation covering marriage, concluding that the term applies only to a union between a man and a woman while a union between two people of the same sex is designated as a partnership.

The court concluded in its judgement that even if this union in a foreign state is classified as marriage it is, according to current Swedish law, classified as a partnership.

Gay rights group riled by tampon makers' sex ed books

16 Dec 2008- Sweden- The youth arm of Sweden's largest gay rights group has expressed fury at educational material distributed by two major tampon manufacturers.

The two companies, Libresse and OB, are accused by RFSL Ungdom of providing teachers with sex education material that "reinforces offensive norms and opinions".

One of the books indicates that, for young people, the idea of being homosexual "is enough to send a shiver down their spine." There is also a passage that states: "If you are a Muslim, you may not be allowed to have a girlfriend or boyfriend".

In another section, Muslim girls concerned that they might not bleed on their wedding night are advised to contact a gynecologist who can sew stitches in their vaginal opening.

"Libresse and OB ought to be ashamed of themselves for giving out material that is so heteronormative and in many ways racist," said Felix König, chairman of the youth faction of RFSL, the Swedish Federation for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Rights, in a statement.

The two makers of women's hygiene items have pooled their resources to compile sex education material for pupils aged 13-14 and 15-16.

RFSL Ungdom said it believed the two educational packages produced by the companies ran counter to laws protecting Swedish schoolchildren from exposure to offensive material.

"We hope all schools that have distributed this material gather it back in and throw it away. Pupils shouldn't have to read offensive opinions. We are also going to contact Schools Minister Jan Björklund," said Felix König.

Homophobic killer jailed for life

12 Dec 2008- UK- A homophobic man has been jailed for life for stabbing to death an accountant in a public toilet. Mark Malone, 30, of Clement Road, Walton-on-Thames, was sentenced to a minimum of 30 years at the Old Bailey.

He was found guilty of the murder of 50-year-old Jeff Akers near a beauty spot in Walton-on-Thames in February, following a trial in November. Mr Akers, formerly of south Wales, died in hospital after he staggered from the toilet with a large knife in his back.

'Unhealthy interest'

Sentencing Malone, Judge David Paget said: "You murdered him in a particularly savage way, stabbing him in the back with a carving knife with such force that it completely severed the eighth rib and punctured his right lung.

"The knife went into his back up to the hilt. The knife had an eight-inch blade. You did this simply because he was gay. "I am satisfied that you took that knife and went into those public lavatories looking for someone you thought was gay to stab."

He added: "You clearly have an unhealthy interest in knives and very clearly have a hatred of homosexuals. "You will have to be regarded, therefore, as posing a significant risk of serious harm to members of the public, in particular gay men, in the future,"

The court was told that in September 2007 Malone attacked a Brazilian man in a cubicle at the same location.

He was jailed for three months five years ago for punching an autistic man twice he thought was gay because he believed he was staring and winking at him on a bus in Helston, Cornwall.

Following last month's verdict, Mr Akers' brother, Richard, said justice had been done. Mr Akers was described as a "wonderful, caring and loving son" by his parents.

Originally from Barry, south Wales, Mr Akers had lived with his partner, Mike Drew, for 22 years, in Wallington, south London.

During the trial, Ann Cotcher QC, prosecuting, said the only possible motive for Malone's unprovoked attack had been "a dislike of homosexuals".

The court was told the toilet was a well-known meeting place for gay men and Malone, a married father, had earlier been seen in the area waving a knife.

Malone eventually handed himself in, claiming he knew the toilet was a popular spot for gay men "but that he had no issues with the gay community" and "was not an angry person".

But after the hearing Surrey Police said it was a "vicious, unprovoked homophobic attack by Mark Malone on a harmless, innocent man".

RIGHTS: Europe Goes Slow on Gay Laws

 
11 Dec 2008- Brussels- European Union governments are in no hurry to widen the scope of the bloc's anti-discrimination rules so that gays and lesbians can enjoy greater rights.

Under a law dating from 2000, discrimination in the workplace on grounds of sexual orientation is prohibited. Yet because the measure is restricted to employment and training, homosexuals are denied its protection once their working day is over. As a result, a doctor could refuse to treat a gay patient, or a landlord could refuse to let his apartment to a same-sex couple.

To plug this legislative gap, the European Commission came forward with a new proposal in July this year that would make it an offence to discriminate against gay people in access to healthcare, education, social protection, housing and the provision of goods and services. Discrimination on the grounds of age, disability, religion and belief are also covered by the proposal, which is modelled on EU-wide laws that have already been introduced against racial prejudice.

The blueprint has had a problematic birth. Senior figures from the European Commission, the executive arm of the EU, are known to have been reluctant to introduce the proposal, with some arguing that only discrimination against people with disabilities should be covered by it. Their rationale was that a more comprehensive measure would be unlikely to win approval from the EU's governments.

This prediction appears to have at least partly materialised. Greece and Malta are seeking to have the measure watered down, according to EU officials, by seeking that the clauses on discrimination in education are removed.

An official tracking the law's progress said that there is little chance that the Czech Republic will be able to secure a deal allowing the legislation to come into effect when it holds the EU's rotating presidency in the first half of 2009.

While homophobia has been encountered throughout the EU, it has been especially pronounced in the ten mostly ex-communist countries that joined the Union in 2004. During 2006, Poland, the largest of the ten, considered introducing a law that would ban the "promotion of homosexuality" by teachers. The law has never been adopted, however, and Poland has subsequently had a change of government.

Nonetheless, similar measures are now being discussed by the national parliament in Lithuania. A suggested amendment to the country's law on the protection of minors recommends that images which convey a positive impression of homosexuality should be banned in the classroom, equating them with displays of death or mutilation. Petras Vaitekaunas, Lithuania's foreign minister, told his country's parliament in October that "Lithuania is one of the most homophobic countries in the EU" and that it could take a "change of generations" before it becomes more tolerant.

Meanwhile, Hungary's constitutional court is scheduled to issue a ruling next week in a legal challenge against a plan to allow same-sex couples to be granted formal recognition. If the challenge proves unsuccessful, people in gay and lesbian relationships will be able to register a civil partnership from the beginning of 2009. Marriage will, however, remain only open to heterosexuals.

Homophobia appeared in a particularly nasty form in Budapest when gay pride parades were held over the past two years.

Before these events took place, extreme-right websites offered tips on how participants could be attacked, giving details of bars they were likely to frequent and hotels where gay visitors to the city would be staying. One of these bars ended up being petrol-bombed earlier this year, while the parade itself was attacked by a mob throwing eggs and tins of cat food. These attacks came even though police had sought to keep extreme-right sympathisers away from the parade by cordoning off an area especially for it.

Sandor Steigler, chairman of the Rainbow Mission Foundation, a Hungarian gay rights group, complained that right-leaning politicians did not condemn such attacks in unambiguous terms. He argued that the question of incitement to hatred needs to be tackled.

"You can't resolve everything by legislation," he added. "But we do expect politicians to be attuned to our problems. At the moment, I think this is missing among politicians."

Jan Snijder, a superintendent in the Dutch police force and president of the Euro Gay Police Association, says that there is "massive underreporting" of crimes against homosexuals in his country.

In an attempt to remedy this situation, the Dutch police introduced an online service for victims of homophobic hate attacks in the Amsterdam and Gelderland regions. Only five such crimes were reported.

Snijder argued that police officers who are homosexual should actively take part in gay festivals and that the composition of forces needs to better reflect the diversity of wider society. "When marching in gay pride, we can show that there are gay people inside the police," he said. "It can't go on that the police forces in Europe are only white and male. Everyone who lives in Europe must also serve the police."

Michael Cashman, a British gay rights campaigner and member of the European Parliament, said that politicians "resort to the politics of hatred and intolerance" whenever they think it will help them to be elected.

"The spotlight of hatred never diminishes," he added. "It merely shifts to another group. Our obligation is to lead, not to follow public opinion. We have to lead public opinion to where it needs to be in 20 or 30 years time."

I0 Dec 2008- Brussels – The majority of EU states, including the Republic of Ireland, deny same-sex partners of EU citizens the full right to move to join them as they do not recognise homosexual unions, the European Commission said yesterday.

“If a union is recognised in one member state, then another member should in principle accept that union,” justice commissioner Jacques Barrot told a news conference. EU citizens have the right to live in any of the union’s 27 states with their family but that does not apply in all states to the registered partners of homosexual citizens.

A commission report showed that 14 states – Ireland, Germany, Austria, France, Greece, Hungary, Poland, Cyprus, Malta, Romania, Slovakia, Estonia, Slovenia and Latvia – do not give full entry and residence rights to partners of same-sex couples. Mr Barrot said the situation varied widely among the 14 states, with some allowing same-sex partners into the country and others imposing excessively strict requirements.

06 Dec 2008- UK- The Christian policeman sacked after a row over gay rights has told how his dismissal after 15 years in the force has ‘devastated’ his family.

As The Mail on Sunday revealed in the summer, Graham Cogman objected to being ‘bombarded’ at work by emails and posters promoting events such as Gay History Month.

He responded to the ‘politically correct’ campaign by sending emails to colleagues quoting Biblical texts suggesting that homosexual sex was sinful.

But he faced accusations of homophobia and a series of disciplinary hearings, culminating 12 days ago in his sacking by Norfolk Police for misconduct.

The twice-commended officer said yesterday: ‘I am totally devastated. It was a job I loved. This is destroying me and my family.’

He admitted he had ‘stupidly’ breached a ban by using the internal communications system to post a link to an American Christian organisation, but said the force’s decision to sack him was ‘harsh and disproportionate’.

Mr Cogman, 50, accused the police service of becoming so sensitive to the rights of gays that Christians could no longer safely express their views.

Speaking at his home in Sea Palling, Norfolk, which he shares with his wife Elaine, 46, and his two children, Mr Cogman said: ‘In the service in general there is a feeling of fear. There is a definite bias against faith – any faith – if it takes a critical view of homosexual sex.

‘The easy option for me would have been to keep quiet but when there is such prejudice towards one point of view, how can that be right? That doesn’t sound like equality and diversity to me.

‘I don’t have any worries with what people do in their private lives – if they are gay, that’s fine. I haven’t gone after anyone maliciously.’

Mr Cogman, backed by the Police Federation, is appealing against his sacking and is planning to take his force to an employment tribunal next year, funded by the Christian Legal Centre.

He said he had received a huge amount of support both from within and outside the force.

Last week the Rev Martin Young, vicar of St Andrew’s church in Norwich, wrote an open letter to Norfolk Police protesting that it had ‘manifestly failed to uphold PC Cogman’s right to express his Christian faith’.

The vicar added: ‘His views are not extreme or unusual. They are consistent with the published understanding of the Church of England, of which he is a member.’ Mr Cogman said he had no problems with colleagues until gay liaison officers circulated an email to officers in early 2005 encouraging staff to wear a pink ribbon on their uniforms during Gay History Month.

He emailed colleagues suggesting they might want to read biblical texts suggesting homosexual sex was sinful. As a result, he was ordered to stop using the internal messaging system for failing to show ‘tolerance and respect’ for fellow officers.

The following year, when officers were encouraged to wear rainbow ribbons during Gay History Month, Mr Cogman said it was ‘inappropriate, thoughtless and insensitive’ as the rainbow symbolised God’s faithfulness.

He was accused of unlawfully using the internal messaging system and victimising another gay liaison officer by saying: ‘Love the sinner, hate the deed.’ He was docked 13 days’ pay.

In April this year, he was questioned again after circulating a link to a helpline for people struggling with their sexuality on a website headed by the controversial American preacher Pat Robertson.

At the misconduct hearing, overseen by the Independent Police Complaints Commission, a panel found that Mr Cogman had ignored an order banning him from using the police computer system and had failed to treat a colleague with politeness and respect.

Mr Cogman said: ‘I felt physically sick when I heard the ruling. If I hadn’t posted that link I would still have a job. That was my downfall, my stupidity, however you want to put it. But my intention was to help.’

He claimed a small group of pro-gay officers had been determined to oust him. ‘They have their own agenda and now they have my scalp.’

Norfolk Police said: ‘The issue is not about Mr Cogman’s beliefs but about his behaviour. He ignored repeated warnings about his behaviour and was dismissed for failing to obey a lawful order and required to resign for failing to show politeness and tolerance to colleagues.’

Valencia Gay couple refused permission to bring their baby into Spain

27 Nov 2008- Spain- One of the men is the father of the child which was born in the United States by a surrogate mother.

A married couple of gay men from Valencia have been refused permission to bring two babies into Spain from the United States where the babies were born thanks to a surrogate mother. The woman was chosen by the two men, and one of them provided the sperm in a practice which is legal in the United States but not in Spain, and that is why now the Spanish Embassy is refusing a visa for the babies to enter Spain.

Diario Levante reports that such problems do not occur in heterosexual couples who use surrogates, or even in the case of lesbians, as the benefit of doubt is given by the Spanish authorities who consider that one of the women is the biological mother of the child. Hence the current discrimination against gay men.

Spanish socialist senator, Andrés Perelló, has commented that this is a matter which needs to be resolved as there are five other gay married couples who are expecting children next year in the same situation.

Norway team says sorry for Valencia gay jibe

27 Nov 2008- Norway's Rosenborg has apologised to Valencia after a prank saw their website refer to Spanish Champions League rivals Valencia as "homosexuals."

A video on the site had been designed to give a little linguistic guidance to readers ahead of Thursday's UEFA Cup encounter but one clip featured Rosenborg's Uruguayan defender Alejandro Lago calling the La Liga side "maricones" - slang for gays.

Reading from a script, Lago also slammed the Spanish as "little girlies who can't take it when temperatures drop below zero."

That comment came following a report that the Spanish outfit had had supplementary clothing flown in to cope with the Scandinavian winter weather - but the website furore was a frosty reception of a different kind.

Rosenborg apologised and said that "one should not joke" either about matters religious or issues of sexuality.

26 Nov 2008- London- Boy George's lawyer said on Wednesday the man who has accused the British singer of tying him up and beating him with a chain last year "sexed up" his story to sell it to the press.

Lawyer Adrian Waterman told Snaresbrook Crown Court in east London that Norwegian male escort Audun Carlsen had lied about his meetings with the 47-year-old, best known for fronting the band Culture Club in the 1980s.

"You have lied to the police," he said. "You have tried to make this story more exciting. You have added details and you have sold your story to the press and you have every intention of doing so again."

Carlsen disagreed, saying: "Do you think I would put myself through all this for the sake of a few thousand pounds?"

During his cross-examination of the witness on the third day of the trial, Waterman suggested Carlsen had received injuries to his arm and neck from bondage gear worn during a photo shoot with Boy George, being tried under his real name George O'Dowd.

He produced several colored photographs taken on the night and showed them to the judge and jury. A short video clip was also shown.

Carlsen said the injuries were the result of his handcuffing and beating at the hands of O'Dowd, who sat impassively in the dock during Wednesday's hearing. O'Dowd denies one charge of false imprisonment.

"MOTIVE WAS REJECTION"

Carlsen also told the court he believed O'Dowd had attacked him on their second meeting, in April 2007, because he had refused to have sex with him the first time they met in January.

"I think he couldn't handle the refusal of me not having sex with him," said Carlsen, who wore a dark jacket.

During the cocaine-fueled January meeting, which centered around a pornographic photo shoot for which Carlsen was paid, O'Dowd performed a sex act on him for a few seconds before he stopped him, Carlsen said earlier this week.

O'Dowd says he became angry because Carlsen had tampered with his computer and taken photographs from it to use on the website Gaydar without the singer's permission. He complained to Carlsen several times, the court has heard.

Waterman said Carlsen used the computer again during their second meeting months later.

"Do you think after all his accusations I would be so silly and go on his computer?" Carlsen countered.

After escaping O'Dowd's London residence by unscrewing the wall hook to which he says he was handcuffed, Carlsen ran into the street wearing his underwear and a T-shirt. He came across shopkeeper Diptesh Patel who invited him into his store.

"He seemed rather agitated," Patel told the jury. "He said 'Help me, help me, two guys have hurt me.'"

The police arrived soon after and Carlsen was taken to Shoreditch police station. Later that day they searched O'Dowd's flat and arrested him. The trial continues.

25 Nov 2008- In an unexpected blitz move, the parliament of Burundi has passed a law, making same-sex acts punishable by between three months and two years in prison, along with a substantial fine. Pro-gay groups are expressing outrage.

The new legislation, which still has to pass before the Bujumbura Senate, would criminalise homosexuality for the first time in the history of the country. The Senate may vote on the bill as early as tomorrow and if it passes, Burundian President Nkurunziza will likely sign it into law.

The government of Burundi's latest move comes in the context of considerable hostility to homosexuality in the East African region. Two-thirds of African nations maintain criminal penalties for consensual same-sex behaviour. In recent years several countries, including Nigeria, Zimbabwe and Uganda, have threatened to strengthen laws against homosexuality.

Several nations, including Burundi, have enacted legislation criminalising same-sex marriage, though little or no advocacy to promote such marriages has taken place. These laws appear to be emerging in response to an increasingly visible, outspoken, and organised sexual rights movement.

The new legislation in Burundi immediately sparked protests by national and international pro-gay groups and organisations. The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) and the local Association pour le Respect et les Droits des Homosexuels (ARDO) issued strongly worded letters to the entire membership of Burundi's Senate, asking them to vote against the legislation.

IGLHRC and ARDO also wrote to President Nkurunziza, asking him to veto the legislation should it be presented to him for his signature. Both groups have encouraged others, including the nation's donors, to contact Burundian authorities to protest the measure.

"Imprisoning people simply because of who they love offends every principle of human rights practice, which is to ensure dignity and respect for all people," said Paula Ettelbrick, IGLHRC's executive director. "This is less about sexuality and more about the visibility of a growing community of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in Africa refusing to be treated as dirt. These laws are meant to silence and terrorize our community and must be stopped."

The UN recently condemned laws that criminalize homosexuality as being violations of the rights to privacy and equality and has called upon member states that maintain such laws to review them. Members of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights have condemned physical attacks on and the imprisonment of lesbians and gays.

International and local human rights defenders have expressed grave concern not only about the nature of the current legislation in Burundi, but also about the way in which it has been promulgated. "The government has moved this bill quickly and unjustly through the legislative process," said a representative of ARDO. "The whole process has happened over the course of a weekend, with no input from civil society or general discussion about the issue of homosexuality and freedom of expression within Burundi."

"If the current legislation passes, it is likely that the country’s HIV prevention efforts will suffer," according to IGLHRC. Burundi has made commendable efforts to fight HIV and AIDS during the last decade. But an IGLHRC report demonstrates how laws that criminalise homosexuality drive communities underground, making men who have sex with men less able to access HIV-related prevention information.

20 Nov 2008- Amsterdam, Netherlands- Amsterdam faces an ingrained problem of violence against gay men, despite its reputation as a haven of tolerance, according to a study released Thursday.

Town councilman Freek Ossel said the University of Amsterdam study, commissioned by the city, said the Dutch capital must improve protection of gays, increase education, and encourage reporting of discriminatory incidents.

"Amsterdam's title as a gay capital, according to some people, has already been gone for years, and according to others in any case it's at stake," he said.

The study said 67 attacks were reported in Amsterdam in 2007. Police commissioner Leo Wilde said the number was about average for recent years and "is not decreasing."

The figure is difficult to compare with other cities. Amsterdam, with 750,000 people, has tried for years to improve reporting of anti-gay incidents, but police believe most still go unreported.

The study found that most attacks were carried out spontaneously by poorly educated young men who feel their masculinity has been questioned.

"In 40 percent of cases the trigger is if people think they're being targeted" for seduction, said Laurens Buijs, one of the study's authors. Attackers "see gays as predatory animals that can strike at any moment."

The study drew its title "As Long As They Keep Away From Me" from that fear. It concluded that the tolerance often professed by Dutch youth is only a veneer: gay men are accepted only as long as they don't display stereotypically gay behavior.

The study combined a broad survey of Amsterdam youth with in-depth interviews with smaller groups. Authors also interviewed individual attackers and reviewed recent cases.

"It's very sad confirmation of what we already suspected," said Dennis Boutkan, chairman of the Union for Homosexual Integration. "The layer of social acceptance of homosexuality is exceptionally fragile and thin."

Gay ‘sinners’ registrar appeal date

14 Nov 2008- London, England- A date has been set for the council’s potentially embarrassing appeal against a decision to award damages to a Town Hall wedding registrar who refused to “marry” gay couples.

Council chiefs say they have been “left with no option” but to fight an employment tribunal’s landmark ruling to uphold Lillian Ladele’s claim that she was discriminated against on account of her religious belief that all homosexuals are “sinners”.
Ms Ladele, a devout Christian, argued she had been asked to choose between her god and her job by the council, which threatened her with the sack if she continued to refuse to officiate in civil partnership ceremonies.

The tribunal reached a unanimous decision awarding costs and tens of thousands of pounds in damages to Ms Ladele.
The council argues it must set the record straight to ensure future staff do not hold discriminatory views against others based on their sexual preference. Cllr John Gilbert, lead member for human resources, said:
“Appealing the tribunal’s decision wasn’t a decision we took lightly but we believe an important question is at stake and the law must be clarified.
“Islington Council expects employees to provide services to all sections of the community, regardless of who they are. In the light of the judgement, we and all councils and employers now need to know whether this is possible under the law as it currently stands.”
The appeal will be heard at the Employment Appeal Tribunal Court on December 10 at Audit House in Victoria Embankment.

14 Nov 2008- Oslo, Norway- The Church of Norway has yet to decide if it should create a new liturgy for same-sex couples. From January gays and lesbians will be able to have a full civil marriage in Norway.

The bishops of Norway's state church ruled in October that there will be no weddings in church for gay and lesbian couples. The Lutheran church counts nearly 85 percent of Norway's 4.7 million people as members.

