Benjamin Cohen founded PinkNews.co.uk in 2005 and was editor until 2006. He was technology correspondent at Channel 4 News between 2006 and 2012.
Twitter: @benjamincohen-
10 October 2005Gay Catholic Priests to be allowed if they’re celibate 4 Gay men will allowed to be Roman Catholic priests as long as they can prove that they have been celibate for a minimum of three years.The Vatican report which was revealed in the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera was commissioned by the Pope, Benedict XIV (pictured), says that the church will ban gays who "publicly manifest their homosexuality or show an overwhelming attraction" to homosexual culture even if it is only intellectually".
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10 October 200511 year olds selling gay sex as rent boys 5 A Leicester politician has revealed that there are male prostitutes or rent boys as young as 11 selling sex to men in the city's parks.Councillor Mark Farmer, spokesman on crime and disorder issues told his local newspaper, the Leicester Mercury that he has received reports of up to six children, aged between 11 and 13, working in the trade.
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10 October 2005Boy George back in UK but faces prison in the USA over cocaine charge 4 Boy George (pictured), the 44-year-old former Culture Club front man returned to Britain today after appearing in court in New York where he was charged with possessing cocaine.The star is accused of possessing 5g of cocaine that police say were found in 134 small packets in his flat in the Little Italy district of the city.
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10 October 2005London’s first gay freshers fair 37 London's first gay freshers fair will be taking place at indie bar, Trash Palace on Sunday 23rd October.
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10 October 2005Bromley u-turn on gay wedding ceremonies 4 The executive committee of Bromley Council has reversed their previous decisions on allowing civil partnership ceremonies to take place in their buildings. The leader of the Conservative controlled council had previously vowed to refuse couples to have a ceremony in their properties.The move comes after Ken Livinstone (pictured), the Mayor of London wrote to the Stephen Carr, the leader of the council saying "Having sought legal opinion I remain firm in my belief that Bromley Council is acting in a discriminatory and unlawful way by refusing civil partnership ceremonies to same-sex couples." -
10 October 2005Gay banker to sue HSBC for £5m after dismissal 1 A gay investment banker at HSBC has begun a £5m court case over his dismissal, which he claims was motivated by his sexuality.43-year-old Peter Lewis is openly gay and was sacked by the banking giant for "gross personal misconduct". The incident in question relates to an encounter between Mr Lewis and another male employee of the bank, which ultimately resulted in a complaint of "sexual harassment".
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10 October 2005Anti-Gay comment halts employment tribunal 1 Marc Cranfield-Adams (pictured), a former Richmond counsellor has complained to the chairman of the regional employment tribunal board after a tribunal member made what he deemed to be an anti-gay comment.Mr Cranfield-Adams brought his case to an employment tribunal after he became depressed and suffered a nervous breakdown allegedly caused by harassment by staff at the Specialist Schools Trust.
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10 October 2005Transexual Sentenced After Slashing Her Boyfriend’s Ex Lover’s Throat + A transsexual has been sentenced to four and half years in prison after she slashed the throat of her boyfriend's ex lover.
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10 October 2005Former Cabinet Minister May Have Gay Marriage + Chris Smith (pictured), the former Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, has revealed that he and his partner Dorian Jabri are seriously thinking of taking part in a civil partnership ceremony."I'm very pleased to see the civil partnership legislation on the statute book. Whether Dorian and I will decide to do so is something we talk about but about which we have not yet made any decisions. At the moment I couldn't predict. We might." Lord Smith told the London Evening Standard.
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10 October 2005‘Gay’ Pet Shop Celebrates 40th Birthday + When 'Gay Lyfe', a pet shop in Levenshulme was opened in 1965, the word gay had a different meaning for its founder and owner, George Ormond.
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10 October 2005Elijah Wood Doesn’t Mind Being Seen as Gay + The Lord of the Rings star, Elijah Wood yesterday told US chat show host, Conan O'Brien that he thinks the websites that prove that he's gay are very funny."There's one that's called elijahwoodisveryverygay, which is actually a personal favourite of mine, it's absolutely hilarious."
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10 October 2005Tory Spokesman Condemns Plans for Gay Army Couples 3 The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has confirmed gay couples that register a civil partnership will receive the same rights as straight married couples. These will include being able to live in rented accommodation at army bases, which is not open to unmarried couples.Aldershot's MP Gerald Howarth (pictured), who is also the Shadow Defence Minister in Michael Howard's Opposition Team, branded the decision a "truly undesirable move", claiming that it is immoral.
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10 October 2005UK Campaigners Attack Namibian Minister Over Gay Slurs + The human rights campaigner, Peter Tatchell of the UK's gay campaign group, Outrage has attacked a senior member of the Namibian government for homophobia.
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10 October 2005Mayor of London Compares Anti-Gay Muslim to the Pope 1 Yusuf al-Qaradawi, the Qatar-based imam who is banned from USA was praised by the Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone (pictured), as a leading Islamic scholar who should be treated in the same way as the late Pope, John XXIII who led the Catholic Church between 1958 and 1963.
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10 October 2005I’m the Only Gay in the Toy Shop: Little Britain Dolls Hit the Highstreet + Little Britain'sDafydd and Vicky Pollard will be joining the other characters of the hit TV show in toy shops this Christmas.The 12inch toys will speak phrases from the show including, "I'm the only gay in the village" and "these hot pants give me terrible chafing."
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10 October 2005UK Government Launches Gay Marriage Campaign + Meg Munn, the Equality Minister yesterday launched the government's publicity drive for the Civil Partnerships Act. The change in the law that allows gay couples to have similar rights to married straight couples comes into force in England and Wales on the 5th December, allowing the first ceremony to take place on the 21st December.
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10 October 2005Gay Chav Club Promises They’re Not Racist + The London club for chavs, Rude Boyz has apologised after their door staff excluded a number of East Asian men over the past few weeks. The apology follows protests from OutRage, the gay rights group led by Peter Tatchell.
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10 October 2005Channel Islands Look Towards Equalising Gay Age of Consent + Following similar moves by the government of the Isle of Man, the governments of the Channel Islands are considering equalising the age of consent for gay and straight sex.
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10 October 2005Gay Dads Risk Their Two Year Old Son Being Deported + Britain's first gay couple to have become surrogate fathers now face their third child being deported.
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10 October 2005New York’s Gay Penguins Split Up (and one turns straight) 3 One of New York's most famous gay couples has split up. Silo and Roy two male chinstrap penguins have been living together as husband and husband for the past six years.Since their relationship began, the pair have successfully hatched and raised an adopted chick, after they tried to incubate a rock.
