Activists to protest against Moscow's homophobic Mayor
Gay rights activists in Russia are planning to stage a protest against the Mayor of Moscow's opposition to LGBT Pride events when he visits Paris next month.
Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov, who banned two gay pride parades in 2006 and 2007 and seems likely to ban the third pride on 31 May this year, is going to be in Paris to take part in the M4 meeting (a summit of Paris, Berlin, London and Moscow Mayors) which will take place on 18-19 February in Paris City Hall.
Bryant reveals new teen pregnancy strategy
Gay Labour MP Chris Bryant today launched a new report with dramatic newly compiled figures on teenage pregnancies in every constituency in England and Wales.
Mr Bryant represents the south Wales working class constituency of the Rhondda, where there is a particularly striking rate of teen pregnancies.
The report takes the form of an interactive web site, www.teenagemums.org.uk.
Brazil to distribute millions of condoms to prevent AIDS spread
Brazilian health officials on Sunday began distributing millions of condoms to fight the spread of AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases during Brazil's five-day Carnival 2008.
The government expects to hand out 19.5 million condoms by the end of the Carnival on February 6, state news service Agencia Brasil reported, under the program first launched several years ago.
Church officials in Brazil, which is home to the world's largest Roman Catholic population, have opposed the condom programme.
Elton donates motorcycles for medical emergencies
British pop star Elton John has donated 120 motorcycles to the government of Lesotho so that doctors and nurses can use them to treat medical emergencies in the mountains.
John had travelled to Lesotho during a tour of southern Africa with his partner David Furnish and decided to give away the bikes.
The donation was a part of the Riders for Health Programme that John funds through his organisation Elton John AIDS Foundation.
Euro Court rules gay couples eligible to adopt
The European Court of Human Rights has ruled refusing gay couples the right to adopt a child because of their sexual orientation is discriminatory and in breach of the European Convention of Human Rights.
Today the Grand Chamber delivered its judgement on gay adoption in the case of E.B. v France.
Ms. E.B. is a lesbian nursery school teacher who has been living with another woman since 1990. She applied for approval as a possible adoptive parent in February 1998.
Gay Argentine leaders will fight to have marriage recognised
The leaders of the Comunidad Homosexual Argentina married in Madrid on Monday.
The two leaders of the leading gay rights organisation in Argentina have married in Madrid, under the law which allows same-sex couples to marry in Spain. Same-sex couples cannot get married in Argentina.
César Cigliutti and Marcelo Suntheim have a recognised civil union under legislation which was passed in the Argentine capital, Buenos Aires, in 2003, but are unable to marry in Argentina.
Same-sex couples as committed as straight ones
Same-sex couples are just as committed in their romantic relationships as heterosexual couples, a new report has revealed.
The finding disputes the stereotype that couples in same-sex relationships are not as committed as their heterosexual counterparts and therefore not as psychologically healthy.
The study examined whether committed same-sex couples differed from engaged and married opposite-sex couples in how well they interacted and how satisfied they were with their partners.
Nominate your LGBT community hero
Prime Minister Gordon Brown is calling on communities across the
country to identify the local heroes who they believe should be honoured by the nation.
In this year's New Year's Honours List, more than 4 in 5 of all the
OBEs and MBEs awarded went to people who have carried out valuable
charitable or voluntary work, either as a career or in their spare time.
The government wants local communities to help identify the unsung heroes who have made the best contributions so that they can be put forward for consideration.
Researchers contrite over gay MRSA story
Public affairs officials in San Francisco have apologised for the way in which a statement last Tuesday about gay men being more vulnerable to a new super-resistant strain of the MRSA superbug was handled.
Parts of the tabloid press dubbed it a "new HIV."
In a new statement on their website, the University of California at San Francisco's (UCSF) Department of Public Affairs states they "regret that our recent news report … contained some information that could be interpreted as misleading."
Gay rubgy team score for charity
Members of the world's first gay rugby club, the Kings Cross Steelers, are supporting an annual charity night to raise much needed funds for the Terrance Higgins Trust next month.
Renowned for their sporting prowess, the Steelers are swapping the pitch for the pub as they assist in "A Night of Music" on Thursday 7 February at the Kings Arms in Poland Street Soho, London,W1.
Live acts include Drag Idol winners Crystal d'Canter and Kelly Mild, indie performers PJ and Shaun Kelly, and acoustic duo In Camera.
GLAAD announces nominees for 19th Media Awards
The Gay Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) has announced the nominees and honourees for its 19th Annual GLAAD Media Awards.
Nominees this year include the films Across the Universe, The Jane Austen Book Club and Stardust, dramas Brothers Sisters and The L Word and comedies Desperate Housewives, Ugly Betty and The War at Home.
My Name is Earl and Law Order are nominated in the category for an individual episode (in a series without a regular LGBT character), while Project Runway is listed in the reality programme category.
Irish authority calls for trans equality review
Ireland's Equality Authority is seeking tenders for a report on extending equal status legislation to cover discrimination against trans people.
The Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform is reviewing the grounds covered by the Equal Status Acts, which outlaw discrimination on the grounds of gender, marital status, family status, age, disability, sexual orientation, race, religion and membership of the Traveller community.
Gay nursing home opens in Germany
Europe's first gay nursing home has opened in Berlin.
Berlin's gay mayor Klaus Wowereit is publicly supporting the ground-breaking project, which culminates years of planning and fund-raising.
The newly built, four-storey nursing facility in the Pankow district of the German capital can accommodate 28 patients in state-of-the-art rooms with private bathrooms and enough space for some of their own furnishings.
Gay Jesus play condemned by church
A controversial play that depicts Jesus being seduced by Judas and conducting a gay marriage for two apostles has been condemned by church leaders ahead of its opening in Sydney.
The Anglican Bishop of South Sydney, Robert Forsyth, expressed his outrage at the plot of Corpus Christi on Sunday, calling the play "historical nonsense."
"It is deliberately, not innocently, offensive and they're obviously having a laugh about it," he told the Sun-Herald newspaper.
Cuban law may recognise same-sex partners, say officials
The Cuban Communist Party is considering granting legal recognition to same-sex unions, as health officials prepare to authorise sex-change operations, the director of the Cenesex sex education centre in Cuba has said.
The proposed change to Cuban family law would put members of same-sex unions on a par with heterosexual couples, psychologist Mariela Castro, who is the daughter of acting President Raul Castro and niece of Fidel, told EFE.
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