The bishops said that pastors may say prayers for married gay and lesbian couples but not bless their relationships. Civil marriage in church was also rejected by the bishops. Bishops are considering a new blessing for same-sex couples.

“In this way, homosexual matrimony is recognised, and homosexuals are received in a way that is honourable and shows equality,” Bishop Jorgensen told NRK.

”We ought to manage that. It is not necessary to make drastic changes to the wording in order to give homosexuals their own liturgy."

In November 2007 the outright ban on clergy in same-sex relationships was lifted. However, each bishop decides whether or not to employ them.

While there is broad agreement in the Church of Norway on the usefulness of registered partnership as a legal framework for homosexual people living together, attitudes in the church are deeply divided on the ethical issue of homosexuality as such.

New legislation on same-sex marriage approved by the Norwegian parliament in June went further, amending the definition of civil marriage in Norway to make it gender neutral and extending parenting rights for gay and lesbian couples.

It will replace a 1993 law that gave same-sex couples the right to enter into civil unions.

Couples with a pre-registered civil partnership will be able to convert it into marriage.

Under the new legislation, which comes into force in January, the Church of Norway was allowed, but not compelled, to bless same-sex marriages.

13 Nov 2008- A senior civil servant stabbed by his gay lover was unable to defend himself after being tied up and blindfolded as part of a bondage game.

Adrian Poleglase was wearing high heels, suspenders and a blonde wig when emergency services rescued him from his burning home, a court heard today.

The government official was allegedly attacked by Ashan Mahmudd, a 21-year-old he met on the Internet, after the pair had sex in the kitchen.

Mahmudd allegedly knifed Mr Poleglase, in his 40s, seven times, before torching his luxury flat and fleeing with his laptop and credit cards.

The Old Bailey heard that the civil servant was helpless to resist, as he had allowed himself to be tied up and blindfolded by his attacker in a sex game.

Mark Gadsden, prosecuting, said Mr Poleglase, who liked to cross dress and call himself 'Claire', had met the defendant on the dating website Gumtree.

He said: 'Adrian Poleglase, the complainant, is an openly gay man who is an occasional transvestite, and who from time to time places advertisements in order to meet other men for no strings attached sex at his flat.'

'Earlier this year, he placed one using the pseudonym Claire, to which the defendant responded using the pseudonym Rubal Ahmed.

'During the course of Internet messenger conversations, it was made clear to the defendant that Claire was actually a gay man, who dressed up in women's clothes, purely for sexual purposes, and they arranged to meet up at Adrian Poleglase's flat.

'Mr Poleglase asked the defendant how he wanted Claire to be dressed, whether as a schoolgirl or in leather.

'The defendant indicated no preference, so he decided on a short black miniskirt, black stockings and suspenders, high heels and a white blouse, a long blonde wig, jewellery and make-up.'  

Jurors heard that Mahmudd arrived at the one bedroom flat in Stockwell, south west London, at around 7.30pm on the night of March 1 this year.

Mr Gadsden continued: 'Mr Poleglase offered the defendant a bottle of wine when he came into the flat, as a way of, as it were, breaking the ice between them.

'Whilst in the kitchen, the defendant became sexually aroused, and Mr Poleglase, dressed as I have described, gave him oral sex.

'They then went into the living room, where Adrian Poleglase assumed they would be joining in some bondage behaviour.'

The court heard Mr Poleglase allowed Mahmudd to blindfold him and tie his hands with sticky tape, but that the defendant then left him alone and went into the kitchen.

Mr Gadsden said: 'He heard the defendant rummaging through drawers, including ones where knives were kept.

'He came back in and said: "I've got a knife, lie down on the floor."'  The victim did as he was told, and heard the defendant unplug his computer, the court heard.

Mahmudd then ordered him to hand over his valuables, and forced him to tell him the pin number for his cards.

When Poleglase tried to escape, the court heard Mahmudd then stabbed his victim seven times and left him lying in a pool of blood, pausing as he fled with his victim's cards and laptop to set fire to the flat.

Mr Poleglase managed to call the emergency services.

Mr Gadsden said: 'A firefighter described Mr Poleglase as being in a very, very bad way, with wounds everywhere, especially a deep one in his chest area, and his whole body was red.

'We say it's obvious that had the emergency services not arrived when they did, the outcome would have been very different for the unfortunate Mr Poleglase, and that this defendant would not have been here charged with attempted murder, but with murder.'

Mr Poleglase told the court he feared for his life when the kinky sex game turned violent.

'I thought it was serious because when I heard him rustling in the knife drawer I knew he was coming back with a knife,' said Mr Poleglase.

'I knew I couldn't escape. My choice was to go on with whatever he was going to demand of me.'

'I decided he was going to kill me, so I thought I had got to get out of here now.

'The next recollection was feeling I had been stabbed. I could feel wetness on my body and Mr Ahmed had made movements towards my body.'  

Mr Poleglase, who works in procurement for the Ministry of Justice later told the court how he received threatening emails from his guest after leaving hospital.

Ahmed claims Mr Poleglase pulled out a knife on him and ordered him to have sex.

Asked if he had made the defendant strip at knifepoint Mr Poleglase said: 'That's not true.'

Jurors also heard that Mahmudd later withdrew £700 from Mr Poleglase's bank accounts, using the stolen credit cards.

Mahmudd, of 11 Napier Road, Enfield, Middlesex, denies attempted murder and arson with intent to endanger life.

The trial continues.

Imatra Vicar Plans Gender Reassignment Surgery

13 Nov 2008- Finland- A local Imatra vicar's announcement that he plans to undergo gender reassignment surgery is forcing the Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Church to take a stance on sex change.

The minister, Olli Aalto, who is taking a temporary leave of absence, intends to begin hormone treatments. After this, he will undergo surgery and physically become a woman.

Voitto Huotari, the bishop of the local Mikkeli diocese, says Aalto can no longer continue in his job. Aalto considers this view to be blatantly discriminatory.

Aalto says he has been encouraged to leave the Church. However, firing him would break equality law. Aalto says he's considering taking the Church to court if he is expelled from his job.

"Pressuring me to leave is already discrimination," says Aalto.

Aalto says he is tired of leading a double life. He says extensive studies have diagnosed him as a transsexual. Aalto says the Church has a responsibility to provide work for someone who has been a faithful servant.

Huotari will pay a visit to Aalto next week to discuss whether his decision to change genders will affect his future in the Church.

The Church, which is already now struggling with falling membership rates and disputes over women ministers, is now left grappling with yet an other burning issue.

Moscow Gay Pride Group Appeals to French and EU Presidents on Eve of EU-Russia Summit

13 Nov 2008- Moscow, Russia- The group of gay activists who organise Moscow Pride has written to the French President, Nicolas Sarkozy, and European Commission President José Manuel Barroso ahead of the European Union-Russia ‘summit’ which opens in Nice tomorrow (November 14).

France currently holds the presidency of the Council of the European Union.

The activists are asking that the European Union discusses the human rights issue in Russia with President Dmitry Medvedev during the summit, which is expected to focus mainly on the Medvedev-Sarkozy six-point plan of August 12, 2008, which was designed to solve last summer’s crisis between Russia and Georgia.  The summit is also expected to further discuss the proposed EU-Russia basic treaty which is set to replace the 1997 Partnership and Cooperation Agreement.

“Freedom of speech, freedom of assembly and freedom of association is breached every day by Russian authorities,” says the letter from the gay activists to Presidents Sarkozy and Barroso.

“Russian gays have no other rights than silence.  We refuse this silence.”

The activists also point out that they have been denied permission to conduct a gay pride march, demanding equal rights for sexual minorities, every year since May 2006.

“The mayor of Moscow considers such marches as satanic,” says the letter.

By the end of the year, activists will have appealed to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg all of the 164 banned gay marches that they attempted to organise in Russia over the last three years.

“We demand you to remind Russian authorities that EU should ask all its partners to respect essential human rights,” conclude the activists.

From Finland with lust

03 Nov 2008- The first time I saw a Tom of Finland drawing was in a well-thumbed, seventh-hand issue of Fiesta, a top-shelf favourite of schoolboys in the 1970s. The image, buried at the back, was in a small ad for more “specialised” publications. But it jumped out at me like an outsized erection.

It depicted a pair of muscular butch young men with big chins and broad grins grabbing each other's bubble butts and straining packets while winking at the reader. I immediately rushed out to the post office to buy as many postal orders as my pocket money would allow.

Although I was sorely disappointed with the lame leather gay fetish magazine with no Tom of Finland drawings that eventually turned up, I have spent much of my adult life and a fortune on gym membership trying to recreate that Tom of Finland image that I glimpsed as a teen.

I needn't have bothered, however, because as it turned out the whole world was going to become a Tom of Finland drawing. His sensualised, cartoonish über-male body and its endless potential for pleasure and pleasuring have become as common as, well, shameless hussies. Think of the rugby player Austin Healey pulsating on BBC One's Strictly Come Dancing in tight pants and a sleeveless top. Or all those footballers keen to strip off and show us their assets on the sides of buses.

The notes for artist retrospectives usually make extravagant claims, and those for a major retrospective of Tom of Finland in Liverpool, part of that city's annual Homotopia queer culture festival, make some very extravagant ones indeed: “Tom had an effect on global culture unmatched by that of virtually any other artist,” we are told. But for once, there's something to this hyperbole, despite the artistic merit of his work being very debatable.

Tom was born Touko Laaksonen in Kaarina, Finland, in 1920, and his work is literally the masturbatory fantasies of a lonely young homosexual Finnish boy - he began drawing in his bedroom in the 1940s. His fetishised, overobserved gay appropriation of masculinity has in a mediated long-distance world become... masculinity.

It's often said that Tom's greatest achievement was in drawing gay men who were masculine, happy and proud at a time when they were supposed to be effeminate, neurotic and shameful. This is certainly the reason why so many gay men are Tom devotees, wittingly or not. Today's gay porn is merely footnotes to Tom, endlessly replaying the narrative of “regular guys” with very irregular-sized penises and pectorals having spontaneous, shameless sex at the drop of a monkey wrench.

The out-and-proud gay biker look - identity even - that Tom perfected after seeing Marlon Brando in The Wild One (Brando was a Tom drawing brought to life) and which became so popular in the pre-Aids 1970s and early 1980s, reaching its peak with the success of the Liverpool band Frankie Goes to Hollywood, has become a cliché - see, for example, the tangoing, mustachioed leather men in the Blue Oyster basement bar in Police Academy - and few if any young gay men today aspire to it.

But when you look at Tom's drawings in this retrospective, which features 25 of his works in a basement (predictably), it becomes apparent that his achievement goes much further than just making gay men feel good about themselves or love the snugness of leather harnesses. Tom, who worked as an illustrator in the Finnish advertising business until the early 1970s, when he became a full-time gay propagandist, sold the male body as a pleased, pleasuring and pleasured thing several decades before Calvin Klein thought of it. In the middle of the 20th century, Tom was effectively sketching the blueprint of 21st-century man. And boy, was he blue.

Before Tom no one drew men like he did, making them such unabashed sex objects and sex subjects, giving them such exaggerated male secondary - and primary! - sexual characteristics: big chins, strong jaws, full lips. Masculinity, and virility end up looking so... scrumptious. Buxom. Busty. Tom's men have round firm breasts, saucer-like aureolas and nipples you can adjust your thermostat with. One (from 1962) struts down the street, biceps bulging, chest out, and dressing very much to the left: no wonder he's being followed. And while Tom's men had their tits out for the lads, the kind of male body he helped to invent is nowadays getting them out for lads and lasses, gay or straight.

Tom's drawings also reveal the male derrière as a sexual organ: not just in some of the more hardcore examples, but the way that Tom-ish buttocks are so spherical, so inviting. One of the most striking and prescient sketches, from 1981, is also one of the tamest: a row of bedenimed male bubble butts sticking out at a bar - awaiting perhaps the attentions of the hugely powerful Abercrombie & Fitch photographer Bruce Weber (a big Tom fan), or perhaps a Levi's commercial.

Tom's big break came in the 1950s from Physique Pictorial, an underground, semi-legal gay American fanzine disguised as a straight men's bodybuilding magazine, which frequently put Tom's men on the cover. Half a century later, and 17 years after his death in 1991, the world is inverted: flesh-and-blood men who look like Tom's drawings appear on the cover of bestselling corporate mags such as Men's Health. Flick one open, and you'll find it full of advice on how straight men can turn themselves into something Tom-ish.

Tom of Finland is at the Contemporary Urban Centre, Greenland St, Liverpool 8 (0151-708 3510; www.homotopia.net), until Nov 30

03 Nov 2008- The British comedian, who is working on a film based on Bruno, a flamboyant character featured on his breakthrough television series Da Ali G Show, joined demonstrators near Los Angeles City Hall on Sunday.

Cohen donned a blond wig for the appearance as he mingled with demonstrators marching in support of Proposition 8, a measure on the ballot that would overturn a state supreme court ruling made earlier this year that allowed gay marriage.

When photographers and reporters at the rally realised who Cohen was and tried to approach the comedian, members of his film crew attempted to shield him before eventually ushering him to a van that whisked him away.

The appearance is the latest in a series of gate-crashing stunts by Cohen, presumably staged for his new film which has the working title Bruno: Delicious Journeys Through America for the Purpose of Making Heterosexual Male.

It is being shot in the same documentary style as his 2006 hit Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, in which Cohen played a journalist from Kazakhstan.

Last month, the 37-year-old Cambridge graduate - dressed as Bruno - was thrown out of a Paris fashion show after climbing on to the catwalk and trying to hand a note to the models.

Earlier he disrupted shows in Madrid and was taken away by security guards after storming the runway dressed in a large black cape during Milan Fashion Week in September.

Malaysian police detain 70 in gay sex party raids

02 Nov 2008- Kuala Lumpur - Malaysian police have detained more than 70 male sex workers and their customers when they raided four parties in progress Saturday evening, a news report said Sunday.

Police teams from the northern Penang state launched raids on four separate locations including a massage parlour and a fitness centre, resulting in the detention of the 28 local men including a Chinese national, aged between 20 and 40, and their customers, state police chief Gan Kong Meng said.

"The case had been classified as an act of gross indecency under Section 377D of the Penal Code" said Gan, adding that some of the customers were from Europe and the United States.

It was believed that some of the men were still undressed during the surprise raids with several used condoms found strewn all over the floor of the premises, the Star daily reported.

Police have also seized some pornographic materials, lubricating jelly and boxes of condoms at the scene. Police have also confirmed that the owners of the premises will be charged for being involved in vice.

Stonewall launches Britain’s largest recruitment guide for gay jobseekers

30 0ct 2008- London, England- Stonewall today launched the fourth and biggest edition of Starting Out, Britain’s national lesbian and gay recruitment guide.

The guide, now featuring 325 potential employers, is designed for discerning graduates and job-seekers and is targeted at the 150,000 lesbian, gay and bisexual students in Britain.

“Attracting and retaining the very best staff, regardless of background, is now a fundamental part of business strategy for British companies wanting to remain market leaders, and public sector organisations striving to provide world-class public services,” said Ben Summerskill, Stonewall chief executive.

20,000 hard copies of Starting Out are being distributed to Students’ Unions, University Careers Services, Employment Agencies and University Lesbian and Gay Societies and secondary schools across Britain.  The guide is also available online HERE.

Once again, the guide has once again been sponsored by Credit Suisse.

Anita Harper, EMEA co-head of diversity and inclusion at Credit Suisse, said she was delighted at the partnership.

“Credit Suisse has a strong diversity and inclusion programme and actively fosters a positive working environment for its gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender staff,” she said.

A launch event, attended by students from across Britain and also supported by Credit Suisse, is being held at the University of London Union (ULU).

“Starting Out showcases those employers who work hard to develop and maintain a culture in which differing abilities and backgrounds are fostered and valued in the workplace,” commented ULU president Kamran Ansari.

“Equality is at the heart of many of our campaigns and we welcome the chance to work alongside organisations such as Stonewall.”

David Shields, director of Workplace Programmes at Stonewall, said that the guide aims to connect graduates and job seekers with progressive employers who value people for their difference and the talents they bring.

“All employers are members of our Diversity Champions programme representing a wide range of careers.  Being in the guide speaks volumes of their commitment to equality which, in turn, is a key factor for discerning job seekers in making their career choices.”

New entries in this year’s guide include those from Rockpools, ITV and Thomson Reuters, The Law Society of England and Wales, NHS Employers and the Army, which now results in the inclusion of all three armed forces.

“I feel that Starting Out is essential for all graduates and job seekers in identifying employers who understand equality and diversity,” said Natasha Gamble, an MA student at the University of London.

“This is important as it ensures that your skills and experience will be valued, regardless of background, in a supportive and safe environment. I have found this can have a great impact on the way you feel within your job and supports you in achieving your potential.”

30 Oct 2008-  London, England- The BBC today denied it had been "homophobic" after a complaint was made to police about an episode of Have I Got News For You.

The complaint was made about an extended edition of the programme, broadcast over the weekend.

A discussion was taking place over reports that Iranians had failed in a bid to create to the world's biggest ostrich sandwich.

"On the plus side they do still hold the record for hanging homosexuals," guest host Alexander Armstrong said.

In a pun on words, comedian Frank Skinner joked that homosexuals are often "ostracised".

A spokeswoman for the Metropolitan Police confirmed: "A member of the public has made a complaint regarding comments made in the programme.

"The complaint is currently being reviewed."

The BBC defended the current affairs show as crisis talks were being held by the BBC Trust into the prank phone calls made to Andrew Sachs by Jonathan Ross and Russell Brand for a Radio 2 show.

A BBC spokeswoman insisted that rather than being homophobic, the intention was quite the opposite.

She said: "The presenter never intended for this comment to be homophobic - quite the opposite.

"Viewers are more than familiar with HIGNFY use of satire - in this instance aimed at the Iranian regime and not the Iranian gay community."

Armstrong has recently been hotly tipped to take over as the new Countdown presenter, something he was ribbed about on the BBC show.

PinkNews.co.uk quoted a man named Lionel Wright from London, who said he had put in complaints about the matter to various bodies including the police.

He said: "I'm a middle-aged gay man who, in common with millions of others lived the first decades of my life under the shadow of prejudice against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities and at a cost in personal happiness and fulfilment."

He said he was "sickened" at the BBC.

But rights campaigner Peter Tatchell disagreed.

"I appreciate the complainant's concerns and good intentions but I interpreted it as an anti-Iran joke, exposing and mocking Iran's murderous homophobic regime," he told the website.

"It was parody and satire, I think, not an endorsement of executions."

Gay group appeals over drowning

28 Oct 2008- Manchester, England- Anyone who may have information about the death of a man in a Manchester canal is being encouraged to speak to the Lesbian and Gay Foundation (LGF).
Alexander Lynch, 46, known as Jimmy, drowned in the canal near to Ducie Street and Dale Street on 3 October.
The area is sometimes used for men looking for sex with other men, and police realise some witnesses may not want to be indentified.

Detectives are urging those who want to remain anonymous to go through the LGF.

Anonymity promise

Det Supt Julian Ross, of Greater Manchester Police's major incident team, said: "We understand there may have been people in the area who may not feel comfortable talking to us about why they were there or what they saw.

"The LGF can act as an intermediary between the witnesses and the police. "They will be able to collect information and pass it on to police, if necessary keeping the witness anonymous."

The LGF organisation, based on Princess Street, said anyone who comes forward with information would be helping the safety of Manchester's lesbian, gay and bisexual communities.

The police and the LGF said any information received would be treated sensitively.

Gay and group sex approved by court

23 Oct 2008- Istanbul, Turkey-  A suspect caught selling films of group and gay sex was judged by an Istanbul court not to have been selling material portraying “unnatural sex” and was sentenced only for sale of illegal pornographic material.

The Turkish Penal Code demands higher penalties for the sale of movies that include “unnatural” intercourse. The court sentenced the suspect on the lesser charge of selling pornographic films in an illegal location.

The verdict referred to the principles of privacy and equality from the Constitution and the European Convention on Human Rights. Previous verdicts of the European Court of Human Rights and the Council of Europe were also noted by the court.

The referenced verdict of European court said, “Even if it shocks or brings discomfort to some members of society, gay intercourse between consenting adults is not criminal.”

In its verdict, the Istanbul court said: “Most European countries have given gay relationships the equivalence of marriage, and in Holland gay marriages were made legal a few years back. In a world of modern societies, it is not possible to say intercourse among members of the same sex is unnatural.”

The verdict also read: “Since the action happens in private places and does not include children it is not criminal. The term ‘unnatural sexual behavior' should be seen from a narrow perspective; otherwise there is the risk of judging every sexual relationship outside of certain limitations unnatural. It is without doubt that the images are eccentric. Although this kind of sexual activity is not common in societies, it is a fact that in every society collective sexual relationships exist.”  

 
23 Oct 2008- Austria-  Jörg Haider, governor of Austria’s Carinthia province and a leader among far-right European politicians, crashed his car and died after leaving a gay bar in the city of Klagenfurt Oct. 11. Police said his blood-alcohol level was more than three times the legal limit for driving.

Haider, 58, was married with children, though rumors had swirled for years that he was secretly gay. He had been outed by gay activists and newspapers that included Britain’s The Guardian, Germany’s Die Tageszeitung and Austria’s Der Standard. Britain’s Telegraph said Haider’s “charismatic populism was instrumental in moving anti-immigrant politics from Europe’s fringes towards the mainstream and breaking the grip on government of established centrist parties which he said had lost touch with the people.”

From 2000 to 2002, the Freedom Party, which Haider briefly headed during that period, was half of a governing coalition in Austria. Critics viewed Haider as an ultranationalist, extremist, racist xenophobe. In 1995, the U.S. Anti-Defamation League accused him of making “numerous statements utilizing Holocaust terminology or legitimizing Nazi policy and activities.” Haider routinely disparaged the European Union, of which Austria is a member.

