According to New Jersey law, same-sex couples in civil unions have equal entitlement to employment benefits, yet UPS makes a difference between married couples and those in civil-unions in terms of health insurance.

This means the company is defying a court ruling which required equality regardless of sexual orientation.

UPS also stated that it was not acting out of homophobic sentiments but according to New Jersey law, where the non-discrimination legislation was only valid for those employees not organised in a union.

The double standard of the company has become public because the partner of Gabriael Brazier, president of the employer’s union, was not judged to qualify for the employees health plan by the company because the same-sex couple have a civil union and not a marriage.

UPS told PinkNews.co.uk:

“As a matter of corporate policy, UPS currently offers same sex benefits to all US non-union employees — management as well as administrative workers.

“This includes all such employees in New Jersey, even though the state has failed to recognise gay partners as married spouses.

“Beyond health care, UPS also offers benefits such as medical leave, pension rights, funeral leave, relocation and transfer benefits.

“We recently persuaded UPS pilots to same-sex benefits as part of that new union contract. UPS doesn’t legally have the right to give same-sex benefits to package car drivers like Ms. Brazier because she is part of the Teamsters union and any changes to benefits have to be done as part of the collective bargain process.

“The contact expires in 2008. We are currently in negotiations for the new contract and we have already brought up this issue to the Teamsters for consideration.

“The situation regarding Ms. Brazier and her partner is just as disappointing to UPS as it is to them.”

Gay rights groups regard this case as an example for how civil unions cement discrimination against gays.

A spokesperson of New Jersey’s GLBT rights organisation Garden State Equality told Queer.de that they have had 170 complaints about similar discrimination.

At the same time improvements of LGBT rights are in sight.

There is a change in attitude towards LGBT people in the Caribbean dictatorship under Fidel’s brother Raul Castro, who holds the position of interim head of state.

To a great extent, this change in policy has been pressed for by Mariela Castro, the daughter of Raul Castro.

In charge of the government’s National Centre for Sex Education, Ms Castro has been recognised as a supporter of LGBT issues.

Following Fidel Castro’s coup d’etat in 1959 and the Cuban revolution, LGBT people were persecuted and imprisoned.

Now the Communist Party is set to bring forward a law which would legalise same-sex unions, grant adoption rights to same-sex couples and give lesbians access to reproduction services.

Changes are also being made to accommodate trans people’s need in terms of name and identity changes but also hormone treatment and surgery.

“It’s an important precedent for recognising all differences, including ideological differences and differences of opinion,” Manuel Cuesta Morúa, a spokesman for a coalition of social-democrat groups, told IPS/GIN.

A document made public by a dissident rights group, the Cuban Commission for Human Rights and National Reconciliation, on Thursday, discredits the situation regarding “civil, political, economic and certain cultural rights” as still “unfavourable.”

In their paper the group stresses that although there are now less political prisoners than there were at the end of last year, 200 people imprisoned for their political beliefs is still intolerable.

They claim that the downward trend also deceives that fact that alternative sentences to imprisonment have been introduced.

The legitimacy of the group’s findings is being contested by the Cuban government.

The authorities regard the Cuban Commission for Human Rights and National Reconciliation as another US-sponsored attempt to cast a bad light on Cuba.

The Foreign Minister of Cuba refers to progress in the sectors of health care, employment and education as examples for the improvement of living situation of the population.

The chairman of the Homosexual Initiative (HOSI), Christian Högl, and general-secretary Kurt Krickler, had been accused of libel by a Member of Parliament from the Christian-Conservative Party, Walter Tancsits.

The accused had lost a previous trial and were ordered to reimburse the MP an April court ruling.

What appeared to be a free speech issue to the activists was viewed by the politician as libel.

In 2005 Kurt Krickler accused the MP of upholding Nazi ideology.

A HOSI press release criticised the Christian-Conservative Party’s refusal to include homosexuals in a law on the reimbursement of Nazi-regime.

“It is a shame for our country that even today brown Nazi apologists like Mr Tancsits are allowed to be a member of parliament,” Mr Krickler said in a 2005 press release.

It seems as if the court’s delay in dealing with the case has influenced the outcome.

The court yesterday explicitly referred recent judgement of the European Court of Human Rights.

This explains why the activists have been acquitted by the same court that had found them guilty two years before.

