Articles by Joe Roberts

Pages:12 3 Next →

4 January 2008
Spanish PM slams Church over “family” rally comments 40 The Prime Minister of Spain has responded to Roman Catholic leaders after they criticised government policy supporting gay marriage and abortion.José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero spoke out during a speech in the Huelva town of Almonte yesterday following comments made last Sunday in Madrid at a Catholic Church rally led by Cardinals and Bishops.Clearly angry, Mr Zapatero defended his government's policies, saying they were supported by the "immense majority" of the Spanish population and that everyone had rights in Spain, whether they belonged to a religion or not.
4 January 2008
Xena stars top lesbian lust list 3 Lucy Lawless, the actress who played Xena: Warrior Princess, has topped the LesbiaNation Top Ten Women We Love of 2007.The popular lesbian website lists "beautiful and talented women of all persuasions, artists, musicians, athletes, filmmakers, movie stars and television celebrities," but all of the top ten as voted for by their readers are TV stars.In second place was Renee O'Connor, last year's winner, who also starred in Xena as Gabrielle.
4 January 2008
New ‘divorce’ rights for Australian gay couples + Gay and de facto couples in Australia who break up are set to win the same property rights as married couples.Unmarried couples will be able to settle their differences in Family Court thanks to Victorian Attorney-General Rob Hulls, who won Commonwealth and state backing for the federal law to be changed.Previously these couples were obliged to split their assets in state courts, which were more costly, more complicated and took longer than the Family Court.
4 January 2008
Why women and gay men could drive you round the bend 4 Gay men and women are most likely to get lost driving on unknown roads, according to a new study.Psychologists at Queen Mary, University of London, announced their findings after computer-based tests on 140 volunteers showed gay men and women performed worse than heterosexual men in tasks involving navigation and spatial awareness.Dr Qazi Rahman, who led the team of researchers, believed it showed women relied on local landmarks to navigate, and are slower to take in spatial information.
21 December 2007
Review: St Trinians impresses and amuses 1 With an all-star cast, the latest St Trinian's film brings the unruly schoolgirls kicking and screaming into the twenty-first century.Facing closure from the bank, and under pressure from the government for her unorthodox teaching methods, headmistress Camilla Fritton (played with great relish by Rupert Everett), rallies her girls round.Pitting their wits against former-flame, Education Minister Geoffrey Thwaites (Colin Firth), she joins her pupils in a plot to steal famous painting, Girl with a Pearl Earring.
21 December 2007
Jersey consults on gay marriage 3 The States of Jersey has set-up an advisory board to receive comments on four government proposals for new legislation which could introduce gay marriage to the island by the end of next year.The four options put forward for further discussion are the right for same-sex couples to marry, same-sex civil partnerships as in the UK, civil partnership for both heterosexual and same-sex couples, or no change to the current law.The closing date for comments is 31st March 2008.
21 December 2007
Spanish embassy unaware of civil partnerships agreement 170 The Spanish Embassy in London was unaware UK civil partners should now receive the same benefit as married couples in Spain, despite advice from the British government that Spanish authorities should be contacted for guidance on the matter.When contacted by PinkNews.co.uk today Fernando Villalba, the Spanish Embassy press councillor, said: "This is the first time I have heard about that. I haven't seen it in the news."He said he had no advice for same-sex civil partners wishing to claim marriage benefits.
14 December 2007
Castro’s girl seeks legal protection for Cuban LGBT 1 A Cuban sexologist has shocked her communist country by suggesting that gays, lesbians, transsexuals, transvestites and transgender people should be granted legal protection under forthcoming reforms.Mariela Castro, director of the National Centre for Sex Education (CENESEX), is calling for new measures including non-discrimination on the grounds of sexuality or gender identity.She also advocates the introduction of same-sex unions and adoption rights, and major reforms relating to health care and treatment of trans people.
14 December 2007
Help young homeless gays this Christmas 5 Iconic out gay actor Sir Ian McKellen has teamed up with the Albert Kennedy Trust to offer a very special gift this Christmas.For its 'Safe and Sound' appeal, the Trust, who support homeless gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people, is offering supporters the opportunity to buy a gift voucher priced £18.Just £18 provides a safe shelter for an LGBT young person for one night. The vouchers are presented inside Christmas cards specially designed by Sir Ian.
10 December 2007
Jeremy Joseph tight-lipped about rumoured G-A-Y move 1 Speculation has been building about a forthcoming takeover of London nightclub, Heaven, by G-A-Y, the clubbing brand owned by promoter Jeremy Joseph.The news follows reports that G-A-Y will be soon be forced from current home, London's Astoria on Charing Cross Road, so it can be demolished as part of plans for a new Crossrail station, which have recently been given the go-ahead.Mr Joseph refused to comment directly for legal reasons but told PinkNews.co.uk: "I'm always looking for venues."