Portuguese Parliament Rejects Same-Sex Marriage
Two draft laws to legalize same-sex marriage were rejected overwhelmingly by the Portuguese Parliament on Oct. 10. The measures, proposed by the Left Bloc and the Green Party, were opposed by the governing Socialist Party, the Social Democratic Party and the People’s Party. The Left Bloc bill also would have allowed same-sex couples to adopt. The Green Party bill would not have. Bloc and Green MPs abstained from voting on each other’s bills.

During the vote, gay rights groups staged two “weddings” in a Parliament stairway, attracting wide media coverage. The ruling Socialists have said they will not support same-sex marriage until there is a broad national debate on the matter.

“Given that one of the main arguments of the (Socialists) to vote against the proposed amendments was that (same-sex marriage) was not in (their) election program, difficult times in the struggle for equality in access to civil marriage are expected in Portugal,” said the news portal PortugalGay.pt.

A recent public-opinion poll found 42 percent support for same-sex marriage and 53 percent opposition. Portugal has a de facto partnership law that grants limited rights to unmarried couples who have lived together for more than two years, in areas such as income tax, tenancy and immigration.

Norwegian Church Will Not Marry Gays When Law Takes Effect
Norway will become the seventh nation to grant same-sex couples access to full marriage in January, but the dominant Church of Norway will not marry gays, the state church’s bishops said Oct. 8. Pastors will be permitted to offer prayers for gay couples who get married but may not bless them, the bishops said.

Same-sex marriage also is allowed in Belgium, Canada, the Netherlands, South Africa, Spain and, in the U.S., California, Connecticut and Massachusetts.

Officials In Tambov, Russia, Block Gay Events
After initially giving a verbal OK, city officials in Tambov, Russia, reversed course and officially blocked the city’s first planned gay demonstrations Oct. 9. City Hall decided the city’s residents did not approve of the events (a demonstration and a march), that police couldn’t secure them and that they would cause traffic troubles.

Moscow activist Nikolai Alekseev, who was involved in planning the actions, said the decision violates the Russian Constitution and the European Convention on Human Rights, and that organizers will pursue legal redress.

Earlier this year, Tambov Mayor Oleg Betin reportedly said: “Tolerance? To hell! Faggots should be torn apart and their pieces thrown to the wind.” Tambov is about 300 miles (500 km) southeast of Moscow and has a population of about 292,000.

Head Of British Army Addresses Gay Conference
The head of Britain’s army, Gen. Richard Dannatt, chief of the general staff, made history by addressing a gay conference in London Oct. 9, The Sunday Telegraph reported. In remarks to the Fourth Joint Conference on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transsexual Matters, Dannatt said that respecting GLBT officers and soldiers is “a command responsibility” that is mandatory to ensure “operational effectiveness.”

“We have made real progress in our understanding of equality and diversity in the military context, and there is a desire to achieve more yet,” he said. “Respect for others is not an optional extra, it is a command responsibility and an essential part of leadership, teamwork and operational effectiveness.”

Britain’s armed forces lifted their gay ban in 2000 on orders from the European Court of Human Rights.

Dutch Men On Trial For Deliberate HIV Transmission
Three men from Groningen, Netherlands, are on trial for deliberately infecting at least 12 other men with HIV, several news agencies reported. Hans Jurgens, 39, Peter Mulder, 50, and Wim Dekker, 49, allegedly advertised gay sex parties online, lured participants to their location, then drugged them, raped them and injected them with HIV-positive blood.

Prosecutors want the trio to be jailed for between eight and 15 years.

Polish Gay March OK’d, Then Banned
Officials in Krakow, Poland, OK’d an Oct. 31 gay march, then turned around and banned it after Polish President Lech Kaczynski announced plans to attend a celebration of the anniversary of Krakow’s independence the same day. Gay groups planned to march to the grave of King Wladyslaw III, who they claim was gay, on the anniversary of his death.

City officials had said they were fine with the two events occurring simultaneously but, after Kaczynski’s announcement, they banned all other street events and demonstrations for the day and said the king’s grave would be closed. “It is hard to say (if) Kaczynski (is) in Krakow to ban our march or just to be part of Krakow’s event,” said activist Lukasz Palucki. “Information about our meeting was in the biggest Polish media so I am sure he knew about our march.”

In 2007, gay pride organizers in Warsaw won a European Court of Human Rights case against Kaczynski, who, as mayor of Warsaw, banned the 2005 pride parade.

Kaczynski has said that if homosexuality “were to be promoted on a grand scale, the human race would disappear” and that he opposes “propagating gay orientation.”

'Gay sex ordeal in doctor's surgery'

22 Oct 2008- An asylum seeker blackmailed a GP after claiming that he woke up to a gay sex ordeal in his surgery, the General Medical Council heard.

The Ghanaian patient, who can't be named, fell into a trance as Dr Lewis Dickinson, 53, gave him a massage at his practice in Camberwell.

But when he came to he found the doctor holding a massaging machine in one hand and the patient's private parts in the other, the hearing was told.

Anxious not to endanger his immigration status, Patient A made another appointment instead of going to the police.

He recorded his next visit to the GP, when Dickinson mentioned something in relation to the alleged assault.

Patient A confronted the doctor with his evidence, and he agreed to pay the patient - who was HIV positive - £100 a week for the rest of his life to keep him quiet, the hearing was told.

When the doctor stopped paying two and a half years later, the patient pressed charges.

But the case against the doctor was thrown out because of a lack of evidence and Patient A was hauled to court to face blackmail charges.

Dickinson, who was based at 90 Wyndham Road, Camberwell, is accused of massaging a patient without either consent or gloves and masturbating Patient A.

He is also accused of failing to ensure Patient A’s dignity and privacy were preserved.

The doctor also faces charges of failing a series of assessments.

The hearing continues.

 
22 Oct 2008- London, England- Noisy lesbian club meetings are among a catalogue of complaints giving sleepless nights to neighbours of a busy King's Cross gay pub.

Central Station, in Wharfedale Road, stays open until 5am on weekends and regularly hosts cabaret, karaoke and striptease nights, as well as meetings of a lesbian club on Tuesdays until 3am.

But noisy punters on the pub's roof terrace have been giving residents a headache since the smoking ban.

Neighbour Eleanor Dowling, of Balfe Street, told a town hall licensing meeting: "We've had considerable trouble with noise since July 2007. It has caused a lot of residents a lot of disturbance."

Sophie Talbot, of Battlebridge Court, added: "It would be great to see conditions placed on this licence go some way to remove the problems between Central Station and the community."

Islington Council granted the pub a new licence on Monday - but ordered that the roof terrace be shut at 11pm until owners Duncan Irvine and Martin Mason could afford to have it soundproofed.

Mr Irvine said: "We've worked hard for 17 years trying to run a good venue and get on with neighbours. We've had a late licence for 15 years and the problems have been since the smoking ban. The terrace was an area where people can smoke. If you shut it at 11pm people would complain about people on the street."

Mr Mason warned they could not afford soundproofing until next summer or to have bouncers on the door every night to control smokers and unlicensed taxis.

He said: "We agreed on Thursday, Friday and Saturdays but on other nights we can't afford it - security is expensive. Tuesday nights is a meeting of a lesbian club and unfortunately women's voices carry more than men's because of the pitch."

Earlier Mr Irvine argued that an independent acoustic report had found most of the noise heard in neighbours' homes came from passing traffic.

Central Station reopened in September after the company holding the previous licence went bust in July.

Italian gay celebrity calls Putin sexiest man alive

20 Oct 2008- At home, Vladimir Putin is seen as macho. In Italy, a gay celebrity is calling him the sexiest man in the world.

Alfonso Signorini, a Canale 5 TV show host and the editor of two popular glossy weeklies, is causing waves after he described Putin as his "erotic dream" in an interview published late last week with leading Italian newspaper La Stampa.

Signorini, who is openly gay, was asked who is the sexiest Italian man. He replied that he didn't know, but added, "In the world, this is certainly Vladimir Putin.

"When I saw his naked torso and a slain Siberian tiger lying at his feet, I almost had a stroke. Won-der-ful!" Signorini said in a reference to Putin's much-photographed shirtless fishing trip in Siberia last year and an incident recently when Putin shot a tiger with a tranquilizer gun, putting it to sleep but not killing it.

"He is my erotic dream. I find him absolutely astonishing," Signorini said by telephone Friday from Milan. "I'm attracted by his charisma and his icy glance."

The comments could embarrass both the Italian and Russian governments.

Signorini said he had asked Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi to introduce him to Putin and Berlusconi laughed in response. The magazines that Signorini edits, TV Sorrisi e Canzoni and Chi, with a circulation of 1 million and 500,000, respectively, are published by Berlusconi's publishing house Mondadori, and Canale 5 also belongs to Berlusconi's Mediaset Group.

"Berlusconi talked to me about him with enthusiasm. He told me how he was his guest at his country home," he said by telephone. "My dream is to meet him."

Signorini's praise for Putin was reported Friday on the web site of Russia Today, the state-owned English-language satellite channel, but the article later was removed. No one at Russia Today or the White House, where Putin serves as prime minister, was available for comment.

Berlusconi and Putin are close friends. Putin and his family have been guests of Berlusconi at his summer residence in Sardinia several times. In the summer of 2002, Putin's two daughters spent a month at Berlusconi's villa. The following summer, the entire family visited. Berlusconi also has defended Putin against international criticism. In 2003, he called criticism of Russia's actions in Chechnya and the detention of Mikhail Khodorkovsky on fraud charges, "distortions in the press, in Italy as abroad," and recently he defended Russia's actions in South Ossetia.

Some Italian media, meanwhile, are giving prominent coverage to Signorini. "The director of Chi and TV Sorrisi e Canzoni unveils his passion for the prime minister and former secret agent," headlined the Italian web site Gay.it, putting Signorini's picture close to a picture of a bare-chested Putin.

Putin, 56, made international headlines last year when he stripped off his shirt for the cameras while vacationing in the Siberian mountains. The photos were prominently enshrined on the Kremlin web site. Komsomolskaya Pravda wrote that women who visited the web site "were screaming with delight and showering him with a lot of compliments."

Putin's photos have struck a chord among the Russian gay chat rooms and blogs as well.

Signorini told Gay.it that Berlusconi was tolerant toward gays.

Putin told a news conference last year that he also was tolerant toward gays, saying he respected "man's freedoms, whatever forms they take."

18 Oct 2008- Cardiff, Wales- ONE of Wales’ most popular family swimming pools is being targeted by gay men cruising for sex, we can reveal today.

Wales on Sunday has discovered that the £32m Cardiff International Pool, which opened in Cardiff Bay earlier this year, is just one of many family hotspots named on an online “community” website where homosexuals meet up for no-strings-attached sex.

Some members of Wales’ gay community last night expressed their concern about such venues featuring on cruising websites. Their comments come just weeks after police were called to the pool when two swimmers walked in on men having sex on the premises.

Squirt.org, founded in 1998, has 560,677 online members and boasts it is the best and biggest cruising community on the net.

The site names the most popular places to “cruise” in Wales and gives the popular pool a four out of five rating.

Parks such as Swansea’s Coedgwilym Park, beaches such as Llandulas in Colwyn Bay and even a Merthyr Tydfil war memorial and the Big Pit car park in Blaenavon, are also featured on the site, which gives tips on the best time to cruise and how much nudity to expect.

Cruising tips for the pool include: “Use the jacuzzi, sauna, shower rooms in men’s lockers. All lots of cruising. The shower block in the gym changing area has a partially clear door so you can see who is opposite you in the shower.”

And several site members boasted of their conquests at the pool, with another promising: “Group changing rooms at end of swimming pool changing area – I’ll be waiting for you in one of these with door open later on this evening.”

One gay pool user, who voiced his concerns after finding the listing on the website, last night told Wales on Sunday: “I regularly take my nephew swimming on Sundays and was a bit alarmed by the pool being on this site.”

The man, who did not wish to be named, added: “I don’t want my nephew walking in on something like that so I reported it to the manager.

“It’s not just the fact that it’s public. There are children there.”

Jo Smith, senior manager at the pool, said security measures had been taken to stop any offences being committed at the pool.

“Obviously we are alarmed by this. It’s certainly not a tag we want to be associated with,” she said.

“We have had one incident reported about two weeks ago which was immediately reported to the police.”

She added: “If we were to find anyone committing any lewd activities then we would look to prosecute. ”

Meanwhile Mike Smith, a prominent spokesman for Wales’ gay community, said he feared public incidents could lead to homophobic attacks.

He said: “While much has changed in society some gay men still feel the need to keep their sexuality concealed and meet other men anonymously.

“Our main concerns are for the safety of anyone who feels this need – for their health in ensuring they do not indulge unsafe sex and do not become victims to homophobic attacks – and also for the public, whether gay or straight, who should not encounter such behaviour, again whether involving gay people or heterosexuals.”

Women who like to watch gay porn
 

15 Oct 2008- Watching Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal rolling around in a tent in Ang Lee's groundbreaking Brokeback Mountain had knees trembling all over the world. Many of those lustily quivering weren't gay romantics but women. 'Who knew man-on-man action could be so beautiful?' they cried.

Although some women have been in on the secret for a while (Japan's female population lap up boy-love comics while slash fiction, which turns two male characters from cult TV shows into lovers, is mainly for women), us British girls have been lagging behind. Until now.

Leading gay fiction author James Lear, recently named Writer of the Year at the prestigious Erotic Awards, has seen a sharp rise in British women getting to grips with boy-only sex. His first book, The Back Passage (ahem) was more popular with women than men and his new novel, The Secret Tunnel, looks like it will repeat the same success.

'As one female fan put it: "One penis is good, two even better,"' he explains. 'They fancy men, they're turned on by men and so they're even more turned on by men with men - it's like "man squared".'

06 Oct 2008- UK- MP Chris Bryant who famously sent a photo of himself wearing only Y-fronts to a gay dating website has been appointed Deputy Leader of the Commons.

Mr Bryant takes up his new role five years after the uproar over the picture.

The former Church of England vicar weathered the storm and became renowned as one of Tony Blair’s most slavish supporters.

But two years ago he stunned Westminster by joining the “curry house coup” where allies of Gordon Brown forced Mr Blair to name the date of his departure. Mr Bryant was accused of turning on the then PM because he had not been made a minister.

His appointment as Commons leader Harriet Harman’s deputy will be seen by many MPs as a reward for his role in the plot.

There are also jobs for two other “curry house coup” plotters. Kevan Jones becomes a junior defence minister, while Sion Simon is appointed a junior universities minister.

Former Conservative MP Quentin Davies, who defected to Labour the day before Mr Brown took office, gets a junior post in defence.

Russian Authorities Shut Down Gay Film Festival

03 Oct 2008- St Petersburg, Russia- Authorities in Saint Petersburg, Russia have effectively shut down the first-ever gay film festival there as it was set to open Thursday.

The Lesbian & Gay International Film Festival was scheduled to open on Thursday, but now appears postponed at best after fire department inspectors closed the clubs (The Place and Sochi) where the films were to be screened, festival organizer Irina Sergeeva told gayrussia.ru.

It's believed that authorities also pressured the state-run Cinema House and a private theater to cancel their commitments to host the event, which pushed the event into bars and clubs.

The gay film festival has been controversial in a country where gays and lesbians continue to be marginalized. State Artist of Russia Nikoli Burlyaev had urged authorities to ban the festival, calling gays “perverts” and “ill.”

“Russian authorities continue their policy of homophobia and arbitrary unlawful actions by preventing events organized behind closed doors in private places,” said gay activist Nikolai Alekseev, whose Moscow Gay Pride Festival has been denied by authorities as well.

“From the very first day I supported the conduct of this film festival in Saint Petersburg, but already in February I expressed my fears that the authorities will stop the event on technical reasons at the very last minute.”

“The only major LGBT [lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender] event that could be organized over the last years in Russia are the May 2006 and May 2007 LGBT conference that were held during the Moscow Pride Festival at the Moscow Swissotel. And still, it is only because we booked conference rooms in a local 5-star hotel belonging to foreign interests that authorities were not able to play the same game with us,” Alekseev said.

Openly gay director/actor John Cameron Mitchell (Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Shortbus), who was scheduled to appear at Sunday's closing ceremonies, feared violence threatened the gay festival. “We're still concerned about skinheads,” Mitchell said before leaving the United States.

Organizers of the gay film festival said it was unlikely the event would take place as planned, but hoped to reschedule at a later date.

Iran admits it has gay people…but only a few says President Ahmadinejad

30 Sept 2008- Iran- The Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has done an astonishing volte-face by admitting in a US television interview last week that there are lesbian and gay people in Iran.

Only last year, in a speech at Columbia University in New York, he notoriously claimed there were no lesbians and gays in his country.

“We do not have this phenomenon,” he declared.

Last week, however, Ahmadinejad grudgingly conceded there “might be a few” gay people in Iran.

“This about-turn shows that Iran realises its gay-denial stance has been widely condemned and ridiculed,” said Peter Tatchell of the London-based LGBT human rights campaign group OutRage!, which has been campaigning in support of Iranian LGBT people for nearly 20 years.

“The fact that the President has moderated his ‘no gays’ position since last year is evidence that global gay protests are having an impact on the regime in Tehran,” Mr Tatchell said last night.

However, although Ahmadinejad has conceded the existence of gay Iranians, he went on to make it clear that he doesn’t approve of their existence one iota.

He denounced homosexuality as an “unlikable and foreign act” that is illegal because it is “against our values, and all divine laws….shakes the foundations of society….robs humanity….(and) brings about disease”.

The Iranian President made these remarks during his visit to New York to speak to the UN General Assembly last week.  He was interviewed on  September 24 by reporters Juan Gonzalez and Amy Goodman from the US current affairs TV programme, Democracy Now.

In the same TV interview, Ahmadinejad made this astonishing claim: “Sure, if somebody engages in an [homosexual] act in their own house without being known to others, we don't pay any attention to that.  People are free to do what they like in their private realms.  But nobody can engage in what breaks the law in public,” the President said.

“This is complete nonsense,” Peter Tatchell insisted.

“Iranian law stipulates the death penalty for homosexuality, whether in public or private.

“People suspected of being gay have their homes raided.  Private, discreet gay parties have been busted by the police and the party-goers arrested, tortured and flogged.

“Years ago, some of those arrested at private parties simply disappeared.  They were never seen again.  It is presumed they were secretly executed,” said Mr Tatchell.

When Gonzales and Goodman confronted Ahmadinejad with photos of two Iranian teenagers, Mahmoud Asgari and Ayaz Marhoni, who were hanged in July 2005, his reply showed either remarkable ignorance of Iranian law or wilful dishonesty:

“No, there is no law for their [gays] execution in Iran.  Either they were drug traffickers or they killed someone else…. So, we don’t have executions of homosexuals,” the President said in the interview.

“Of course, we consider it an abhorrent act, but it is not punished through capital punishment.  It’s basically an immoral act.  There are a lot of acts that can be immoral, but there's no capital punishment for them,” said the President.

Mr Tatchell said that “this claim is factually untrue”.

“None of the charges against Asgari and Marhoni involved drug trafficking or murder.

“In years gone past, the Iranian government proudly boasted that it had the death penalty for gay sex and that it publicly hanged gay people,” Mr Tatchell added.

“These latest statements by Ahmadinejad are much more defensive,” he suggested.

“He strenuously denies that gay people can face execution.  This shows that the regime no longer has the confidence to openly proclaim its violent homophobia.  The persecution of gays continues in Iran but now, unlike before, the regime seeks to hide it and deny it.

“This is strong evidence that the homophobic dictatorship in Tehran has been stung by international protests against its flogging and hanging of men involved in same-sex relations.  It realises this persecution has been a public relations disaster which has greatly harmed Iran's international image.

“Hence the current denials by Ahmadinejad.

“It is proof that the global protests against Iran’s persecution of lesbian and gay people have been effective.  We must maintain the worldwide campaign until Iran is so embarrassed by international condemnation that it completely halts the victimisation of gays,” added Mr Tatchell.

Elsewhere in their interview with the Iranian President, Goodman and Gonzales pressed him as to why Iran is one of the few countries in the world that still executes juveniles (Asgari and Marhoni were minors when they allegedly committed the acts for which they were hanged).

Ahmadinejad replied: “The legal age in Iran is different from yours.  If a person who happens to be 17 years old and 9 months kills one of your relatives, would you just overlook that?”

Russian Gay Film Fest

30 Sept 2008- Russia- A scheduled gay and lesbian themed film festival in St. Petersburg, Russia has produced a wave of criticism and controversy.

The first-ever Lesbian & Gay International Film Festival, scheduled to open in October, has had its share of detractors. Nikolai Burov, head of St. Petersburg's Committee on Culture, said he would neither interfere nor support the festival.

Harsher words were expressed by State Artist of Russia Nikolai Burlyaev, who urged authorities to ban the festival, calling gays “perverts” and “ill.”

With the recent announcement of a venue change from theaters to bars and clubs, it seems those brass-knuckle tactics have worked to some degree.

Openly gay director/actor John Cameron Mitchell (Shortbus) said violence continues to threaten the gay festival, “We're still concerned about skinheads.”

Whether you like it or not, Mitchell will be present at the festival's closing night, which will feature his 2001 gay boy-to-transsexual rock odyssey Hedwig and the Angry Inch – a classic for any gay fest!

A selection of more contemporary gay and lesbian themed feature films will also be screened at the four-day event. Including director Lucia Puenzo's daring film about an intersex teenage girl asked to decide on her sex.

'XXY' is the story of Alex.  Raised a girl her entire life, she possesses both male and female sets of reproductive organs. Now at puberty, she is being asked to “choose” her sex by her parents, who have invited a plastic surgeon to discuss the issue with her. Complications arise when Alex develops a crush on Alvaro, the surgeon's teenage son. He also is suffering gender identity issues. Alex's search for her true identity forces both families to face their worst fears.