The libel case might also be taken up by the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg itself as Mr Tancsits announced that he is going to appeal yesterday’s court ruling.

Twins Jaroslaw and Lech Kaczynski, the Prime Minister and President respectively, run one of the largest countries in the EU with a population of 38 million people.

Yesterday Prime Minister Kaczynski fired his coalition partner, deputy and head of the main coalition party, Andrzej Lepper, for suspected involvement in corruption.

His decision leaves the coalition short of a majority in parliament.

He still has the support of the outspokenly anti-gay Polish League of Families, who want Section 28-like laws introduced to stop “homosexual propaganda” being taught in schools.

“September will be a month of decision-making,” Prime Minister Kaczynski told Polish public radio.

While Mr Lepper announced the end of the coalition, his party, called Samoobrona (Self-Defence), is still contemplating whether to take up Mr Kaczynski’s offer to stay part of the coalition.

If the party decides to leave the Kaczynski government, new elections would be almost unavoidable as the only way to solve the governmental crisis.

The election would probably take place in October, the conservative paper Dziennik announced.

Depending on the voters’ decision, they could either restore a majority to Mr Kaczynski or evict him from power.

The Prime Minister rejected a demand by the democratic left alliance (SLD) to immediately dissolve parliament, saying the elections would fall at a time when many Polish people are on holidays.

The current Polish government has been criticised by many other European leaders.

Last year the European Parliament adopted a resolution which stated its concerns about the increase in homophobic violence in the EU and made specific reference to Poland.

30 presenters and 16 workshops will cover issues on health inequalities experienced by lesbian, gay, bi and trans people.

One aim of the summit is to provide information and training on LGBT health issues such as disability, crime, mental health, the impact of stereotypes and identity, ageing and drugs.

But equally important will be the networking opportunities for healthcare professionals.

The organisers stress that they want to encourage active participation of attendees and wish to facilitate exchange of and dialogue about good practise examples and experiences.

The audience of last year’s inauguration conference, held in London, consisted mainly of healthcare professionals and representatives of the voluntary and community sector, but everybody interested is welcome to attend this free conference.

Part of this year’s programme will also be an awards ceremony to honour individuals and organisations who have made significant contributions to reducing discrimination and health inequalities.

“It’s about empowering choice,” the organisers told PinkNews.co.uk.

“It’s about creating a voice and advocacy at local, regional and national level, it’s about having the knowledge to make decisions and form strategies which will make a difference for individuals and for communities, and it’s about working with the system and against the system to exert influence with and without power.”

The event is sponsored and supported by the Department of Health, Manchester City Council, Terrence Higgins Trust, Lesbian and Gay Foundation, Press for Change and Health First.

The 2007 Summit is being hosted in Manchester between the Pride Games and Manchester Pride allowing those delegates who can to spend a week enjoying one of the largest festivals of LGBT community in the UK.

For further information on registration please go to click here.

In June 2006, the then 17-year old beat a 39-year old trans-woman, according to his attorney out of self-defence.

The woman claims that the teen was sexually aggressive towards her, although she had told him that she was not a biological woman.

The victim claims that the violence, whereby the teenager smashed her head against a lifeguard stand, resulted from her rejecting the youngster’s sexual advances and not because she was a trans-woman.

She denies that they were involved in any sexual activity.

The main witness, a friend of the teenager’s who was at the scene, is not talking, the attorney says.

According to the law in Florida a crime is classified as a hate-crime only when perpetrator intentionally selects a victim on the basis of characteristics like race, religion or ethnicity or sexual orientation.

Gender identity currently does not fall under federal or Florida law as a motive for hate-crime.

The culprit’s attorney told the Miami Herald.com that the incident does not meet the definition of a hate-crime because his client did not “intentionally select” the victim.

The victim, who has lived for over a decade as a woman, says she wants the teen to face consequences for the beating but does not want to see him charged as an adult.

“I guess I’m a little more compassionate. … I didn’t want to destroy his life,” with a felony charge in adult court, she told the Miami Herald.com .

The teenager, who had been under house arrest since the incident last year, will return to court next month for his sentence hearing.

Michael Glatze founded the Young Gay America magazine and received awards such as the National Role Model Award from leading homosexual rights organisation Equality Forum.