$While Mardi Gras receives some support, it is only a fraction of what the event generates for the economy. photo: LZAC@flickr.com$
7 December 2007
Sydney could drop Mardi Gras parade + Organisers of Sydney's Mardi Gras are considering changing their annual celebration, worth $46 million (£19.8m) to the Australian economy, because of lack of support from the government and community.Marcus Bourget, chief organiser, revealed the possibility yesterday while speaking at the launch of Mardi Gras 2008. This year marks the 30th anniversary of the event and is based on the theme, Brave New Worlds.
4 December 2007
Interview: Irish gay rights group takes on partnerships + Ireland has come a long way since decriminalising homosexuality in 1993.Last week the Republic of Ireland's Minister of State for Equality, Sean Power, reiterated that legislation allowing same-sex civil partnerships will be introduced next year.While ruling out gay marriage as unconstitutional, he did confirm that gay and straight co-habiting couples would get many spousal rights through the Civil Partnership Registration Scheme.
30 November 2007
Ireland to legislate for gay partnerships next year 13 Ireland's Minister of State for Equality, Sean Power, said this morning that legislation allowing same-sex civil partnerships could be introduced by early next summer.He was speaking at the National Lesbian and Gay Federation's (NLGF) symposium on Full And Equal Rights: Lesbian And Gay Marriage And Partnership Rights In Ireland. The symposium is part of the European Year of Equal Opportunities for All 2007Mr Power added that the government was keen to pass the new laws as soon as possible.
30 November 2007
US Queer as Folk tops list of gay TV characters 2 A poll by gay entertainment website, AfterElton.com has revealed the top 25 most popular gay and bisexual television characters.In first place was Brian Kinney, controversial lead character in the America series of Queer as Folk.A lovable rogue, Brian indulged in drug-taking and promiscuous sex yet still found time to father a child with a lesbian friend and bring down a homophobic politician.
16 November 2007
Nicaragua to decriminalise gay sex 2 Consensual gay sex will no longer be a criminal offence in Nicaragua under a new penal code due to come into effect on March 2008.The surprise news was announced earlier this week by the Nicaraguan National Assembly, reports La Prensa.Under old legislation passed in 1992, "anyone who induces, promotes, propagandises or practices sexual intercourse between persons of the same sex commits the crime of sodomy and shall incur one to three years' imprisonment."
16 November 2007
New York leader wants gay marriage within two years 1 The Governor of New York has said that he wants a Democrat controlled state Senate to legalise gay marriage as one of it's priorities in 2009.Eliot Spitzer made his remarks on Wednesday at a fund-raising event for the Senate Democratic Committee in Greenwich village, where guests had paid up to $10,000 to attend.A witness told The New York Post that Governor Spitzer said:"One of the first things we're going to do when [Senate Minority Leader] Malcolm Smith is [majority] leader is gay marriage."
16 November 2007
Ocean’s Eleven star sorry for faggot comment 1 Scott Caan has apologised for calling a photographer a "faggot."The 31-year-old son of Hollywood legend James Caan, who starred in all three of the Ocean's movies alongside George Clooney and Brad Pitt, also offered $10,000 (£4,890) to fight the reporter who had taken pictures of him eating a cheeseburger.He told website TMZ.com, who hosted footage of the incident: "I am sorry for using such a derogatory word."
16 November 2007
Tribunal told of lesbian encounter in Army stables 2 A young soldier told a tribunal yesterday how he saw two lesbian colleagues sharing a passionate kiss, one with her hand down the others trousers.Gunner Ashley Yeats said he felt 'embarrassed' after catching Lance Bombardier Kerry Fletcher, 31, and Corporal Louise Ashman, 29, in the army stables of 40 Regiment Royal Artillery in Topcliffe, North Yorkshire, where they were all working in early spring 2005.
26 October 2007
Horror guru calls for gay lead characters in computer games 1 Author, artist and computer game designer Clive Barker has attracted anti-gay remarks after saying he would like to see a game with a central gay character.Mr Barker made the remarks to Gamepro.com on Tuesday while being interviewed about the design and release of his new game, Jericho, on the Xbox 360.Asked about the role of gender in games, he said: "One day I want to be part of a team that creates a game with a gay man or woman in the lead role where they are casually sexual."
26 October 2007
Vietnamese high school pupils accepting of homosexuality 2 A survey of school children in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam's capital, has revealed that a quarter of them believe at least 10% of their class mates are gay.HCMC University of Pedagogy conducted the poll of 300 pupils at three junior high and high schools and discovered that 80% of pupils said "no" when asked "is homosexuality bad?"Experts believe that while the actual number of gay pupils is difficult to determine, open homosexuality in schools appears to be on the rise, despite still carrying social stigma amongst the adult population.

Pages:12 3 Next →

Top stories

On Facebook

Featured

Pink News on Twitter Follow @PinkNews

Download our free app for iPhone + iPad