The film's powerful message of love transcending sexuality is only heightened by its beautiful backgrounds and dramatic visual style.

Freeheld, the Academy Award-winning gay documentary about the lives of two women facing death and a discriminatory government, is just one of the eight documentaries included in the program.

The first Lesbian and Gay International Film Festival opens Tuesday October 2^nd.

On the net: Festival website at www.sbsff.com/en

29 Sept 2008- Athens, Greece- Dozens of gays and lesbians protested outside parliament on Monday against the conservative government's attempt to overturn Greece's first same-sex marriages. Waving banners reading "These Weddings Are Valid", dozens of homosexual couples gathered in central Athens ahead of a court ruling due this week on the two marriages celebrated on the tiny Aegean island of Tilos in June.

The Justice Ministry has filed a legal suit to overturn the union of one gay and one lesbian couple after they took advantage of a loophole in Greek civil law that fails to specify gender in matrimony.

"We are here because we want equality," said Christina Neofotistou, 28, a designer. "These marriages were the first step, but this government wants to cancel it: instead they should be doing something for us."

The marriages drew strong criticism from the powerful Orthodox Church, which officially represents more than 90 percent of the 11 million-strong population.

While many European countries have established legislation recognising gay marriage or same-sex partnerships, Greece's traditional society has preferred to turn a blind eye to homosexuality.

The Netherlands was the first EU country to offer full civil marriage rights to gay couples in 2001 and Belgium followed in 2003. Spain legalised gay marriage in 2005, despite fierce opposition from the Roman Catholic Church.

 
26 Sept 2008- Bosnia's first gay pride festival has been forced underground after at least 10 people were injured when protesters attacked visitors to its opening night.

A mob set upon partygoers and journalists covering the Queer Sarajevo Festival after its launch at the city's Academy of Art on Wednesday evening.

Dozens of young men chanting "kill the gays" punched, kicked and hurled stones at people leaving the event, which has been condemned by prominent members of Bosnia's Muslim, Serb and Croat communities.

Islamic leaders are angry that the indoor festival of art, films and workshops about sexual minorities is being held during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, but criticism of the event has also been fierce in some of Bosnia's mainstream media and internet forums.

"We are not interrupting the festival, but we will change the format. It will no longer be a public event," one of the lead organisers, Slobodanka Dekic, said, amid reports that the whole event could be cancelled. "The right people will have the right information about what is happening and where."

Gay pride festivals across former communist eastern Europe are regularly opposed by state or local officials and, when they do go ahead, a heavy police presence is required to counter often violent groups of protesters.

"We had guarantees from the mayor and police that there will be no violence . . . somebody will have to assume the responsibility for what has happened," Ms Dekic said.

Before the festival began, Amnesty International urged Bosnian officials to support the event and condemn attempts to stop it.

"Death threats have been issued on the internet against individual gay rights activists. A number of websites have called for the organisers of the festival to be lynched, stoned, doused with petrol or expelled from the country," the human rights group said.

 
11 Sept 2008- England, UK- Mersyside MP Angela Eagle has announced she will “marry” her female partner in a civil partnership ceremony.

The Wallasey MP, who is the only openly gay woman in the House of Commons, will tie the knot with BT engineer Maria Exall.

The couple met 18 years ago through the Labour party in London.

Ms Eagle and Ms Exall confirmed they will register their relationship on September 27 shortly after Commons leader Harriet Harman unexpectedly revealed the news at a trade union conference in Brighton yesterday.

The MP, whose twin sister Maria represents Garston, was sat in the visitors’ section of the hall when the surprise announcement was made.

Ms Eagle said the couple were “delighted” to take advantage of civil partnerships legislation introduced by the Government three years ago. She told the ECHO: “It is something we were always going to do, but we both have busy lives.

“Obviously, for most of the time we have been together, there was no chance of doing it, so now we are really looking forward to it.

“The invitations had all gone out, but we had not told anyone other than family and friends. “Then Harriet mentioned it from the stage at the TUC congress.

“But that was OK – we actually met through Peckham Labour party 18 years ago, so it is fair to say we would not have met if it was not for Harriet. “Now we are getting lots of good wishes and we are busy scrambling to catch up.

“I was on the civil partnerships bill and was a very proud member of the standing bill committee which passed it. “In general, people are very respectful towards us. My constituents are great and they do not judge us.”

Ms Exall said: “We are very happy. I am excited and looking forward to the day.” Ms Eagle has represented Wallasey since 1992 and became a treasury minister in July last year.

The former Formby high school pupil “came out” in an interview with a national newspaper in 1997 and is still the only openly gay female MP.

Joel Edwards, whose organisation says homosexuality is morally wrong, is an equality commissioner. He should be fired

11 Sept 2008- This week, the TUC took a rare decision to campaign to sack someone.

The conference, which normally fights to the last man and woman for anybody in a job, took the view that Joel Edwards, commissioner to the Equality and Human Rights Commission, should be shown the door immediately.

Edwards is the commissioner, but he is also general director of the Evangelical Alliance (EA), a fundamentalist Christian group.

Under his direction, the EA describes gay relationships as sinful and "a behaviour choice" and that "homosexual practice is morally wrong". His appointment by Ruth Kelly, when she was equalities minister, she attracted harsh publicity at the time. But after six months in office, the anger has increased. It boiled over last night at the TUC's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) fringe meeting, where a commission official was given the unenviable task of trying to defend Edwards to a polite but hostile audience. He failed.

I am behind the TUC on this one. What on earth was Trevor Phillips doing, agreeing to allow the government to appoint someone who thinks being gay is some form of undesirable behaviour choice? What will he sanction next? How about appointing a commissioner for race relations from the South African Dutch Reformed Church who might believe that blacks are inferior to whites and can cite the Bible on this?

The response from the commissioner's office was pathetic. Evidently, Trevor Phillips, its head, is such a frightened rabbit that he daren't say anything to Harriet Harman, the current equalities minister, about it. In a typical buck-passing, bureaucratic moment, press officials passed it to the Equalities Office, saying they were powerless over the appointment process. What piffle – if they were unhappy, they could do something.

And the present position is insulting for thousands of gay people – not least among them some of Harriet Harman's gay friends such as Angela Eagle, the Treasury minister and her partner, Maria Exall, chair of the TUC LGBT group and TUC council member. It's bizarre to consider that a man at the head of the commission thinks influential Tory blogger Iain Dale, Conservative frontbencher Alan Duncan and health minister Ben Bradshaw are in sinful relationships which are an unfortunate behaviour choice. No doubt in true Bibical terms, he will treat them as "lost sheep" that can be rounded up and repent of their sins.

Yesterday, Harriet Harman turned the private decision of Maria Exall and Angela Eagle to join a civil partnership into a government announcement when she blurted it out to the TUC and the world from the conference platform. What better civil partnership present for them than the dismissal of Edwards from his job in time for the ceremony.

07 Sept 2008- Italy- In a country where masculine values hold sway, gay recruits to Italy's police and armed forces have avoided going public about their sexuality for fear of suffering ostracism and forced transfers.

That is until last week, when a group of openly gay men in uniform announced they were planning to set up an organisation to combat discrimination and that they were plotting a collective coming-out event to show Italy's police chiefs and army generals that they are a force to be reckoned with.

The movement immediately found a natural front man in Fabrizio Caiazza, after it emerged the Milan traffic policeman is facing sanctions from superiors after winning a gay beauty contest.

Caiazza, 33, entered the 'Sex Factor' contest organised by UK website Gaydarnation.com earlier this year, donning his police uniform to pose for online shots in the Mr Uniform category. Beating 46,000 contenders from 162 countries, he scooped a modelling contract and a €15,000 top prize, only to be sent before a disciplinary board back in Milan for wearing his uniform without permission outside office hours.

'I know I should have asked, but it would have been a complicated request,' said Caiazza.

'This will likely finish with a simple reprimand and is all about the longstanding rules, not discrimination,' said Milan's deputy mayor, Riccardo De Corato. 'I know of no cases of discrimination occurring in the Italian police,' he added.

That did not square with Caiazza. 'Many policemen don't come out because of the enmity they would face from colleagues and the isolation they would be put in by superiors,' he said.

Caiazza said he was backing the new gay rights group announced last week, dubbed Polis Aperta, which plans its first meeting on 26 September.

'We're coming out against creeping discrimination,' said Nicola Cicchitti, an officer in Italy's tax police who is heading the initiative, which now numbers about 200 members and plans to demand official recognition from Italy's Ministry of Defence.

The new group will put Italy on a par with other European countries, particularly Spain, where organisation Gaylespol hosted a conference of 14 associations for gays in uniform this year.

'This will move Italy closer to the rest of Europe and break with absurd and still pervasive macho taboos,' said the Mario Mieli Association, an Italian gay rights group.

Vito Raimondi, a tax policeman from Turin, said the group would combat the isolation felt by uniformed gays afraid to come out. 'I was at a Gay Pride event when a colleague, who had been standing on the fringes, saw me by the stage and decided to come over to greet me. It was a great moment and the proof we must be more visible,' he said.

A member of the Carabinieri paramilitary police involved in Polis Aperta said that its website has received hundreds of emails of support.

Writing in a blog for Italy's Clubbing magazine, Caiazza has meanwhile pushed the idea of police forces using gay officers to investigate crimes involving the gay community, including gay hate crimes, which rights groups say are on the increase in Italy.

The idea won the backing of Vladimir Luxuria, a transgender former member of the Italian parliament.

'Sending gay officers to investigate hate crimes would help to encourage witnesses who might usually be afraid to talk to the police,' said Luxuria, a man who lives as a woman.

'It's time to go beyond the stereotypical view that gays can only be make-up artists or hairdressers.'

Tension mounts in Bosnia over gay festival

05 Sept 2008- Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina - Posters condemning homosexuals have appeared in Sarajevo ahead of this month's first-ever gay festival in Bosnia, prompting an international organization to condemn what it called «attempts to incite violence.
Two Muslim imams have been quoted as criticizing the timing of the five-day festival, which opens Sept. 24 and will occur during the holy month of Ramadan.

Islam prohibits homosexuality, and Sarajevo is at least 85 percent Muslim.
Neither the head of the Islamic Community in Bosnia, Mustafa Ceric, nor his institution has officially reacted to the festival, which will include films and art exhibitions.

But two local imams in Bosnia have condemned it. We will not grab them by the neck on the street, but we have to say: This is immoral ... a promotion of ideas that are in violation with religion Seid Smajkic, an imam from the southern city of Mostar, was quoted as saying in Friday's Dnevni Avaz, a daily newspaper.
Another local imam, Sulejman Bulgari, said on television Thursday night that the Quran forbids homosexuality and that the holy book is clear about that.
Neither imam was available for an interview on Friday, the Muslim day of worship.
Several posters have appeared in the streets of Sarajevo this week, saying  Death to Gays. Police quickly removed them.
On Friday, the Bosnia mission of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe said it is concerned that politicians have not reminded the public that local laws forbid discrimination regarding sexual orientation.
The mission strongly condemns attempts to incite violence against any group within Bosnia and Herzegovina the OSCE said in a statement, adding that the anti-gay posters «are intended to do just that.
Local human rights organizations and intellectuals are supporting the festival, but some have questioned its timing regarding Ramadan.

One of Sarajevo's leading intellectuals, law professor Zdravko Grebo, said the organizers should have taken Muslim concerns into consideration. «Why this finger right in the eye? However, it's not a reason to cancel it, he said.
Slobodanka Dakic, an activist of the Bosnian Q Association, a festival organizer that promotes gay, lesbian, bisexual and transsexual rights, said there was no plan to antagonize anyone. But she also said the event will not be canceled nor rescheduled because of Ramadan.
Bosnia is supposed to be a secular society in which events are not planned according to religious calendars, she said at a news conference in Mostar.
Dakic also said she believes the gay festival is important for Bosnia because it fights xenophobia.
Showing one of the Death to Gays posters to reporters, she said: Is this Ramadan? This is why the festival is important.

Security  forces to launch gay association

02 Sept 2008- Turin, Italy- Gay members of Italy's security forces will "come out" later this month and launch their own association, the first of its kind in the country, Italian media reported on Tuesday.

The Open Polis association will launch in the northern Italian city of Bologna on 26 September. Membership is open to gay men and women from the police, the paramilitary Carabinieri and tax police, as well as the army and the air force.

"For many of us in uniform, the worry is not violent physical attacks, but blatant discrimination, and daily 'macho' jokes and language," said Open Polis President Nicola Cicchitti, who serves with Italy's tax police, quoted by Italian daily, Corriere della Sera.

"The entry of women into the police and army has altered this macho culture somewhat, but hasn't been able to get rid of it," Cicchitti said.

Some 200 gay members of Italy's security forces have so far applied to join Open Polis, which will hold a series of talks and elect regional delegates when it meets in Bologna.

A key goal of the association will be to change attitudes towards gay men and women in the security forces and set up groups to train colleagues in handling crimes against gays.

Open Polis is following the example of equivalent associations that have already been up other European countries, such as Spain's Gaylespol.

The association organises anti-gay discrimination courses for the Civil Guard - the counterpart of Italy's Carabinieri or France's Gendarmerie.

The awareness-raising courses are run by gay Civil Guard members.

England Win Gay World Cup

01 Sept 2008- UK- It is the kind of news that would make you choke on your breakfast cereal but, believe it or not, England are champions of the world…albeit in the International Gay and Lesbian Football Association (IGLFA) World Championship.

Stonewall Lions FC, representing England, thrashed Argentine side Safgay FC 5-0 in the final at Leyton Orient's Matchroom Stadium in London on Saturday.

This was the highest score ever recorded in the final since 1997, when the championship was first contested in Washington DC

The tournament saw the participation of 40 teams from England, United States, Canada, Mexico, Argentina, Ireland , Iceland, Denmark, South Africa, Czech Republic, Sweden, Japan and Australia.

A delighted Stonewall player Doug Edward said: "We played with pride and thoroughly deserved to win the title after winning seven games to get to the final.

"It was a great experience to play at Leyton Orient and we hope to take the success we had into our season in the Middlesex County Football League."

Stonewall FC are also the current European, World, and Olympic Games Champions, thus affirming England’s dominance in Gay Football.

Many England football fans will be hoping that this success now transfers over to the better known England national team, who have failed to win a major honour for 42 years, and who kick off their 2010 World Cup qualifying campaign this Saturday against Andorra.

Gay players still a taboo in football

 
27 Aug 2008- Football has always found it hard to tolerate perceived 'otherness'. And although much has changed over the past 20 years, when it comes to openly gay players, the closet remains firmly shut.

The one player who did come out was Justin Fashanu – he committed suicide eight years later after suffering abuse that, according to the coroner, contributed to his death.

This week a group of Fiorentina players were asked about the subject of gay footballers. The goalkeeper Sebastian Frey acknowledged that, as things stand, football is one of the few industries left in which homosexuality would not be accepted.

"In the world we live in fans already attack wives and girlfriends so imagine what would happen if someone came out," he said. "They would massacre him. Banners, chants…It would be hell."

Last season, for the first time in England, homophobic chanting became an offence. Whether that has made any difference or not is doubtful - it seems that in the game’s ultra-macho culture (earrings, man-bags, West Ham fans singing about "pretty little bubbles", languorous embraces on the pitch), homosexuality is still football’s ultimate taboo.

THT Launches ‘connect’ Counselling for gay men

 
27 Aug 2008- London, England- Terrence Higgins Trust (THT) is launching ‘Connect’, a new low cost counselling service for gay or bisexual men based in King’s Cross, London, next month.

The service, which is to be launched on September 3, allows gay men to explore difficulties or challenges in their lives, make sense of experiences and find solutions or coping mechanisms when faced with problems.

“Many people find that talking to someone about their lives can help them to make positive changes,” said Christine Mead, manager of THTs Wellbeing Services.

“Counselling sessions can be used to discuss anything from problems at home or work, to drug or alcohol use or sexual risk taking.  If there’s something you’d like to discuss please get in touch.”

Each session lasts 50 minutes and THT is able to offer courses ranging from a few sessions to 12 or more.

Fees are based on income and range from £25 to £40.  Couples sessions which cost £50 can also be booked so partners can explore issues together.

THT has over 25 years experience of working with gay and bisexual men and its trained counsellors are sympathetic and non judgemental.

‘Connect’ counselling. Call 020 7812 1777 to make an appointment, or email info.counselling@tht.org.uk

Romania launches online gay TV

26 Aug 2008- Bucharest, Romania- Homosexuals in Romania are to get their own online TV channel, dedicated to "the life and problems of the gay community," starting October 1, its creators said Monday.

The channel, dubbed Angelicuss TV, will be the first of its kind in this majority Orthodox country, where homosexuality was only decriminalised in 2001.

Launched in the northwestern town of Cluj by the anti-discrimination group Be An Angel, the channel will only be broadcast on the Internet.

But the varied programme will include "gay music, news, entertainment and films," the channel announced on its website.

"(It) will be a means of communication in the gay community as well as with the Romanian public as a whole," said "Be An Angel" director Lucian Dunareanu.

And the channel will not show any pornographic or indecent material, its creators insisted.

Road closed in central Manchester for gay pride

20 Aug 2008- Manchester,England- Details of road closures during Manchester Gay Pride’s ‘Big Weekend’ and the Pride Parade have been unveiled today by the festival organisers.

In total, eleven areas surrounding the Gay Village will be closed from 6am on Friday August 22 until 7am Tuesday August 26.

These include parts, or all, of Abingdon Street, Silver Street, Hart Street, Major Street, Bloom Street, Richmond Street, Canal Street, Brazil Street, Chorlton Street and Sackville Street.

The Manchester Pride Parade starts at 2pm on Saturday from Liverpool Road and will follow the same route as last year.

A number of roads will also be closed from 1.30pm until 6pm to allow the parade to pass by.

But Liverpool Road will be closed from the earlier time of 6am to allow the event organisers to formulate the running order of the entrants as they arrive and put the finishing touches to their floats.

In total, nine roads are closed along the parade route. These include: Deansgate, from Liverpool Road to St Ann’s Street, which is itself will be closed as far as Cross Street.

“We’re really excited about this year’s event especially as it’s the 18th birthday,” said festival manager Jackie Crozier.

“The road closures will ensure that the event operates safely and securely so that fun is had by all.

“It’s also really important that the roads are closed for the parade.  This will allow thousands of people to enjoy the spectacle of Pride and join in the celebrations of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender life.  The roads being closed will re-open as soon as possible to ensure only the minimum disruption.”

Not all plain sailing for Gay Pride

30 July 2008- Netherlands- Amsterdam is gearing up for the high point of gay pride week this Saturday when lesbians, gays and their friends take part in a boat parade through the city's canals. More politicians are jumping aboard for Canal Pride, with three more ministers announcing they intend to take part in the parade. Their boat will sail under the (English) motto 'Simply Gay'.

However, opposition MP Boris van der Ham (pictured below), whose progressive liberal D'66 party has had a boat in the gay parade for years, is trying to make it anything but plain sailing for the government. He welcomes the good intentions, but says there are "still Dutch laws which discriminate against homosexuals".

His party wants to amend the article in the constitution that outlaws discrimination by adding homosexuals to the list of those who enjoy constitutional protectection. The Christian Democrat-led ruling coalition is also under fire for allowing civil servants to opt out of performing marriage ceremonies for same-sex couples.

Religion

For the second year in a row, a gay umbrella organisation is running a poster campaign during Gay Pride under the slogan: Believe in Love. The aim is to make homosexuality a topic that can be talked about within religious families. The posters depicting families which are evidently Christian, Islamic or Jewish, with homosexual family members and their same-sex partners.

Last year's campaign was more overtly political, with posters showing men wearing football shirts having sex. This did not just allude to anti-gay sentiments within the game. It also referred to the fact that Amsterdam Council had withdrawn permission for several gay street parties. The reason given was that there were not enough officers to police the events because of a match between Amsterdam's Ajax football team and British side Arsenal.

Pink Network
Finally, in what may not be just a coincidental move, the Dutch Trades Union Federation is launching a 'pink network' to fight against homophobia in the workplace. A union spokesman illustrates the problem: "Teachers, for example, daren't be open about their sexuality because students are increasingly intolerant."

Gay couple in home advert payout

 
29 July 2008- England- A Gay couple have won £5,000 compensation after an estate agent wrote the word “lesbians” in an advert for their house.

Suzanne Richards, 36, and Sarah Dobinson, 44, said they feared for their lives after the revelation appeared on a popular property website.

The Bury St Edmunds branch of estate agents, Jackson-Stops & Staff, listed the word “lesbians” alongside pictures of the inside of their £640,000 house.

The word appeared in small print at the bottom of the internet advert at www.rightmove.co.uk.

Ms Richards and Ms Dobinson, from the Bury St Edmunds area, said they were “shaking with disbelief” when they spotted the reference and immediately took the house off the market.

The couple eventually reached a £5,000 out of court settlement with the estate agents after claiming they had breached discrimination laws.

Ms Richards said: “After about five days I was checking the listing because we had no interest from it and saw that instead of a reference being a mixture of numbers or letters, or referring to the property, we had the word “lesbians”.

“It was just awful. We were shaking with disbelief and horrified. I saw it first and I was wondering whether I was seeing things or on the right website.”

After a phone call to Jackson-Stops & Staff the listing was taken down with immediate effect but the couple still lived in fear of an attack.

She added there was currently a gap in the training that they wanted plugged to prevent such incidents ever occurring.

“We want this to never happen again. I am sure there are other companies out there not aware of the legislations and it should not take laws to make people treat each other fairly.”