He also produced a well-received documentary film on suicides of gay teenagers in the US.

In 2005, Mr. Glatze was invited to speak at the Harvard School of Government alongside Judy Shepard, mother of murdered gay teen Matthew Shepard.

Today Mr Glatze used the WorldNetDaily website to announce that he is no longer gay.

“Homosexuality came easy to me, because I was already weak” is the first sentence of his announcement.

He speaks about the early death of his parents and presents that as an explanation for why he might have been confused and turned to men.

“It took me almost 16 years to discover that homosexuality itself is not exactly “virtuous.”

Mr Glatze writes.

“It was difficult for me to clarify my feelings on the issue, given that my life was so caught up in it.”

Mr. Glatze, who came out at the age of 20, claims that he now trusts in Jesus Christ and that it was God who gave him the strength to free himself of his homosexual desires.

He blames the media for the downfall of culture and the disorientation of youth.

The book The Marketing of Evil was allegedly one of the triggers which inspired Mr Glatze to make public his return to being “normal.”

In this book, the author, David Kupelian, makes anti-discrimination policies and an increase in visibility of gays and lesbians seem like a conspiracy orchestrated by academics and the media to corrupt youth and distort culture.

“Homosexuality took almost 16 years of my life and compromised them with one lie or another, perpetuated through national media targeted at children,” Mr. Glatze claims.

“In European countries, homosexuality is considered so normal that grade-school children are being provided “gay” children’s books as required reading in public schools.”

Mr. Glatze compliments Poland for “bravely attempting to stop the European Union from indoctrinating its children with homosexual propaganda.”

“I was repulsive for quite some time; I am still dealing with all of my guilt,” Glatze confesses.

Then you are familiar with the bathroom issue many people who do not match certain stereotypical gender norms have to deal with.

The reaction of a bouncer in New York City, who evicted a woman from the bathroom of a Mexican restaurant in Greenwich Village, still seems outrageous.

“I felt violated … to say the least,” Khadijah Farmer, 27, told the Daily News.

“I really thought that especially in New York City, especially in the heart of the Village, things like this had stopped happening.”

Ms Farmer had attended the city’s gay Pride march last month and went for dinner with some friends at the restaurant.

She identifies as a woman but is occasionally taken for a man because of her short hair and style of clothing.

When accused of being in the wrong bathroom, she offered the bouncer her driver’s licence to prove that she was where she was supposed to be.

The bouncer dismissed the evidence and asked Khadijah and her friends to leave immediately.

Greenwich Village in Manhattan, also simply known as ‘The Village,’ is generally known as a gay-friendly neighbourhood.

It is also the birthplace of the gay rights movement which started in 1969 with the Stonewall Riots on Christopher Street.

Ms Farmer is not willing to just forget about the humiliation.

Her case has been taken up by the Transgender Legal Defence Education Fund (TLDEF), a not-for-profit organisation who fights any discrimination on the grounds of gender identity and expression.

In 2005 the TLDEF achieved a change in the New York City Human Rights Law which now technically guarantees transgender people the right to use restrooms consistent with their gender identity and expression free from harassment, intimidation or violence.

Among those honoured was a German member of the European Parliament, Lissy Gröner.

The Social Democrat is a vocal advocate for gay, lesbian and female rights and was first elected into the EU Parliament in 1989.

She is the only female MEP to have had a same-sex civil partnership.

“This award is a fantastic recognition of the European efforts to fight discrimination” said Gröner.

“Today we gave a vital example of a tolerant and cosmopolitan society.

“For lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender persons to live at all times without discrimination, everyone in policy and in companies has to act.

“No one should be a victim of discrimination in the workplace, in their free time or in their every day live because of their sexual orientation, says the treaty of Europe.”

Ms Gröner has been very critical of the Polish government for initiating a law against homosexuals, arguing instead that Europe stands for “equality, tolerance, respect and diversity.”

The MEP, also a member of the Parliament’s Gay and Lesbian Rights Intergroup, stressed that German legislation is lagging behind.

“The equal treatment of civil unions and marriages is not implemented in tax law, heritage law, civil service law and adoption law,” she said.

He claims that he wants to end discrimination of gay and lesbian couples, but he is not in favour of gay marriage.

Despite the fact that he has not fully endorsed LGBT demands of equal rights, a group of 25 prominent community leaders supports his candidature.