Philip Gilbey a partner of Jackson-Stops & Staff estate agents, said: “From our perspective the incident was absolutely the sole actions of an individual which were regrettable and foolish.

“Unfortunately as an employer we have to take full responsibility but we cannot dictate everything they do.

“Any suggestion of institutional discrimination is categorically wrong. We took the property down off the website as soon as we realised what had happened and the employee was taken to a disciplinary tribunal and narrowly missed instant dismissal due to a previously completely unblemished record.”

He added: “We have consulted with the clients and agreed that on top of the training we already put on there will be an extra training course that they asked for.”

The couple's lawyers, Russell Jones & Walker, said the estate agent had settled the case before it came to court, with the couple receiving £5,000 as “injury to feelings” payment.

Gay MP ties the knot

28 July 2008- CAROL Thatcher and William Hague were among the 200 guests when Rutland and Melton MP Alan Duncan celebrated his civil partnership with James Dunseath.

They were all photographed by Oakham Town Councillor Jim Harrison, of Alexander Crescent, Oakham, who was the official photographer at the reception on Friday at Merchant Taylor's Hall, in London's Threadneedle Street following a civil ceremony the day before at Marylebone Registry office.

Mr Harrison, was mayor of Oakham when he took photographs of the happy couple earlier this year after Alan announced his commitment to press officer James Dunseath, 39, following his proposal on Valentines' Day.

The 62-year-old freelance photographer has been taking pictures of the Rutland MP since 1992 and when he went to his Rutland home following the announcement cheekily said: "If you want a photographer for the ceremony, I know a good one."

Five weeks ago Mr Duncan rang him to confirm the booking, and Mr Harrison, who took about 500 photographs during the reception said: "I was honoured to be asked, it was very nice. It was a very relaxed and happy atmosphere."

Guests arrived at middday and were led out to the garden upon arrival for champagne and canapes and a jazz band before being called to the suite for a buffet lunch and speeches.

One speech was delivered by former Tory leader and Shadow Foreign Secretary, William Hague, a former flatmate of Mr Duncans. Guests included Rutland County Councillor Ken Bool and his family, Shadow Chancellor George Osborne, Carol Thatcher, and former Chancellor Norman Lamont.

After the reception Mr Duncan and his partner James left for a short honeymoon in Scotland. Mr Duncan said: "It was a very happy day and a fantastic celebration. It was wonderful to share the occasion with so many of our friends and family."

Campbell rumoured to do community service for HIV charity

22 July 2008- London- Naomi Campbell is rumoured to be starting her community service at an HIV and Aids charity.

It’s been revealed that the Streatham-born supermodel will spend five weeks working at the Food Chain, starting from tomorrow.

But despite sources from the charity, which has a branch in Tooting, claiming this was true, an official spokesman from the organisation said there were no plans for the 38-year-old to work there.

A London Probation spokesman said they did not discuss details of individual cases.

Food Chain provides home delivered meals and nutritional advice to men, women and children who are chronically sick with HIV-related illnesses.

In June the fiery supermodel was sentenced to 200 hours of labour for assaulting two police officers and verbally assaulting a British Airways captain, after going "berserk" on a plane at Heathrow's Terminal 5 over her lost luggage.

She was also fined £2,300 and ordered to pay £200 compensation to each of the police officers, as well as £150 to the flight captain.

Gay sex games DJ Kevin Greening leaves £500,000 to lover... but nothing to his mother

 
22 July 2008- London, England- A former BBC Radio 1 breakfast show DJ who died during a gay bondage session wrote his mother out of his will, it has emerged.

Instead the DJ left his entire estate to 'life partner' Andrew Lowe, even though he had been seeing other men for at least two years.

Mr Lowe had apparently split from 44-year-old Mr Greening two years before the star's death last December - but they continued to live together and the DJ never changed his 1991 will to reflect the end of the relationship.

Greening's will instructed that his mother Mary would only receive a payout if she had outlived Mr Lowe at the time of the DJ's death. Even then she would only be entitled to half the money, with the rest going to AIDS charity the Terrence Higgins Trust.

Writing in the will Mr Greening, who left £515,575, said: 'After the payment of debts, funeral and testimony expenses and any inheritance tax which may be payable I give my whole estate to the said Andrew Lowe absolutely.' 

Mr Greening presented Radio 1's flagship breakfast show with Zoe Ball and later moved to Radio Five Life and Smooth FM.

Fourth Moscow gay pride to take place on ‘Eurovision day’ in Russia’s capital

22 July 2008- Moscow, Russia-  Next year’s Moscow Pride is set to be staged on May 16 – the same day as the Eurovision song  contest finals and the day before International Day Against Homophobia.

Yesterday, Eurovision officials announced that next year’s event would be staged at Moscow’s Olympiyskiy stadium.

And organisers of Moscow Gay Pride confirmed last night their intent to conduct the gay parade on the day on of the Eurovision final in Russian capital.

“We will conduct the gay pride on the day of the Eurovision final on 16 May 2009,” Nikolai Alekseev told the Interfax news agency  “As usual we will notify Moscow authorities about the conduct of the event.”

He suggested that “that the public event of the fourth Moscow Pride” could be staged on one of the central streets of Moscow.

Moscow won the right to stage Eurovision next year when Dima Bilan won this year’s contest in Belgrade in May.

“We hope that the many gays and lesbians who usually attend Eurovision finals from different countries will join our Pride,” he told UK Gay News this morning.

He also said that, apart from the gay march, the organisers are planning to hold an international conference dedicated to the International Day Against Homophobia which is being marked around the world on 17 May.  

The invitations to take part in the conference will be sent to the Mayors of Paris, London and Berlin as well as many European politicians.

“Russia must show that it is part of the civilized world, of the European family, that it is tolerant and that it is possible to conduct public actions of sexual minorities in Moscow,” Mr. Alekseev said.

In the next few weeks an organizing committee for the forth Moscow Pride will be formed and will include record number of people.

Pride organisers will be getting in contact with the European Broadcasting Union, the organisers of Eurovision song contest, to discuss issues concerning the security of gays and lesbians in the Russian capital.

The song contest, with its ‘camp’ acts, has become an iconic event in the gay European calendar – and the event is starting to gain popularity within the LGBT community in the USA, the world largest television market.

18 July 2008- German- The homophobic lyrics of several Jamaican reggae musicians has moved the German government to consider blacklisting them and restrict their sales and distribution.

The CDs by Elephant Man and T.O.K. could be put on the "Index of Harmful Materials," which, while it would not censor the materials in Germany, would severely limit their advertising and marketing.

The Federal Department for Media Harmful to Young Persons will decide over the next several months if the music will be included on the index, the government said on Thursday in its response to a parliamentary inquiry.

The index includes items such as media which glorify war and violence and are intended to induce hate. Volker Beck, the leader of the Green Party parliamentary group, called on large Internet music sellers to already begin removing the CDs in question from their sales inventory.

"Those in Jamaica who invoke hatred should not earn money with their music in Germany," he said on Thursday in Berlin. Homosexual acts are punishable by law in Jamaica and many musicians from the Caribbean island are accused of promoting violence against gays and lesbians. In its travel advisory on Jamaica, the German foreign ministry reports that homosexuals are often the targets of assault.

Tribunal hears 'gay jibe' claims

 
17 July 2008- UK-A driving school boss called a worker "gay boy" and said he was lucky to have a job, a tribunal has heard.

John MacDonald allegedly described Mark Rowan, 29, as "one of the girls" on the firm's website and told him: "Not many companies employ gays."

The Pro Scot boss, based in Kirkcaldy, Fife, had clashed with the employee when company cutbacks were announced.

The company said Mr Rowan was dismissed after a series of late arrivals at work, which he has denied.

'Perfect opportunity'

Mr Rowan claimed Mr MacDonald had bragged to a colleague about not having "poofs" work at his company and claimed he would find a way to sack him.

The panel at the Edinburgh employment tribunal heard that, when budget cuts and job losses were announced, Mr MacDonald was given the perfect opportunity.

Mr Rowan said: "The staff were all sickened but the general feeling was that I was the one going to be sacked.

"He would refer to me as 'gay boy' and told my colleagues he didn't want 'poofs' working for his company."

Staff walked out on Mr MacDonald, but the boss clashed with Mr Rowan in the car park before he could leave.

Mr Rowan added: "He made a beeline towards me and said if I didn't go back into the office I wouldn't have a job to go back to.

"But the office manager had already locked the doors and left, so I went home."

Mr Rowan said the next day Mr MacDonald locked all the staff in a room and asked why they had walked out.

He went on: "He said that I led the walk-out and that I was the leader. And he said he didn't want to appear to be weak by keeping me on."

After a week out of a job, Mr Rowan said he was invited back to work at Pro Scot on the condition that he apologised.

He said: "Mr MacDonald said that I should feel thankful to have a job back because there weren't many companies that would employ gays."

Mr Rowan said that, after being reinstated, he "felt the axe hanging over my head once more".

Late arrivals

"I was so stressed I was losing sleep," he added.

The panel also heard how Mr MacDonald published profiles on his company's website about each member of staff and described Mr Rowan as "one of the girls in the office".

Mr Rowan said the jibes left him stressed and too scared to confront his boss.

The company has denied the allegations and claimed Mr Rowan was dismissed after a series of late arrivals to work, although he insisted this only happened twice.

Pro Scot also claimed Mr Rowan was making mistakes on a daily basis and would have been sacked anyway.

The company said he chatted to friends on his mobile and used social networking website Bebo throughout the day.

The hearing continues.

10 July 2008- UK- The founder of the Gay Police Association has hit out at local schools for declining to attend a conference tackling homophobic bullying.

Representatives from schools in Reading, West Berkshire and Wokingham were among a number of schools in the Thames Valley invited to the event tomorrow.

Hosted by Thames Valley Police and the gay rights group Stonewall, the meeting aimed to tackle incidents of homophobic bullying and homophobia in schools.

But today the Evening Post can reveal no schools in the Thames Valley took up the offer to send a representative to the event – including schools in Reading.

PC Alistair Melling, founder of the Gay Police Association, said he was upset schools in the region did not think it was necessary to tackle gay bullying head-on.

PC Melling, who organised the conference at the police training centre in Sulhamstead, said: “If this was a conference about racism then the schools would be there.

“We have invited a number of schools to the event but no schools are attending. I am really disappointed with this.

“I know schools are busy at the moment with exams and so on but you would have thought they could have found someone.”

PC Melling, who lives with his partner Acting Sergeant Alistair Bosanco-Mitchell in Lower Earley, said he believed homophobic bullying was rife in Reading’s schools.

“I would think there is a lot of homophobic bullying in schools,” he said.

“I think if you look at the general culture these days then ‘gay’ has become a term of insult. I think it’s fallen into general use in schools.

“If you were a gay youngster I don’t think you would necessarily be comfortable in school. I hate to get into this thing about political correctness. It is naff and no good. But calling someone gay is not acceptable.”

PC Melling compared homophobic bullying to racist bullying – both of which he deemed out of order.

He continued: “You would not hear someone say ‘that’s really black’ – that would be racist – so you should not hear someone say ‘that’s really gay’.”

Not all schools in Reading were invited to the conference. Thames Valley Police spokesman David Paull said: “We are not going to give the names of specific schools as there is a risk that this will then turn into a naming and shaming exercise.

“It was schools from across Thames Valley Police area, ie Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Milton Keynes.”

Mr Paull added representatives from some local authorities did plan to attend the conference.

Reading Borough Council spokesman Chris Branagan said: “As a local authority, we cannot comment on decisions that may have been made by individual schools. However, we would be very glad to encourage our schools to support any similar event in the future.”

08 July 2008- UK- A Gay couple in East London are furious with the owners of a wedding venue who turned the lovebirds away for “religious” reasons.

Carole van der Berg and Helen Ross were hoping to tie the knot this year after being together for 13 years. They eventually settled on the Country Style Catering and Venue near Cove Rock outside East London for the special occasion.

“The lady said I was in luck because there were cancellations on the date I was proposing and I immediately wanted to see the venue,” said Van der Berg.

Overjoyed by the pending marriage, Van der Berg and Ross went to view the venue, where they were warmly greeted by the owner and made to feel comfortable.

“I was up front about our homosexuality and the lady did not seem to have a problem,” said Van der Berg.

The couple said they discussed the menus and other arrangements, only to be informed later they could not use the venue because the owners’ religious beliefs forbade same- sex marriages.

“For the past 13 years I have been with my soul mate, I have never been discriminated against or been judged as they did to us,” said Van der Berg.

The owner of the venue, Colleen Horrmann, said they were forced to turn down the couple’s request because they were members of Jehovah Witness.

“I like them very much and I have nothing against them but we do not condone same- sex marriages,” said Horrmann.

She said the couple should understand that it was not as if they did not want them to get married – it was a case of not at their venue. “They are making a big thing out of nothing,” said Horrmann.

But constitutional law expert Professor Pierre de Vos, of the University of Western Cape, disagreed.

“The couple can go to the Equality Court to challenge this and the court can order the owners to change their policy,” said De Vos.

He said when providing services like a restaurant, hotel or other venue, owners could not discriminate against others on the basis of their race, sex and sexual orientation, irrespective of their personal convictions.

SAS launches gay website

07 July 2008- SAS Scandinavian Airlines has launched a gay site on its international, www.flysas.com  website, thereby becoming the first European airline with a website dedicated to the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender/transsexual (GLBT) market. Even more unique, the website builds on SAS' popular crew tips, providing tips from its own gay crew of the best that Stockholm and Copenhagen has to offer.

The new site, flysas.com/gay, has been launched in time to celebrate EuroPride, which is taking place in Stockholm July 30 - August 2. And next year, Copenhagen is hosting the World Out Games 2009, once again bringing a major gay event to Scandinavia, SAS' home market. SAS is the proud Strategic Partner of the World Out Games 2009 and also its official airline.

SAS has partnered up with Stockholm Visitors Board, Wonderful Copenhagen, Swedish publisher QX and Copenhagen Gay Life to offer gay maps, gay guides and an events calendar that's updated daily for both cities.

Visit flysas.com/gay for the best of what to do in Copenhagen and Stockholm.

Scandinavian Airlines International is the long-haul operator of SAS with 1.4 million passengers per year. The fleet consists of Airbus A330s and A340s, serving 10 destinations: New York, Chicago, Washington, Seattle, Bangkok, Beijing, Tokyo, Dubai, Copenhagen and Stockholm. In 2008/09, SAS International will launch flights to Delhi and San Francisco. The company is also responsible for the SAS Group's sales and market activities in EMEA, Asia Pacific and North America.

Minister of equality jeered at London’s gay pride

07 July 2008- UK  –  Harriet Harman MP, government minister of equalities and deputy leader of the Labour Party, was booed and heckled as she spoke from the main stage at the gay Pride London celebrations in Trafalgar Square on Saturday afternoon.

Gay Pride organisers came on stage and appealed to the crowd to stop jeering and listen to what she had to say.

But their appeal had limited effect as the crowd which packed Trafalgar Square expressed their anger at the Government’s approach to gay men and women who seek refuge in the UK after feeling from danger.

“At several points during her speech, a bewildered Ms Harman appeared to waiver and had to struggle to be heard,” said gay human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell, who was at the side of the stage – he was also one of the speakers.

“Hundreds of people in the crowd expressed their anger at the way the Labour government is locking up gay asylum seekers, refusing them refugee status and ordering them to be sent back to violently homophobic countries like Algeria, Uganda, Iran, Nigeria, Iraq and Belarus,” he said.

“Those who are returned are at risk of arrest, imprisonment torture, rape and even murder.

“I tried to explain the crowd’s anger to Ms Harman as she left the stage,” he continued.

“But several Gay Pride stewards violently shoved me out of the way and threatened to have me arrested.  It was needless and unjustified aggression.

“As I was being dragged away by the stewards, Ms Harman shouted for me to contact her.  She said: ‘Peter, give me a call and we can discuss your concerns’.

“I will take up her offer.  I plan to present the government with a six-point plan to end the homophobic bias of the asylum system,” said Mr Tatchell.

And in another incident in Trafalgar Square, a transgender was threatened with arrest by official Gay Pride stewards.

Roz Caveney, a long-time human rights campaigner, journalist and transsexual woman, wanted to use the toilet.

“Official stewards who were running the toilets at Trafalgar Square announced that I, and any other transgender or transsexual woman, had to use the disabled toilets and was not allowed to use the regular women's toilets,” she wrote on the Transgender At Pride website. 

“I pointed out to the stewards that I transitioned and had surgery before they were born; I was more polite than a polite thing.  No dice…”

Earlier, Mr. Tatchell marched in the Pride Parade holding a poster placard ridiculing the Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. It featured a doctored photo of Amhadinejad wearing blue eye shadow, red lipstick, a gold earring and pink nail varnish.

He met the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, and urged him to confound his gay critics and show practical support for London's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities.

Mr Tatchell marched in the parade with actor Sir Ian McKellen and Davis Mac-Iyalla, a leader of the Nigerian gay rights movement.

“Mr Mac-Iyalla was recently forced to flee Nigeria after threats and attempts to kill him, following homophobic denunciations by the Anglican Archbishop of Nigeria, Rev Peter Akinola. Akinola is a leading figure in the conservative splinter group, Gafcon, which opposes women bishops and gay priests, and which supports punitive legal discrimination against lesbian and gay people,” said Mr Tatchell.

“Davis arrived in Britain seeking sanctuary but was incarcerated in an asylum detention centre.

“The government treated him like a common criminal.

“It took a frantic lobbying campaign to pressure the Home Office to release Davis.  He was only set free from Oakington detention centre at 5pm on Friday, the eve of the Pride London parade.

“Although it is good that he was released, the Home Office should have never incarcerated him in the first place,” added Mr Tatchell.

Speaking from the main stage in Trafalgar Square, Mr Tatchell condemned “President Amadinejad’s violent homophobia” and “the Labour government’s policy of deporting lesbian and gay asylum claimants back to Iran”.

Home Secretary Jacqui Smith MP last month refused requests for a moratorium on the return of gay asylum seekers to Iran, claiming “the evidence does not show a real risk of discovery of, or adverse action against, gay and lesbian people who are discreet about their sexual orientation”.

“This is complete nonsense and deeply insulting,” said Mr Tatchell.  “It is like saying that Jews in Nazi Germany were safe if they hid their Jewishness.”

Gay asylum seeker to be thrown out of UK

06 July 2008- Scotland- A GAY asylum seeker has been refused permission to stay in Scotland and told he is likely to be safe in his homophobic homeland provided he behaves "discreetly".

Scotland on Sunday revealed earlier this year that Syrian Jojo Jako Yakob was battling to stay here after suffering horrific abuse because of his sexuality and political activities.

It has now emerged that an immigration tribunal has turned down his request to stay in the UK despite accepting that Yakob is gay and that Syria criminalises and represses homo– sexuality.

In a judgment that has appalled gay rights campaigners, the tribunal suggests Yakob is unlikely to come to any harm so long as he keeps his sexuality under wraps.

Lawyers for the 20-year-old are planning a last-ditch court bid to stop him being deported. Campaigners said they were in no doubt Yakob's life would once again be placed in serious danger.

Yakob, a Christian member of the repressed Kurdish minority in the Arab state, fled to the UK two years ago after being arrested, shot and beaten. He left his home country after surviving a harrowing ordeal at the hands of Syrian police and prison guards. He had been arrested for distributing anti-government leaflets.

When prison guards discovered he was homosexual he suffered horrific beatings and was assaulted so badly that he fell into a coma.

Despite his attempts to start a new life in Scotland, the Home Office ordered his deportation in March and, last week, his appeal against the decision was denied.

The ruling by the Asylum Immigration Tribunal, sitting in Glasgow, states: "Syria criminalises and represses homosexuality. Homosexuals have to modify their behaviour and lifestyle accordingly. We find no evidence that in Syria (Yakob] would conduct himself other than discreetly to avoid repercussions."

The tribunal concluded that case law does not allow homosexuals from repressive countries to international legal protection.

Yakob fled Syria for London in 2006 inside a lorry. He applied for asylum and was granted extended leave by the Home Office, but was arrested in Aberdeen last April after being found in possession of a fake Belgian passport. He was handed a 12-month sentence and sent to Polmont Young Offenders Unit, near Falkirk, until his release on bail this month. His case was first highlighted by Scotland on Sunday in March, when he was served with a deportation order by the Home Office despite the fact that homosexuality is illegal in his home country.

Yakob says he now fears for his life following the tribunal's decision.

"I am very afraid of being sent home," he said. "I am afraid for my life. But I will do my best to win my case and stay in Scotland. I want to stay here, but I can't do anything until I am allowed to stay. I can't get a job, I can't do my computer training – my life is on hold.

"I just want to be happy and live my life.

"They believed that I was gay but they said it was not a problem to be gay in Syria if you keep your mouth shut.

"But how do you live? That is no way to live. I want to live my life and be free, and I could not do that in Syria."

The tribunal determination questioned whether Yakob wanted to stay in the UK to avoid compulsory military service. It also found it "difficult to see" his affiliations to a Kurdish political party, since he was only half Kurdish.

It found Yakob's evidence to have been "self-contradictory and unreliable" and questioned the truth over his Kurdish ethnic origins, his family circumstances, his account of being detained in a Syrian prison and his reasons for coming to the UK.

But gay rights campaigner Peter Tatchell said the refusal was "irrational, ill-informed and insensitive".

He added: "This young man's life will be in danger if he is deported. It's outrageous that our Government is showing such a callous disregard for human rights.

"The Government is fast losing its gay-friendly credentials by its heartless, cruel and vindictive mistreatment of gay asylum seekers."

National Court judge says gay marriage should not be declared unconstitutional

03 July 2008- Spain- The President of Congress, José Bono, in the suit, with the gay and lesbian representatives today. Judge Grande Marlaska was speaking to the European conference of gay and lesbian police being held in Barcelona, while in Madrid gay representatives meet with José Bono in Congress.
Speaking at the opening of the European Conference of Gay and Lesbian Police being held in Barcelona, National Court Instruction Judge, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, himself a homosexual, has said that if the gay marriage law is declared unconstitutional by the Constructional Court in the appeal presented to it by the Partido Popular, it would be a step backwards for gay social recognition as people who are against gay marriage would say ‘You see how they are not equal’.

The judge said it was important for gays and lesbians to come out in the security services as elsewhere.

Meanwhile the President of the Congress of Deputies, José Bono, met today with gay, lesbian, transsexual and bisexual representatives who are organising a citizen’s pride movement.

This week sees a week of celebrations for gays and lesbians ending with the pride parade in Madrid on Saturday. This year the festival is concentrating on lesbian visibility.

 

03 July 2008 –Hamburg, German- Gene Robinson may have to share his title as the church’s sole “gay” bishop, as a gay Hamburg cleric has been selected by the Lutheran Church in Germany, (EKD) to stand for election as Bishop of Schleswig.

The Rev Horst Gorski, a gay activist in the Lutheran Church, will face the Rev Gerhard Ulrich for election on July 12. German traditionalists warn Gorski’s election will replicate the Anglican Communion’s woes within the Lutheran Church. "Many members of the community would have little understanding for a bishop with this kind of lifestyle," the Rev Ulrich Ruess of Hamburg told Die Welt, warning schism would be a likely consequence.

In a statement posted on the internet, Bishop Maria Jepsen, the EKD’s first woman bishop and a member of the selection committee, defended the shortlisting of Gorski. "After careful consultation, we have nominated two experienced provosts as candidates who have excelled in their localities and in the region in a variety of ways," she said.

The Lutheran World Federation would not comment on this issue, LWF General Secretary the Rev Ishmael Noko told Reuters. "This is a pastoral issue that each church individually must deal with," he said, noting there was no common “position on this issue at the moment.”

In recent years the LWF has faced many of the same North-South strains over homosexuality as the Anglican Communion. The Church of Sweden has instituted same-sex blessings and the Church of Norway has permitted the licensing of gay clergy, while the African Lutheran Churches have rejected the innovations as being un-Scriptural and a violation of common teachings on sexual ethics.

Refuge System, Gay Activist Tells Trade Unionists

03 July 2008- UK- The British government is being urged to "initiate urgent reforms to the asylum system to end the injustice whereby many genuine gay refugees being sent back to viciously homophobic countries like Iran, Uganda, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan, Jamaica, Belarus and Saudi Arabia."

The call comes from gay human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell of OutRage!

Speaking at a fringe meeting, supported by the GMB union, at the TUC LGBT conference in London last night, Mr Tatchell said said that urgent government action was needed to implement five key policy changes to ensure a fair hearing for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) asylum applicants

“First, asylum staff and adjudicators should receive sexual orientation and transgender awareness training,” he told the meeting.

“They currently receive race and gender training but no training at all on sexual orientation and gender identity issues.  As a result, they often make stereotyped assumptions: that a feminine woman can’t be a lesbian or that a masculine man cannot be gay.

“They sometimes rule that someone who has been married must be faking their homosexuality.

“Home Office rulings that LGBT refugees should ‘go home and be discreet’ is insulting, humiliating and puts the returnees at risk of arrest, imprisonment, torture, mob violence and even possible murder,’ he insisted.

“Secondly, the government should issue explicit instructions to all immigration and asylum staff — and to all asylum judges — that homophobic and transphobic persecution are legitimate grounds for granting asylum.

“The government has never done this, which signals to asylum staff and judges that claims by LGBT people are not as worthy as those based on persecution because of a person's ethnicity, gender, politics or faith.

“Thirdly,’ Mr. Tatchell continued, “the official Home Office country information reports — on which judges often rely when ruling on asylum applications — must be upgraded and expanded to reflect the true scale of anti-LGBT persecution.

“At the moment, the government’s documentation of anti-gay and anti-transgender persecution in individual countries is often partial, inaccurate and misleading,” he pointed out.

“It consistently downplays the severity of victimisation suffered by LGBT people in violently homophobic countries like Pakistan, Uganda, Egypt, Nigeria, Iran, Cameroon, Iraq, Zimbabwe, Palestine and Saudi Arabia.

“Fourthly, legal aid funding for asylum claims needs to be substantially increased.

“Existing funding levels are woefully inadequate.  This means that most asylum applicants — gay and straight — are unable to prepare an adequate submission at their asylum hearing.

“Their solicitors don’t get paid enough to procure the necessary witness statements, medical reports and other vital corroborative evidence.

“Fifthly, the Home Office needs to issue official instructions to asylum detention centre staff that they have a duty to stamp out anti-gay and anti-trans abuse, threats and violence.

“Many LGBT detainees report suffering homophobic victimisation, and say they fail to receive adequate protection and support from detention centre staff.

“These shortcomings need to be remedied by LGBT awareness training to ensure that detention centre staff take action against homophobic and transphobic perpetrators, and that they are committed to protect LGBT detainees who are being victimised.

“Labour’s claim to be a LGBT-friendly government rings hollow when it continues to fail genuine LGBT refugees,” he suggested.

“We must insist on an asylum system that is fair, just and compassionate – for LGBT refugees and for all refugees.

“These are systemic failings by a callous and indifferent government that is more interested in cutting asylum numbers than in ensuring a fair, just and compassionate asylum system.

‘The UK's harsh, homophobic asylum policy has provoked two suicides by gay Iranians in the last five years.

“In September 2003, Israfil Shiri, a gay Iranian asylum seeker, died after pouring petrol over himself and setting himself on fire in the offices of Refugee Action in Manchester, after his asylum claim was refused.

02 July 2008- UK- Homosexual soldiers are to be paid travelling expenses to attend Gay Pride parades, while troops are not allowed to claim for trips to the Queen's Garden Party.

Gay troops have been told they can submit claims for their car mileage or train tickets to marches in London on Saturday and in Brighton next month.

Heterosexual soldiers have criticised the move saying they are not allowed to claim money for trips to important functions, including the Queen's Garden Party.

It will also be the first time Army and RAF troops will be allowed to march in uniform, Royal Navy soldiers are already allowed.

One homosexual soldier said: "Any straight guys wishing to have a ****-up in London should just sign up to go on the Gay Pride march. "It's a no-brainer – especially if you're stationed in Scotland.

"A refusal of expenses claims would be a breach of the Sexual Orientation Discrimination Regulations. It would also be a breach to stipulate that you have to be gay to go."

A spokesman for the Ministry of Defence said: "Personnel will be considered on duty for the uniformed parade element of the Gay Pride event.

"It is normal practice for personnel attending an event on duty to be able to claim for travel expenses."

The spokesman said soldiers are not allowed to claim for trips to the Queen's Garden Party because they are not considered "on duty" when at the event.

02 July 2008- The brother of the president of the United Arab Emirates has been found guilty of beating with his belt an American man who he thought had suggested he was gay.

A Geneva criminal court ordered Sheikh Fallah bin Zayed Al-Nahayan to pay a fine of 10,000 Swiss francs.

"He was found guilty of causing bodily injury with the help of a dangerous object," defence lawyer Marco Crisante said. "We will likely appeal this hasty and faulty ruling as the facts are contested."

The American plaintiff, Silvano Orsi, said in court two weeks ago that the sheikh had assaulted him in August 2003 after he turned down a bottle of champagne which the sheikh had sent over in the lobby of a luxury hotel along Lake Geneva.

Mr Orsi said that he had told the sheikh, whom he did not know, that he didn't drink alcohol, and an altercation followed.

"The sheikh's version is that he responded to an insult, being called a homosexual, and took off his belt but was unable to use it as a third party intervened," Mr Crisante said.

Mr Orsi, a 37-year-old New Yorker, said he had been unable to work ever since incident in which received blows to the face, hands and body with a belt whose metal buckle broke his glasses. He also said he was taking anti-depressants and suffering from back problems.

In their ruling, the three-judge court denounced the sheikh's "angry and threatening" behaviour, according to the daily Tribune de Geneve.

"One would have expected the accused, at the time on an official visit with his father, not to succumb to this type of outburst and to show proof of greater self-control," the daily said, quoting the judges' decision.

The defendant, the brother of UAE President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahayan, did not appear in court.

He was also ordered to pay Mr Orsi 1,000 Swiss francs towards legal costs and to pay court fees of about twice that amount. A further fine of 540,000 Swiss francs was suspended if there are no further incidents in the next three years, the court said.

Mr Orsi, in a statement faxed to a Swiss news agency welcomed the "huge victory" after five years. "I sacrificed part of my life and youth so that the truth be established," he said.

30 June 2008- Brno, Czech Republic- The first-ever gay parade in Czech Republic took to the streets of Brno on Saturday, despite threats by neo-Nazi and other extremist groups. Even a heavy police presence at the march failed to prevent attacks by anti-gay protesters who shouted insults and even threw tear gas at marching gay rights activists.

Around 500 gay, lesbian and bisexual rights activists took to the streets of the Moravian city of Brno on Saturday for the Czech Republic’s first-ever gay march going under the name of Queer Parade. The event started at Brno’s central Náměstí Svobody square where the activists and several thousand on-lookers gathered for a concert. An hour later, the Queer Parade got underway in the city centre. But, despite a police presence, the organizers were forced to take a shorter route due to threats by neo-Nazis and other extremist groups who tried to block the march and even attacked its participants with tear gas.

Jolana Navrátilová, one of the Queer Parade organizers, is a Brno-based gay and lesbian advocate and a member of the Holky v Brně, or Girls in Brno, group. I asked her how severe the clashes with anti-gay protesters were.

“Generally, it wasn’t so bad. But they attacked several people; they had chosen their victims beforehand. They didn’t attack everybody but picked people from the Green movement, gay skins and others. The actual clashes were short but to us, they seemed really long. But generally they just disturbed the pride event."

The police arrested 15 extremists and two of them were charged with public disturbance. While the police have been criticized for allowing the neo-Nazis to get near the Queer Parade participants, police president Oldřich Martinů told Czech TV on Sunday that they did a good job.

“The police did not in any way underestimate the security situation. We deployed 450 police officers in the streets to maintain law and order. The incidents that happened were just individual excesses which we soon got under control. There were around 150 extremists whom we managed to separate from the march. If it hadn’t been for what the police forces did, it could have turned out much worse."

Despite the clashes with anti-gay protesters, the organizers consider the first Czech gay pride parade a success. Jolana Navrátilová again.

Gay man's threat to kill 'love rival'

30 June 2008- Sunderland, UK- A gay man threatened to kill the woman he feared his partner was going to leave him for.

John Gray was in a same sex relationship, but he feared a mutual friend was about to come between him and his partner, Durham Crown Court heard.

'During a session with his psychiatrist Gray talked about this woman taking his partner away from him, ’said Lesley kirkup, prosecuting.

'He said he wanted to kill her and had previously put tablets in her drink which had put her in hospital. 'He went on to show the psychiatrist a picture on his mobile phone of a grave which he said he had dug for her.'

The court heard the psychiatrist was so concerned by Gray's remarks he called the police. 'Gray was arrested that day,' added Ms Kirkup, 'He said he had no intention of carrying out any threats and the picture on his phone was just of a hole in the ground.

'The mutual friend said it was never her intention to break up the pair and she was very concerned by the threats.' Gray, 22, of Seventh Street, Horden, County Durham, admitted making threats to kill on May 14, this year. He has previous convictions for criminal damage, theft and a public order offence.

Robin Denny, defending, said in mitigation: 'He was trying to draw attention to his plight and during this period tried to do away with himself.

'The relationship is now ended and there was never any evidence he intended to carry out the threats. 'Mr Gray has spent six weeks in custody, which as one might imagine was an unpleasant experience for him.

'He now intends to put this behind him and move to Hartlepool to live with his brother.' Judge David Bryant sentenced Gray to 26 weeks in prison, suspended for 12 months, and ordered him to carry out 60 hours of community work.

The judge said: 'Making these sort of threats is a serious matter and very distressing for the victim. 'Clearly the psychiatrist took a serious view which is why he reported the matter to the police.

'However, you have spent some time in prison and it is to be hoped that has taught you a lesson.' The judge banned Gray from contacting his former friend or from entering her home village of Shotton Colliery for 12 months.

 

Increase in Assaults on Gay Men in Belarus

 
24 June 2008- Minsk, Belarus- There is widespread concern among the gay community in Belarus following an increased number of homophobic attacks over the past four weeks.

Among the victims was Edward Tarletski, a well-known Belarusian gay and member of the Board of Lambda Belarus. 

He was badly beaten on May 21 at around 11pm when he was on his way back to his Minsk home.

According to Mr. Tarletski, he was attacked by three young persons between 20 and 25 years as he arrived at his apartment building.

“I was approaching the entrance, when I saw young people smoking nearby,” he said.

“One of them called me by my surname – to make it clear that it was me, I think.  Another one unexpectedly hit me in face, and I fell down.

“They kicked me many times, mostly in the head.  Then they escaped.  I lost consciousness.  A neighbour then helped me to reach my apartment.

“The villains took nothing: in my bag I had money and camera,” he said.

Mr. Tarletski explained that he had no intention to report the incident to police.  “This would be a waste of time,” he said – adding that this was the third assault on him in the last five years.

Edward Tarletski is a founder of Lambda Belarus, the first gay-organization in Belarus.  In 1998, 2002 he edited and published LGBT magazine Forum Lambda.  He was the organiser of Belarum Gay Pride festivals between 1999 and 2002.  Today, he is on the editorial team of Taboo magazine – and is also known as a ‘drag queen’ performer.

A few days earlier, 25-year-old Vitaly was enjoying a beer with his friends in the Minsk city park.

“A guy walked by and decided that I was gay,” he said.  “He came up and punched me so hard that he knocked out a tooth.

“Others were shocked, but they didn’t react, because they just thought that the attacker had drunk too much.

“I did not report the incident to the police, because it is my experience that the police in particular have a nasty and humiliating attitude towards gays”, he said.

Las week, two young gay guys were beaten by four skinheads after a party in Minsk.  The skinheads made many homophobic remarks during the unprovoked attack which left on of the young men needing medical help..

“I didn’t call to police because I’m not sure that they would take my side when found that I’m gay,” one of the victims said.

Last Sunday, Slava – a 24-year-old gay man – was out with his friend in Gomel.  The pair were the last customers in a bar.

“The owner of the bar together with his son decided to beat us up,” Dlave said.  “They locked the door and we couldn’t escape.

“They badly beat my friend … and I kicked the door in.

“The police showed up, but they behaved as though we were the guilty ones.

“We were taken to the police station together with our attackers,” he explained.  “The police let the attackers go, with­out even finding out who they were.

“The attitude toward us was very humiliating.  It was as if we were the criminals, not the victims.”

Then yesterday,  two older gay guys, both in their forties,  were attacked and beaten by Ten men on the ‘gay beach’ in Gomel.  One of the victims has a smashed lip.

Gay Asylum Seekers Can Be Deported Safely... If They Stay in the Closet

23 June 2008- London- England’s home secretary has said that gays living in the U.K. and seeking asylum from persecution in Iran will be safe in their home country as long as they stay in the closet.

Home Secretary Jacqui Smith claimed in a letter to Liberal Democrat Lord Roberts that as long as deported gays and lesbians were "discreet," they could be returned to Iran with "no real risk" or fear of "adverse action" on the part of the Iranian authorities, reported the U.K. newspaper The Independent in a June 23 story.

The home secretary’s letter was written after various Ministers of Parliament spoke out on the need for Britain to stop deporting gay and lesbian asylum seekers, whose lives, the MPs worried, would be in danger once they were back in Iran.

The chief executive of the UK GLBT equality group Stonewall, Ben Summerskill, took sharp exception to Ms. Smith’s letter, saying, "You only have to listen to people who were terrorized by [London’s] Metropolitan Police in the 1950s and 1960s to know that telling gay people to live discreetly is quixotic."

The MPs who called for a change in the immigration policy were moved by the story ofa gay Iranian teen, Mehdi Kazemi, whose life depends upon being allowed to remain in the U.K. Kazemi, the Independent reported, would have been killed if he had been deported back to his home country.

Kazemi’s story served as a case in point for the MPs pressing for the changes in immigration policy. The MPs, reported the Independent, declared that such changes to the law represented the "only moral course" in dealing with gay and lesbian asylum seekers.

The letter that Home Secretary Smith wrote to Lord Roberts voiced skepticism about sweeping changes to immigration policy. The independent quoted the letter as saying, "We recognize that the conditions for gay and lesbian people in Iran--and many other countries are such that some individuals are able to demonstrate a need for international protection."

The letter went on, "We do not, however, accept that we should make the presumption that each and every asylum-seeker who presents themselves as being of a particular nationality or sexuality, regardless of their particular circumstances, should automatically be... allowed to remain in the UK."

Wrote Smith, "With particular regard to Iran, current case law handed down by the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal concludes that the evidence does not show a real risk of discovery of, or adverse action against gay and lesbian people who are discreet about their sexual orientation."

Smith, the Independent reported, seemed to indicate a belief that many fewer gays and lesbians than the estimate 4,000 reported by GLBT organizations had been killed in Iran over the last three decades.

The Independent reported on Lord Roberts’ reply, quoting him as saying, "It is not good enough for the Government to say that people will be safe from punishment if they behave discretely."

Added Roberts, "The only ethical course of action is to declare a moratorium on deportations to Iran for all who fear execution."

Lord Roberts, the Independent reported, has sought the backing of 20 other MPs and peers in pressing for reform.

Nine Bishops Attend Anti-Gay Gathering in Israel

23 June 2008-  Kigali, Rwanda- Nine Rwandan Anglican bishops led by Archbishop Emmanuel Kolini are among the 300 Anglican bishops who are meeting at the Global Anglican Future Conference in Jerusalem, Israel.

The conference, which opened on June 22 and runs up to June 29, is meant to, among other issues, discuss the future of the worldwide Anglican Church amidst fears of a rift.

It attracted over 1,000 delegates from Rwanda, Uganda, Nigeria, Kenya, Australia, and South America. The Anglican Church is a Communion of 77 million people.

The Rwandan delegation left the country on June 17 and is made up of all bishops of the Province of the Anglican Church of Rwanda, according to the Church's Director of Media and Communication, Grace Mugabe.

It is intended to provide an opportunity for fellowship, to renew their understanding of Jesus Christ, and to proclaim the transforming love of Jesus Christ, among other things.

"The aim of the conference is to revamp the spirit of the Anglican faith. Jerusalem was chosen because it has something to do with the roots of the Anglican faith," Mugabe said yesterday.

During the opening of the meeting Sunday, the conservative Anglican leaders criticised their leader, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams, for his failure to discipline the US Episcopal Church for consecrating an openly gay bishop, Gene Robinson, in 2003, the media reported yesterday.

According to the BBC, the talks are in effect a rival to next month's Lambeth Conference - a ten-yearly gathering of Anglican bishops from all over the world.

Reports indicate that many attending the conference have threatened to boycott the Lambeth conference, accusing the liberals of rewriting the Bible to fit modern trends.

Mugabe said Rwandan Anglican bishops have also resolved not to attend the Lambeth Conference in order 'not to mingle with sympathisers of homosexuals'.

"They cannot mingle with homosexuals unless they (gays) repent," Mugabe said.

Ever since a rift developed in the Anglican Church over gay marriages, the Province of the Anglican Church of Rwanda, headed by Archbishop Kolini gave sanctuary to 130 Anglican Churches that broke away from the Episcopal Church of America, Mugabe added. The churches are grouped under an umbrella called Anglican Mission in Americas (Amia).

23 June 2008- UK- A TV advert for Heinz mayonnaise showing two men sharing a kiss has sparked outrage from viewers.

After less than a week on the air, the commercial is facing claims of being 'offensive' and 'inappropriate' as well as unsuitable for children.

Some parents are annoyed the advert has forced them to have to explain same sex relationships to their children and it is already on track to become one of the most complained about of the year.

The commercial, which is set to run for five weeks, shows a family scene with a young boy and girl getting ready to go to school.

In the kitchen, there is a man preparing sandwiches who the children refer to as 'Mum.'

Their father, dressed in a suit, then enters the kitchen, grabs a sandwich and says to the other man: "See you tonight, love".

The 'mum' then shouts back 'Hey, ain't you forgetting something?,' before the two men engage in a kiss.

He then tells the other man: 'Love you. Straight home from work, sweet cheeks.'

The Advertising Standards Authority is still fielding complaints over the commercial after receiving 200 so far, but has yet to confirm if it will launch an investigation.

Heinz's advert is restricted from being shown in or around children's programmes as a result of rules around promoting products high in salt, fat and sugar.

But it is screened at all other times of the day, including between soaps and TV talent contests.

The BBC also came under fire after media watchdog Ofcom censured the broadcaster over two episodes of EastEnders.

Ofcom received 116 complaints over the portrayal of character Max Branning being buried alive by his estranged wife Tanya in March this year.

The first episode included the man's sedated body being dragged through a dark wood and dumped in a shallow grave. He is then aware as the coffin lid closes on him.

Opening scenes of the second episode portrayed him sobbing as the audience heard sounds of earth being shovelled on top of him.

Ofcom said both programmes had a 'seriously disturbing element to them' at a time when many children were likely to be watching.

It said information provided at the start of the programmes did not prepare viewers for the extent of the 'distressing scenes'.

The regulator said programme makers had not sufficiently respected their audience with the portrayal in a pre-watershed soap.

23 June 2008- Bucharest, Romania- A pro-family organisation in Romania has asked the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) to stop a proposed resolution demanding the legalisation of same-sex "marriage" in member states. On June 21, the Alliance of Romania's Families wrote a letter to the PACE committee strongly condemning what it called the Assembly's "extremist" and "undemocratic" attempt to impose homosexual unions onto sovereign states by fiat.