Among them are Pam Cooke, a board member of National Stonewall Democrats, and Gregory G. Simoncini, Commissioner of Illinois Human Rights Commission.

On Tuesday the former Senator from North Carolina visited the Gay and Lesbian Centre in Los Angeles in order to “increase his understanding of the diverse needs of the LGBT community,” his campaign said.

While Edward’s position is more moderate than his wife’s, he still makes an effort to liase with the community while at the same time tries not to be too outspoken and repel more conservative voters.

In a TV show he recently admitted:

“A lot of people I love and care about feel the same way Elizabeth does.”

Edwards was also in the news for having been called a “faggot” himself by right wing commentator Ann Coulter at the 4th annual meeting of the Conservative Political Action Conference in March this year.

The results of this year’s CNN opinion polls on Homosexuality and Gay Rights were published today. And what seems to promise a ‘rosy future’ for US-American attitude towards gays and lesbians, has to be considered with caution.

One has to bear in mind that the positive results of the polls are based on a sample of just over 500 respondents, and that the CNN client group consists of people interested in the news and politics to start with – i.e. the poll is not representative of the opinion of the average US citizen.

At the same time, the polls offer some interesting figures, especially when considered in comparison to earlier surveys, and could indicate a change in attitude.

For the first time, a majority of respondents believe that homosexuals cannot change their sexual orientation even if they wanted to.

In 1998 only 36% held that belief.

This trend can regarded as positive because it probably means that less people think gay men and women should be “corrected” or “cured” in order to make them “normal.”

What the trend does not suggest is a greater acceptance of homosexuality.

Regarding the acceptance of gays and lesbians, the answers to questions on the rights that should be granted to homosexuals are more telling.

A very positive message seems to be the fact that 79% are in favour of openly gay or lesbians being admitted to the military, which at present still has a `don’t ask, don’t tell` policy.

Less than half the people interviewed – 42% – support the idea of gay-marriage or civil-unions while an interestingly great number of people – 57% – believe that gays and lesbians should have the right to adopt children.

Unfortunately CNN does not suggest any reasons for why people would support adoption rights but not the right to equal rights on partnership issues.

Whatever the reasons, let’s hope the trend continues in the direction it does at the moment and let’s hope it will have a trickle down effect on the opinions of all US-citizens who do are not CNN consumers.

Galop’s award comes at a time when homophobic hate crimes are widely under-reported due to fear, humiliation or lack of information on the importance of reporting.

A lack of confidence in police and statutory services is also a factor.

According to a survey by the National Advisory Group, 70% of LGBT people are fearful of reporting incidents to the police.

Galop is one of the organisations who work closely with the authorities on these issues and try to make people report in order to make homophobic hate crime more visible in the statistics.

The group relies on donations and volunteers and the grant of £35,122 from the Ministry of Justice will help secure their work.

“Galop is absolutely delighted to have received this funding from the Victims Fund,” Debbie Gold, chief executive of Galop, told PinkNews.co.uk

“The funding will allow us to continue our vital work supporting LGBT people in London who have been victims of sexual abuse, either now, or in the past.

“LGBT people who have experienced sexual abuse often feel unable to approach the police, or tell anyone about their experiences.

“Now, they contact us and tell us about their experience. We can pass on the report to the police, anonymously if the person prefers.

“We can also provide support throughout the criminal justice system, and link people in with support services.”

Galop’s direct services to victims include online help, a phone help-line – Galop took over 200 calls between April 2005 and March 2006 – and a service where incidents can be reported anonymously on their website.

While providing direct help and support, Galop also works as a consultant for the Metropolitan Police and the London Boroughs of Southwark and Greenwich, as well as the Home Office.

They conduct research and organise events such as film screenings to raise public awareness of homophobic hate crimes.

Galop was founded the 1980s, as a group of volunteer lawyers who assisted gay and lesbians in legal matters and investigated the ill-treatment of gays and lesbians by the police.

In the past years, Galop has worked closely with the police and were asked to sit on the Metropolitan Police’s community Gold Group after the murder of Jody Debrowski.

The number of calls to their help-line has increased and they have assisted with more reports.

What at first looks like an increase in demand actually seems to be the effect of making Galop’s services more widely known and of LGBT people’s faith in their services.