The letter chastised the PACE, saying it had "simply thrown its weight behind the most extreme position," and is seeking to impose its political will on hundreds of millions of unwilling citizens of European member states. While the PACE does not have direct legislative powers, its decisions and resolutions are immensely influential. PACE, founded in 1949, is the oldest of the European international organisations.

Earlier this year, a PACE committee proposed a resolution calling for legalisation of homosexual marriage in all its 47 member states. The committee debating the resolution considered disparate treatment of "same-sex couples" to be "unlawful discrimination" and urged that European countries aspire to be "tolerant, pluralist and broadminded." It criticized central and eastern European countries such as Poland and Latvia for retaining statutes that reserve marriage exclusively for opposite-sex couples.

The Alliance's letter condemned the actions of the Assembly in the issue of same-sex marriage but also in its recent attempts to force agreement on legalised abortion and its condemnation of religious opinions on the origins of creation. The letter, however, says that in the attempt to force states to legalise homosexual relationships, the Committee has gone too far.

"Marriage and the family are institutions, not a fad," says the group that describes itself as a civic movement for the protection of marriage and the family.

"Institutions alone are enshrined in law, fads are not. Societies protect institutions, not fads. Family and marriage are not trivial matters but are designed to ensure society's survival and the perpetuation of the human species through procreation and the rearing of children."

"Homosexual partnerships, civil unions, or same-sex marriage do neither, and by their very nature are incapable to fulfil any of these objectives. Family and marriage predate the emergence of the state and of the phenomenon of homosexuality."

Romania does not recognise same-sex unions, either in the form of same-sex marriage or civil unions. On 13 February 2008, the Senate of Romania voted for an amendment to the Family Code, proposed by Greater Romania Party, to explicitly define marriage as being only between a man and a woman. Previously, the law had only used the words "between spouses". The amendment was approved with 38 votes for, 10 votes against and 19 senators abstaining.

The letter cites as proof that the same-sex marriage issue is a passing social trend, a fad, the fact that in 2006 and 2007, those countries that created "same-sex marriage" or civil partnerings, have experienced a significant drop in the number of same-sex unions contracted. In 2007 only one same-sex "marriage" between Canadian citizens was performed in Toronto, a world centre of the homosexual activist movement.

"We believe and respectfully submit that the Council has overstepped its bounds and has set a slippery precedent which is alarming and worrisome to millions of Romanians," the letter went on.

The Alliance also condemned the PACE's actions as an affront to democratic principles. Citing the European Convention on Human Rights that says the right to marry is a matter of national sovereignty, the Alliance said that matters related to so fundamental an institution as marriage, "must be left to the discretion of each member state's citizens."

"The citizenry must be given an ample opportunity to discuss and debate these issues for itself and come up with solutions best suited and congruent with local cultural and religious sensitivities. PACE's contrary attempts ignore, discount, and necessarily violate these cultural and religious sensitivities. This is unacceptable."

"The citizens of Romania have not surrendered their sovereignty to any international body to define, dictate, and legislate their values and norms. On the contrary, in December 2006, 650,000 adult citizens of Romania submitted to their government a petition requesting that marriage be defined in law as the relationship between one man and one woman. Therefore, we respectfully, yet sternly, ask PACE to respect our norms and values."

The letter also cited the harm legal same-sex "marriage" does to the rights of children to be raised in natural families and the chilling effect it has on religious expression.

The letter concludes with a forthright statement of the Marxist origins of such ideas as same-sex "marriage.

"We are also mindful that the very concepts and institutions which PACE seeks to impose on the Member States find their origins in the teachings of the founders of communism, namely Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels.

"The elimination of the family and marriage, largely viewed by them as bourgeois institutions designed to oppress women, was one of their ultimate objectives. It is, therefore, to be noted, that PACE's actions are highly offensive to the hundreds of millions of citizens of the Member States who as recently as a generation ago lived under the tyranny of communism.

Gay Catholics on parade

23 June 2008- London, England- Gay Catholics from all over the country will be parading behind a 'Proudly Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgendered & Proudly Catholic' banner in the impending Pride London Parade.

In excess of 500,000 people are expected at the event in two weeks time, whose theme is 'Fairytales, Myths and Legends'.

The two week Pride festival, of which the parade is a part, uses theatre, music, debate, art and entertainment to raise awareness of discrimination and the issues and difficulties affecting the lives of LGBT people around the world.

Gay Catholics have decided to choose the parade event to proclaim the banner's message to other LGBT communities, as well as the rest of the Church.

Many will also be wearing 'Nobody knows I'm Catholic' t-shirts. Catholic groups will also be providing information, advice and pastoral contact at a Trafalgar Square stall, shared between the RC Caucus of the Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement, Catholics for AIDS Prevention & Support, and the Soho Masses Pastoral Council.

The Soho Masses Pastoral Council is also holding to Mass on Sunday, 6 July at the Church of Our Lady of the Assumption & St Gregory, Warwick Street, near Piccadilly Circus, to which all are welcome.

Third Gay Pride Ban “Lawful”

19 June 2008- Moscow, Russia –  Tverskoi District Court of Moscow this afternoon dismissed the complaint by Moscow Pride organisers against the ban of one of the Gay Pride marches for tolerance and respect for the rights and freedoms of homosexual people in Russia planned for May 1 this year.

The march was scheduled to take place from the Moscow Central Post Office to Lubyanka Square.

During court hearing, Nikolai Alekseev, principle  the organiser of Moscow Pride, said that the Russian legislation does not give the authorities the right to ban any public event if it does not contradict the Constitution.

According to the law, he told the court, authorities are obliged to offer an alternative place or time for the conduct of such an event if it is not possible to stage it in the place where planned.

Mr.  Alekseev underlined that the references of Moscow Government to Article 11 of the European Convention are not appropriate because Russian legislation does not permit a ban of a public event of sexual minorities.

He cited references to the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights in which the Court held that the view that the majority can not prevail over the views of the minority and in which the European Court have ruled that public actions of sexual minorities must be provided police protection.

In all the organisers of Moscow Pride sent 155 notifications for the marches between May 1 and 31 this year – five a day.

All of them were turned down by the Moscow Government. However, The court decision delivered today concerns only one march – on May 1.

“As soon as we have the final text of the decision of judge Alexey Sevalkin we will immediately appeal it in Moscow City Court,” Mr. Alekseev following the court hearing.

“Depending on the actual written decision, we will also appeal all the other bans of the marches for which we applied in May.”

He went on to suggest that if “needed, we are ready to take all cases up to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.  Two of our applications concerning the bans of Moscow Pride event in May 2006 and in May 2007 are already awaiting consideration in Strasbourg”.

Earlier this week Moscow Pride organisers sent a new application to the European Court of Human Rights against the ban by the Prefecture of the Central Administrative Area of Moscow of the picketing in support of a call for a travel ban in the European Union by Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov.  The ban was ruled to be lawful by Taganskiy District Court of Moscow and by Moscow City Court.

The third Moscow Gay Pride successfully staged on June 1, despite tthe ban by the Moscow authorities.

Around 30 activists, following a little subterfuge, total secrecy and a little ‘cat and mouse’, gathered at the monument of Russian composer Petr Tchaikovskiy, said to have been gay, on Bolshaya Nikitskaya Street and then, following a brief march, displayed a huge banner from one of the flats on Tverskaya street opposite the office of Moscow Mayor which read: “Rights to Gays and Lesbians. Homophobic of Moscow Mayor should be prosecuted”.

18 June 2008- London, England- The couple's lawyers issued a joint statement which said: "It is with sadness that their relationship has come to an end. Their separation is amicable. They ask the press to respect their privacy at this time and to exercise restraint in any reporting of this matter."

They are the first celebrity gay couple to separate following a civil partnership and could prove a test case for gay "divorces", with McGee, a television researcher, entitled to a slice of Lucas's considerable fortune.

The couple met in a nightclub and exchanged vows in December 2006 after three years together.

After the ceremony in a private members' club they threw a lavish pantomime-themed reception at Banqueting House in London, with Lucas dressed as Aladdin and McGee as Prince Charming. Sir Elton John, Barbara Windsor and singer Courtney Love were among the guests.

Lucas, 34, whose Little Britain catchphrase is "I'm the only gay in the village", said before the ceremony: "We're going to have a civil partnership, or marriage, or whatever you like to call it. We are very much in love, but also it's important to have the same rights as straight couples."

He and McGee, 32, shared a £1.5 million home in north-west London.Civil partnership dissolutions are similar to divorces, with parties able to petition for financial support.

Lucas is by far the wealthier side of the partnership - he and his fellow Little Britain star David Walliams signed a reported £6 million golden handcuffs deal with the BBC in 2006. They are currently filming Little Britain USA.

The split could have far-reaching consequences for civil partnerships in Britain.

Alan Kaufman, head of family law at Finers Stephens Innocent, said: "Whilst one does not wish any split to end up in the courts, family lawyers would welcome guidance from a judge on a case such as this. At the moment we simply don't know whether a judge will look at a civil partnership in exactly the sme way as a husband and wife in a heterosexual relationship. It will be fascinating to see how the courts deal with it."

Norway passes law approving gay marriage

17 June 2008- Oslo, Norway -Gay couples in Norway will be granted the same rights as heterosexuals to marry, adopt and undergo artificial insemination under a new equality law passed Tuesday.

Norway's upper house of parliament voted 23-17 in favor of the gender-neutral marriage law on the same day that gay couples were marrying in California.

The law replaces 1993 legislation that gave gays the right to enter civil unions similar to marriage but did not allow church weddings or adoption. It takes effect Jan. 1.

"We are so overjoyed. We have worked for this for so long," said Jon Reidar Oeyan, leader of the Norwegian National Association of Lesbian and Gay Liberation.

"Now we are going to celebrate," he said. "I didn't dare until I heard the chairman of the upper house bang the hammer."

A parliamentary majority had announced agreement on the legislation last month, and the lower house voted 84-41 in favor last week.

Opponents, including the Christian Democrats and the Party of Progress, argued that children need both a mother and a father in a traditional family; opposed assisted pregnancy for lesbians, and said the law was rushed through the legislature.

The law gives individual congregations and clergy the right but not the legal obligation to perform wedding ceremonies for gay couples.

About 85 percent of Norway's 4.7 million people are registered as members of the state Lutheran Church of Norway, although far fewer are active.

Since the church is split on gay marriage, the church is likely to allow each congregation to decide on whether to allow gay wedding ceremonies, as it did last year in allowing parishes to decide whether to accept clergymen living in gay partnerships.

In 1989, Denmark became the world's first country to allow civil unions for gays, similar to Norway's outgoing law. In 2001, the Netherlands became the first country to offer full marriage rights to gay couples.

11 June 2008- Gambia- A leading human rights group has appealed to Gambian President Yahya Jammeh to disavow his reported comments encouraging violence against gays.

In an open letter to Jammeh, New York-based Human Rights Watch also said it was concerned about the arrest or questioning of at least four people in The Gambia's capital Banjul following his statements.

"We urge you to publicly disavow threats and vilification directed against gays and lesbian people in Gambia," said the letter signed by Scott Long, director of HRW's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Rights Program.

"We ask you to affirm publicly and without equivocation that all people should enjoy their rights regardless of their sexual orientation and gender identity," he wrote.

Long called on Jammeh to ask police to release all people still detained on charges or under suspicion of homosexual conduct and refrain from such arrests.

The rights group also urged the president to repeal the country's colonial-era sodomy law, which punishes sex between two men with 14 years in prison.

During a political rally last month, Jammeh said homosexuality would not be tolerated in his country and that he would "cut off the head" of any gay person caught in The Gambia, local journalists told AFP.

About two weeks later, two Spaniards were arrested and accused of making a homosexual advance to two taxi drivers.

04 June 2008- Gambia- The two Spanish tourists arrested on Friday in The Gambia, accused of having made "dishonest propositions" to engage into homosexual relationships, yesterday were released without charges and are preparing their return to Spain.

According to confirmed sources from the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, the release of two Spaniards - 56 and 54 years old - came hours after several senior members of the Ministry got in contact with their Gambian counterparts.

However, the two Spaniards in The Gambia are still said to be "in a dangerous situation". The same sources indicated that the two Spanish tourists yesterday urgently had left the capital of Gambia, Banjul, moving on to neighbouring Senegal by road instead of waiting for a flight. Today, they are trying to catch a direct flight from Senegal to Spain.

The two Spaniards were arrested on Friday in Kotu, 10 kilometres from Banjul. The tourists were accused of having asked local taxi drivers to led them to places frequented by homosexuals. The drivers at first agreed to the request of the Spaniards, but later on informed the police who later arrested them at a tourist resort.

Last month, the President of The Gambia, Yahya Jammeh, ordered gays and lesbians to leave the country within 24 hours before he would "cut off the head" of any homosexual caught in the country. Mr Jammeh also threatened to legislate "more stringent laws that Iran" regarding homosexuality.

President Jammeh further warned owners of hotels and accommodation centres not to give shelter to homosexuals on the grounds that homosexuality should not be tolerated in a country of "believers and civilized people." He added government would "not hesitate to close down any hotel or lodge that accommodates homosexuals."

Meanwhile, there are concerns over the possible economic consequences of the arrest and detention of homosexuals in the small and impoverished West African country, whose tourist business is one of the most expanding industries. Tourism now contributes a great part to the national economy, as well as the main source of foreign exchange.

President Jammeh's verbal and physical attacks on homosexuals have received massive press coverage is the countries of origin of most tourists. In particular media and blogs directed at homosexuals have started warning against travelling to The Gambia, with many calling for a general tourism boycott of the small dictatorship.

Two held in Gambia on gay charges

03 June 2008- Gambia- Two Spanish men have been arrested in The Gambia accused of making homosexual advances to taxi drivers, police say.

Last month, President Yahya Jammeh's threatened to behead gay people at a political rally and said they had 24 hours to leave the country.

He promised "stricter laws than Iran" on homosexuality and said he would "cut off the head" of any gay person.

Correspondents say a crackdown on homosexuals could hit The Gambia's vital tourism industry.

Mr Jammeh's statements have been condemned by gay rights activists but the AP news agency says it was backed by the country's Supreme Islamic Council, which said the president had taken a "principled stand".

Correspondents say a number of homosexual men have fled to The Gambia from neighbouring Senegal after a crackdown there following arrests at a "gay wedding" in February.

Both countries are predominantly Muslim and President Jammeh cultivates an image of being a devout Muslim.

Homosexual sex is illegal in The Gambia, where those convicted of consensual homosexual acts face jail terms of up to 14 years, reports say.

Gay victims of Third Reich are honoured in Berlin with stark memorial

28 May 2008- Berlin, German- A controversial monument honouring the many thousands of homosexual men and women persecuted and killed by the Nazis was unveiled in Berlin yesterday.

The stark, box-like construction is just across the road from the sprawling Holocaust memorial to the murdered Jews of Europe and only a short walk away from the buried remnants of Adolf Hitler's concrete bunker. The monument, designed by the Danish-Norwegian artists Michael Elmgreen and Ingar Dragset, is about 4metres (13ft) tall. One side has a small window through which viewers can see a 90-minute black and white film of two men kissing.

The film was the first cause of conflict in the ten years of argument that preceded the opening of the gay cube. Lesbian activists complained that they had been excluded because the film showed only men. Now it has been decided to replace the film footage in two years and show women kissing.

Other critics argued that commemorating homosexual victims diminished the memory of the slaughtered Jews. The Government, represented at the opening ceremony yesterday by Bernd Neumann, federal Minister for Culture, now accepts that each group of victims of the Third Reich has the right to mourn its community. By the end of the year a monument will be erected in Berlin to remember the Gypsies killed by the Nazis.

Stefan Maiwald, author of a book about sexual manipulation in the Third Reich, said: “The numbers of homosexuals tortured and killed in the concentration camps does not begin to approach the fate of the Jewish prisoners. But even so, some 10,000 lost their lives in the camps.” Other estimates suggest that about 54,000 homosexuals were arrested by the Nazis and 7,000 were killed in the camps.

Günter Dworek, of the Federation of Gays and Lesbians, the main lobby behind the creation of the monument, said that it was intended to remind people how difficult it was to achieve equal rights for homosexuals.

27 May 2008- Riga, Latvia- Gay Pride events in Latvia should be seen as unlawful and be banned, Roman Catholic Cardinal Jânis Pujâts has said in an open letter to the government.

The letter, also signed by 26 priests from Roman Catholic congregations, was sent to Prime Minister Ivars Godmanis, Interior Minister Mareks Segliòð, and the Rîga City Council just days before Riga's Gay Pride and Friendship Days.

The church argues that although the Latvian constitution states that “human rights shall be implemented without any discrimination”, it also says that rights “may be limited in those cases prescribed by law in order to protect the rights of other people, a democratic system of state, the safety of society, and welfare and morals.”

“Given this text in the constitution, Pride marches in Latvia must be seen as unlawful and must not be permitted, because first of all, they are aimed against morality and the family model which exists in our nation and is enshrined in the fundamental law of the state, the Constitution,” the letter says.

“Homosexuality is against the natural order and, therefore, against the laws of God … homosexuals also claim unlawfully to have the rights of a minority.

“A minority is made up of those who are different from the majority of people because of nationality, language, race, skin colour and other neutral characterisations, but not of moral evaluation,” the letter continues.

“That means that there can be no minority of alcoholics, homosexuals, drug addicts or any other people if the minority is based on immoral inclinations. Otherwise this would be direct promotion of immorality.”

The Cardinal and priests argue that because it is impossible to permit “the homosexual march without violating the laws of the country,” foreigners who arrive for the march could instead be offered a conference hall in some Rîga hotel where they could organise “an interest club” without any disturbance to talk about those in Latvia who think as they do.

“A ban on the Pride would also cause these foreigners, who are so full of bravado, to think about the fact that they have no right to publicly propagandise perversion in Latvia and expect that this shameful behaviour is even protected by the police,” the letter states.

“This is humiliation to police officials who, against their conscience, are forced during the Pride event to stand with the gays. Even more, it would be humiliation for our government –and for the entire nation – if we were to feel captive in front of amoral pressure.

“A responsible decision from the men who are in power is expected by everyone who is concerned about the raising of young people – parents, teachers and clergymen,” the letter concludes.

Gay Pride hailed a success

26 May 2008- Birmingham, England- Drizzle failed to dampen the dazzle, glitz and glamour of the annual Birmingham pride event which was as outrageous as ever despite organisers dropping the famous street parade this year.

The city's gay village was transformed into a series of stages and stalls for the giant party led last night by the Cheeky Girls and a Eurovision All Stars Show on Saturday which included past Eurovision winners Brotherhood of Man and Bucks Fizz.

The former Eurovision favourites, including Scooch and Sonia, had the crowds bopping and cheering in Saturday's brilliant sunshine.

Men in stunning costumes, complete with full make-up, wigs and high heels, mingled with ordinary families and grandparents at the event which had a real party atmosphere.

But among all the frivolity came a serious message from organiser Phil Oldershaw, who welcomed new Lord Mayor Coun Chauhdry Rashid on to the main stage in Kent Street to officially open the event on Saturday.

Two sets of balloons were launched - 1,400 red ones to represent the number of gay and bisexual men diagnosed with HIV in the West Midlands and 600 navy ones to represent those infected but undiagnosed.

Phil said: "Even in 2008, more than 25 years after the beginning of the epidemic, people with HIV still face stigma and discrimination, sometimes from their own communities.

"HIV testing has never been so easy to access. Over the past year, two health clinics have both provided 20-minute fast HIV tests."

Speaking about this year's event, he added: "It's been a brilliant success this year even without our traditional parade, but it will be back next year. Our stage in Kent Street has had a real community feel."

Is a city that bans its gay pride fit to host Eurovision?

Commentary

26 May 2008- So Russia has won the Eurovision song (read geo-political beauty) contest with “Believe” sung by Dima Bilan.

This means that Russia will host next year’s bash.  And in turn, that probably means Moscow. Moscow?  Hosting the campest TV show on the planet – the show that is iconic around Europe in the gay communities?

The virulently homophobic mayor of Moscow appears to have what he might well describe as another “satanic gathering” on his hands in May 2009.

Already, Pride London, the UK’s largest LGBT Pride, has today reacted with surprise at the news that Moscow will host next year’s Eurovision Song Contest.

And rightly so, as the mayor of Moscow has a total ban on Moscow Gay Pride ever since the first effort in 2006, and sees to it that his bully-boy police treat gays in a heavy-handed way, while allowing anti-gay demonstrations by religious and fascist groups .

“I don’t want to detract from Dima Bilan’s victory; it’s a great song,” Colm Howard-Lloyd, a director of Pride London commented this morning.

“But how can you let a city that denies some of the most basic human rights to LGBT people host the content next year?

“I know thousands of people, and many bars and clubs, hosted Eurovision parties to celebrate the event.  I'm not sure how comfortable it will be, next year, to get as excited about Eurovision when we know the host city beats-up and detains people because of their sexuality.  Even Terry Wogan has now talked about quitting the show!”

The European Broadcasting Union, the “club” of 75 broadcasters from 56 countries, has an opportunity to help the gay community in Russia.

No Gay Pride in Moscow – no Eurovision, they could say.

Yes, a little bribery.  But then, that it nothing new in the corridors of power in Moscow City Hall.

Hopefully, Svante Stockselius, the head of the Song Contests Unit at the EBU in Switzerland, will take note, perhaps re-reading the EBU’s guidance A Diversity Toolkit. .

As for the United Kingdom’s entry for next year … How about Sir Elton John writing a suitable song and teaming up with George Michael for the performance?

Gambia gay death threat condemned

 
23 May 2008- Gambia- Gay rights activists have condemned Gambian President Yahya Jammeh's threat to behead homosexuals. Last week he told a political rally that gay people had 24 hours to leave the country.

He promised "stricter laws than Iran" on homosexuality and said he would "cut off the head" of any gay person found in The Gambia. Carey Johnson of the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Council said the comments were "disgraceful".

"What president Jammeh fails to realise is that there are a significant population of Gambians who are gay, and he has no right to ask them to leave," Mr Johnson said. The speech was "doubly disgraceful" because The Gambia is the host country for the African Commission on Human and People's Rights, he said.

Mr Johnson said the speech, part of President Jammeh's 13-day tour of the country, was an attempt to scapegoat gay people and blame them for the country's ills. "He's fighting to maintain his control over the country, he finds the weakest group and lays all the problems at their door," Mr Johnson said.

'History of homophobia'

"The Gambia is a country of believers... sinful and immoral practices [such] as homosexuality will not be tolerated in this country," the president told a crowd at a political rally on May 15. "Jammeh has a long history of homophobia," said British gay rights activist Peter Tatchell.

"If he tries to carry out these threats, international aid donors are likely to withdraw their support, and foreign tourists will stay away in droves, thereby damaging the Gambian economy," he added.

Correspondents say a number of homosexual men have fled to The Gambia from neighbouring Senegal after a crackdown there following arrests at a "gay wedding" in February. Both countries are predominantly Muslim and President Jammeh cultivates an image of being a devout Muslim.

In February last year, he was condemned by campaigners when he claimed to have cured people of HIV and Aids. His "cure" was a mixture of herbs that patients ate and spread on their bodies.

Russia Latest Country to Allow Gay Blood Donations

 
23 May 2008- Russia has joined several other nations in allowing sexually active gay men to donate blood. The move comes in the face of an anti-gay atmosphere in Russian society, and may mark a more liberal atmosphere under the new premier.

As reported previously on Edge, there has been a growing chorus among gay activists and their allies on college campuses and elsewhere to lift bans, which date from the early days of the AIDS epidemic, when gay men were blamed for the disease and blood screening of HIV was expensive and cumbersome.

The U.K. Gay News, translating from gayrussia.ru, reports that the Russian Ministry of Health and Social Development made the determination after activists from Project GayRussia.ru and other groups lobbied for the change for two years.

Minister of Health and Social Development Tania Golikova signed a decree in April, but word is only streaming out of the country. Activists have been ratcheting up pressure on the government.

In September 2007, activists wanted to picket Ministry of Health and Social Development in Moscow to demand an immediate repeal of the ban, but authorities denied them a permit. Some activists were arrested at the ministry in an act of civil disobedience. The same day, several activists attracted attention by attempting to give blood.

The head of the Central Moscow Blood Transfusion Center admitted to the media that the ban was in practice unenforceable. "We conducted our campaign against the ban for two years and it brought the results," said activist Nikolai Alekseev. "Not so many people believed in our success but we proved that actions can lead to serious results."

He also tweaked other countries, such as the U.S., where the ban remains in effect. "Russia will become an example in this respect for other countries," he said, "including western democracies, where such restrictions are still in force.

Two jailed for attack on ‘gay’ passengers

23 May 2008- London, England- Two teenagers have been sent to prison following an unprovoked attack on men they believed to be gay.
Ali Abdulrahman, 18, and Mohammed Munye, 19, assaulted the two men on board a N38 bus close to the Angel in December last year.
The victims, aged 29 and 31, were wearing commando-style fancy-dress costumes, having attended a Christmas party. They were jeered at and asked if they were gay.

When one of the men, who is not gay, said he was and joked with the group, they reacted violently and punched and kicked him and his friend to the floor before stamping on them. The 29-year-old victim sustained a broken cheekbone and substantial bruising to his face and body and the second victim sustained cuts and bruises.
Munye also attempted to burn part of one of the victim’s outfits. Other passengers on the bus were so scared they moved away as they believed the group would turn on them. The attackers got off the bus in Rosebery Avenue.
The accused, who had pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing, were sentenced at Wood Green Crown Court last Thursday.
Abdulrahman, a student from Baldwins Gardens, Camden, was sentenced to 10 months’ imprisonment for grievous bodily harm and common assault.
Munye, unemployed of Harringay, was sentenced to 15 months’ imprisonment for grievous bodily harm and common assault.
Trainee Detective Constable Emma Whitehead said: “This was a horrific and sustained attack on the victims. I would like to thank the many witnesses who came forward to provide statements and assistance with the investigation.
“This sentence sends a strong message that both the Metropolitan Police Service and the public will not tolerate violent behaviour towards anyone, regardless of sexuality.”

Registrars fear being driven out over gay weddings

21 May 2008- London, England- Some Christian registrars fear their lives will be made a misery because they do not want to conduct same-sex marriages, a tribunal has heard. Elizabeth Thatcher, a registrar, told of an unnamed colleague who feared she could be "vilified" as a result.

She gave evidence at a discrimination case brought by Lillian Ladele against Islington Council in north London. Miss Ladele said she was bullied for refusing to conduct such partnership ceremonies. The council denies this.

Until December 2007 registrars in the borough effectively worked on a freelance basis, meaning they could swap with each other to avoid same-sex ceremonies.

But since then they have been under direct control of the local authority which, it is claimed, has led to far less flexibility about the registrars' responsibilities. Miss Ladele has claimed she was being effectively forced to choose between her religion and her £31,000-a-year job as a result.

She said she was picked on, shunned and accused of being homophobic for refusing to carry out civil partnerships.

'Under pressure'

The case, at the Central London Employment Tribunal, is expected to lead to a landmark ruling over whether employees can be required to act against their consciences. Mrs Thatcher was giving evidence as a Christian and as a Kent council registrar, a position she has held since November 2000.

She shares Miss Ladele's beliefs that civil partnerships are "sinful". "I have heard of one Christian who has had to resign, but I know of others who have been accommodated," she said.

"She told me that she was terrified about herself or her authority being identified because she could be vilified or the authority put under pressure to remove her."

Miss Ladele told the tribunal there had been times when she was treated in such a hostile manner that "the only way to have dealt with it would have been to have gone up to those people and to have had a fight".

"But I did not do that," she said. "I restrained myself and showed them how to behave [well]."

'Second-class citizens'

However Adrian Lynch, for Islington Council, claimed that she had a "distorted recollection" of events and did not properly register her concerns with her managers.

And Miss Ladele's manager, Helen Mendez-Child, denied being abusive or ridiculing Miss Ladele over her views. In fact, "one gay member of staff felt that she was discriminating against homosexuals", Ms Mendez-Child said.

"I had staff who felt like second-class citizens because of the beliefs that Lillian had expressed," she added.

"I do not believe that she was discriminated against or that she can cite evidence to back it up," Ms Mendez-Child told the hearing, which continues.

Gay Iranian teen wins long asylum fight

21 May 2008- London, England- Britain said Tuesday that it is granting asylum to a gay Iranian teenager who fears that he could face execution if forced to return to his homeland.

Britain's Border Agency said it would allow asylum for Mehdi Kazemi, who traveled in 2005 to London to study English and while there learned that his lover in Iran had been charged with sodomy and hanged.

Kazemi, 19, then sought asylum in Britain, but it was rejected, then in the Netherlands. The Netherlands' highest court rejected his claim in March, ruling that Britain was responsible for the case under European Union law because it was there that Kazemi first applied for asylum.

Britain's Home Secretary Jacqui Smith decided after that to reconsider the case, and there were appeals in the House of Lords that he be allowed to remain due to fears his life could be at risk in Iran.

Some human rights groups claim gay people are executed in Iran because of their sexuality.

The case has drawn attention in both countries to the plight of homosexuals in Iran, and the differences in the way various EU countries deal with asylum-seekers. (AP)

19 May 2008- Belgrade - The last time gay men and women took to the streets of Serbia's capital, they were beaten by nationalist gangs while police looked on.

Seven years from their first and only Pride march, activists now see the glitz, media attention and gay tourists coming to Serbia with the Eurovision Song Contest as a big chance to come out again, louder and more confident than before.

"There are no gay celebrities in Serbia, nobody's out," said Predrag Azdejkovic, one of a handful of openly gay Serbs. "Eurovision is so gay, so camp, it'll be a shock to the system."

"Yes, maybe it reinforces stereotypes, so people think all gay men are effeminate and all lesbians drive trucks. I have no problem with that. All visibility is good and we must use it."

Homosexuality is a taboo subject across the Balkans' largely conservative and patriarchal societies, where many people view it as a treatable mental illness.

Boban Stojanovic, who runs the gay rights group Queeria with Azdejkovic, said homophobia in Serbia stems from an obsession with national identity in the 1990s, a notion of aggressive masculinity created by and for the Yugoslav wars, and the increased influence of the Orthodox Church.

Boban Stojanovic, who runs the gay rights group Queeria with Azdejkovic, said homophobia in Serbia stems from an obsession with national identity in the 1990s, a notion of aggressive masculinity created by and for the Yugoslav wars, and the increased influence of the Orthodox Church.

"Before 1990 the gay scene was more free. Although formally illegal, homosexuality was tolerated because the social climate was more liberal," Stojanovic said.

"But when Yugoslavia started breaking up, there was a rush in all the republics to define a very clear national identity. Today, to be a Serb means to be Orthodox and heterosexual. Being Serb and gay is seen as incompatible. The macho warrior culture of the 1990s is the root of Serbia's homophobia today."

Eurovision's mix of high camp and low culture attracts millions of viewers and a loyal gay following. The 2008 event is held in Serbia after Marija Serifovic won last year's contest with ballad 'Molitva' and a daringly lesbian chic-tinged act.

The nuance was lost on far-right groups who declared open season on gay visitors.

"We are waiting for them," the Obraz group said, adding it would patrol Belgrade' streets and show "zero tolerance to the promotion and spread of evil" and use "all means to stop it."

Authorities initially pondered having policemen escorting gay visitors, then opted for increased security across the city for the week of semifinals and up to the May 24 final.

The attention meant the time was ripe for the first campaign in years, Stojanovic said.

Discreet posters featuring same-sex couples called for "Love on the streets, hooligans in prison." They survived several days on the streets of Belgrade before being torn down or defaced.

"With all this repression there is huge pressure to be invisible," Stojanovic said. "We don't agree. First we must be visible to the majority and then we can start to communicate."

Azdejkovic and Stojanovic say the influx of colour and fun that comes with Eurovision will be a much-needed challenge to Serbia. An international pariah in the 1990s for its role in the wars, it still has a love-hate relationship with the West."

The two men don't expect any violence because the flipside of nationalism is "an obsession with being a great host.

"The government wants to project a great image of Serbia and make this the best Eurovision ever," Azdejkovic said, adding that there was pressure on police to contain extremists.

"We can only ask our government: Please, if you are going to protect gay foreigners, also protect gay Serbs. The foreigners will be here for a week and then leave, but they'll have a freedom we can only dream of.

Green MEP Demands Better Treatment for Gay Men and Women Seeking Asylum

19 May 2008 -Brighton, England- Gay men an women seeking asylum in the United Kingdom face detention and having to deal with homophobia not only from other inmates, but even from those who are paid to detain them, a Member of the European Parliament said on Saturday.

Speaking at an IDAHO rally, Dr. Caroline Lucas, the Green Party MEP for South East England, demanded that the British government makes homophobia and transphobia absolute grounds for asylum.

“It’s truly shocking to recall that it’s only 18 years since the World Health Organisation removed “homosexuality” from the list of so called mental disorders… but that is the anniversary we are marking here in Brighton today,” she told the 200 or so who braved the rain in the seafront..

“There has been progress. But there remain 77 countries around the world where homosexual acts are still a criminal offence and seven countries where the punishment is execution.

“We condemn this as a direct affront to international human rights law, we demand that our government and the EU stop turning a blind eye to these atrocities, and we demand that they work to help to end them.”

“The theme for this year IDAHO event is ‘women’ – which gives us the opportunity to reflect on the compound discrimination faced by LGBT women: as women stereotyped by a sexist society, then by being lesbian in a homophobic society, often isolated within the wider LGBT community,” she continued.

“Take the example of Pegah Emambakhsh, a lesbian, who Gordon Brown is trying to deport back to Iran, where he knows she faces torture and probably stoning to death for her sexual orientation.

“Can we even begin to imagine what Pegah is going through as she continues to fight to prevent herself being sent back to certain persecution?

LGBT ssylum seekers in this country face detention having to deal with homophobia not only from other inmates, but even from those who are paid to detain them.

“Those who assess their claims may have no understanding of homophobia, and be completely unable to understand the real dimensions of the persecution they face.”

Dr. Lucas said on International Day Against Homophobia that out a clear message has to be sent to the government.

“Our message is this: that neither homophobia, transphobia, nor any other kind of prejudice, have any place in society today.”

Turning to Europe, she said that pressure has to be maintained on all EU Governments to respect the human rights of all their citizens, in keeping with the European Convention on Human Rights.

“This impacts on anyone in the UK exercising their right to work and travel in the EU, like those from Brighton who travelled to Riga Pride in Latvia last year in order to ensure that Riga Pride 2007 went ahead.

“Only a week ago, the police in Moldova stood by organised thugs [who] threatened violence against LGBT people who tried and sadly failed to hold a Pride Parade.

“This is a country seeking membership of the EU, which isn’t even adhering to the most basic human rights.

“It is, sadly, no surprise that some of the world’s most oppressive regimes, like those in Iran, China, continue to harass, abuse and discriminate against their citizens on the basis of their sexuality but that our government here in the UK isn’t challenging this daily is totally unacceptable.

“How can Britain send an effective message that homophobic discrimination against LGBT people is unacceptable if the same British Government is forcing LGBT asylum seekers back to countries which they know retain execution and torture for LGBT people.

“It’s true, of course, that there have been improvements here in the UK, thanks to the work and struggle of LGBT people themselves but hard-won battles can be over-turned – and we cannot forget that the new Tory Mayor of London has called gay marriages a 'ludicrous parody of the real thing'.

“It’s time for a renewed campaign to persuade our government to take human rights seriously – and to make stamping out all forms of discrimination a bedrock of British foreign policy.

“To that end, I will be writing to foreign secretary David Milliband with practical suggestions of how we can support Pride events across Europe.

“I am delighted to be able to mark another IDAHO here in Brighton, and to celebrate diversity with one of the most vibrant and diverse LGBT communities in the world,” she concluded.

19 May 2008- Rome, Italy- Italy's new minister for equal opportunities has angered rights groups by refusing to back a "gay pride" march because, she said, gays no longer suffer discrimination in Italy.

The appointment of Mara Carfagna, a 32-year-old former Miss Italy contestant and television showgirl, to the equal opportunities post was seen by some rights groups as a deliberate provocation by Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.

Carfagna said in comments published Monday that she would not back the June gay pride event in Bologna because "gay prides are pointless."

"Homosexuality is no longer a problem, at least not the way the organizers of these demonstrations would have us believe," Carfagna said. "Gay pride's only aim is official recognition for homosexual couples, on the same level with marriage. I cannot agree to that."

"Gone are the times when homosexuals were declared mentally ill," Carfagna told Corriere della Sera. "Today there is such a thing as integration into society." She said she would sponsor seminars dealing with "discrimination and violence" against gay people.

The rights group Arcigay asked how she could say gay people suffer no discrimination in a country where they "are forced to hide their sexual orientation at home, at school and at work.

The head of Arcigay, Aurelio Mancuso, said Carfagna lived in "a fairy-tale land." He said 14 gays or lesbians had been murdered in Italy in the past two years, 50 had suffered serious attacks and thousands had been discriminated against.

The center-left government that collapsed in January failed to win legal status for same-sex unions because of opposition from Roman Catholic politicians. Italy is in a dwindling group of European Union countries that have not recognized gay marriage or civil unions.

The center-left opposition's shadow minister for youth, Pina Picierno, said Carfagna was being manipulated in the battle between Catholics and secularists over gay marriage.

The Communist politician Manuela Palermi put Carfagna's lack of backing for the march in the context of the new government's tough line on immigrants and social issues.

"Immigrants hunted down, Roma camps set on fire, a boy in Verona killed by neo-Nazis, women attacked on abortion," she said. "A racist country turning more and more Taliban, incapable of secular thought: That's the image Italy is projecting."

Solitary Gay Pickets General Prosecution Headquarters in Russia’s Capital Following Ban

18 May 2008- Moscow, Russia- Legal difficulties prevented more than one person picketing the office of the General Prosecutor in Moscow yesterday, International Day Against Homophobia.

So Nikolai Alekseev, the organiser of Moscow Gay Pride, staged a one-man picket calling for the criminal prosecution of Moscow MayorYuri Luzhkov.

There was no interference from the watching police as he displayed a placard reading saying “No one repealed Article 149 of the Criminal Code. Mayor Luzhkov’s homophobia should be prosecuted”.

Originally, plans were to have a ten-person picket.  But the Prefecture of the Central Area of Moscow banned the event for “security reasons”.  . The letter from the Prefecture said that the aim of the planned event “provokes negative reactions of society and the conduct of the event can lead to group violations of public order which creates threats to the security of the participants”.

However, not a single protestor against the picket came to the office of General Prosecution yesterday, which, say gay activists, proves that Moscow authorities did not evaluate the threats properly.

“The General Prosecution office is obliged to conduct an investigation on our request and give us a motivated reply,” Mr. Alekseev said last night.  “If the criminal case is not started, we will appeal the decision to courts.”

On Friday, Moscow Pride organisers said during a press-conference at the Independent Press-Centre in Moscow that they had sent a letter to the General Prosecutor asking to prosecute Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov for systematic unlawful prevention of public actions of homosexual people in Russia’s capital.

During the press-conference,  Mr. Alekseev said that “in case Russia had a system of cumulative criminal punishment, Moscow Mayor would already deserve at least 2,000 years in jail only for violations of the right to freedom of assembly”.

It was confirmed yesterday that the third Gay Pride in Moscow will take place at the end of May, even if the event is banned by the authorities.

18 May 2008- Paris -France plans to ask the United Nations to push for homosexuality to be decriminalised around the globe, a government minister said Saturday, as gays and lesbians worldwide marked the International Day Against Homophobia.

Human Rights Minister Rama Yade told a delegation of French gay and lesbian groups that Paris would push for "a European initiative calling for the universal decriminalisation of homosexuality," according to a statement.

She said Paris would submit the initiative to the United Nations after it takes over the rotating six-month EU presidency in July, a period during which France will speak for all EU member states at the UN General Assembly.

Rights groups regularly campaign for Western governments not to deport gays or lesbians back to countries where they are at risk of persecution.

Homosexuality remains a crime in 75 countries worldwide, punishable in theory by death in Iran, Mauritania, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen.

Human Rights Watch issued an annual blacklist Friday singling out President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda, where homosexuality is punishable by life imprisonment, for ignoring a major campaign to end the harassment of gays.

It also accused Polish President Lech Kaczynski of attempting to "deny basic rights" to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people following a televised speech in which he assailed homosexuality in March.

Human Rights Watch took Britain to task as well over the case of a gay Iranian who was denied asylum last year although he said he feared death if forced to return home.

Mehdi Kazemi, 19, said he discovered while in England that his boyfriend had been arrested in Iran, charged with sodomy and hanged. Under international pressure to reverse their decision, British authorities have since granted him a reprieve from deportation.

The International Day Against Homophobia was launched in 2005 to commemorate the day in 1990 when the World Health Organisation removed homosexuality from its list of disorders.

15 May 2008- Stockholm, Sweden -Stockholm bills itself as the capital of Scandinavia. You may get some argument about that from other Scandinavian cities but there is no doubt that Sweden's capital city is blessed with an overabundance of museums, parks, and nightlife. This summer, Stockholm will be the undisputed gay capital of Europe when it hosts the Europride celebration.

Stockholm is made up of 14 islands and nearly 60 bridges. The city's birthplace, the island of Gamla Stan, is also known as Old Town. It is also one of Stockholm's most popular tourist attractions. If you wander away from Gamla Stan's souvenir shop-laden main streets, you can still get a glimpse of what it was like to live in a Northern European city hundreds of years ago.

The most visited tourist attraction in Stockholm was once its greatest embarrassment. The Vasa Museum contains a top-heavy warship that sank in 1628, just 20 minutes into its maiden voyage. The Vasa was raised in 1961 and it is the only 17th century warship in existence in the world.

The Vasa Museum is on the city's Djurgarden Island, which is home to the city's second most visited attraction, Skansen, an open-air museum and zoo. The museum has more than 150 historic buildings. The zoo has a mini train and its pony ride is a favorite with kids.

Stockholm will soon have a whole new attraction dedicated to its best-known export, the band ABBA. The ABBA museum is scheduled to open next year and will be located in downtown along the waterfront near the Patricia party boat, which hosts a popular gay night on Sundays.

Gay nightlife & Europride.

About two million people, nearly a quarter of Sweden's population, live in Stockholm and its suburbs. That is more than enough to support a very lively gay scene. Organizers expect that the Europride parade, festival, and special events this summer will draw nearly 800,000 people to the city, including about 50,000 who will march in the parade.

Europride runs July 28-August 3. Stockholm last hosted Europride in 1998 and is the only city to have hosted it twice. Stockholm's third most visited destination is Gamla Stan, the so-called Old Town Island. Gamla Stan is also home to a handful of gay venues. The Chokladkoppen cafe is in the square in the center of the island. Countless tourists have undoubtedly captured the caf 's rainbow flag in their photographs of the square. Torget is a gay and lesbian bar and restaurant on the edge of Gamla Stan. Lino, also in Gamla Stan, is open only on Saturday nights and is the most popular gay disco in the city. It is gay/lesbian mixed.

Accommodations

There are no gay hotels in Stockholm but like other Scandinavian cities, gay-friendly hotels are the rule, not the exception. I stayed in the Radisson SAS Strand Hote