African lesbian conference demands equal rights
Lesbians from across Africa have held a conference in Mozambique to highlight the homophobia and prejudice they face across the continent.
Most nations in Africa criminalise same-sex relationships and in some countries gay people can be put to death.
The Coalition of African Lesbians conference was attended by more than 100 delegates.
Homophobia accusations over rejected sauna bid
Blackpool City Council has been accused of prejudice after rejecting an application to open a gay sauna.
The chair of the development control committee said it would have a detrimental effect on the area, create extra traffic and be "out of character with the area," according to Blackpool Today.
Leader of the council, Councillor Peter Callow, said: "When you have got a sauna that is male only and planning to stay open until midnight it does not leave much to the imagination."
Teen's murder outrages trans groups in Florida
Simmie Williams Jr, 17, was gunned down last weekend on a street corner in Broward County, Florida.
Williams was wearing a dress when he was attacked and is believed to have been gay or transgender.
Police are investigating the murder as a possible hate crime based on the words witnesses say were exchanged before the shooting.
Straight-friendly destinations - the new trend in gay travel
Travel experts at the Gay Lesbian Travel Pavilion at the world's largest tourism fair have said the a new niche market for heterosexuals has emerged.
"Apart from gay and lesbian cruises, we have noticed a clear rise in hotels and resorts that are not only gay-friendly but targeted mainly towards gay men.
"Straight people are, in most cases, allowed to stay, too. The magic word is straight-friendly," said Robert Kastl, Managing Director of Publicom GmbH, the organisers of the Pavilion.
McCain apologises over "Barack Hussein Obama" comments
Republican Presidential candidate John McCain found himself forced to apologise after radio talk show host Bill Cunningham used his campaign rally as a platform for a ranting attack against Barack Obama.
At a McCain gathering in Ohio on Tuesday, Cunningham degraded Obama and called him several times by his middle name, Hussein, in a reference to former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.
Cunningham hosts several radio talk show programs sydicated on over 300 stations.
Condoleezza challenged over discrimination against gay staff
The only out lesbian in the US Congress has challenged the country's Secretary of State about unequal treatment of lesbian and gay staff in her department.
In December a former US ambassador left his post at the State Department after criticising Condoleezza Rice's treatment of gay people.
Michael E Guest retired after more than 26 years as a form of protest against regulations that he considered as unfair to same-sex partners of foreign service officers.
Welsh police force flies Pride flag
A second UK police force has marked LGBT History Month by flying the gay Pride flag at its headquarters.
South Wales Police were named the most gay-friendly employer in Wales by gay equality organisation Stonewall earlier this year.
The police force came 17th in the list of 100 top British businesses for gay people to work in. The Pride Flag is flying at police headquarters in Bridgend.
Police appeal in toilet murder investigation
Detectives investigating the murder of a gay man in a public toilet last week are appealing for anyone who was in the area that afternoon to come forward.
Last Tuesday 50-year-old Peter Jeffrey Akers, known as Jeff, was found in the gent's toilet near Walton Bridge in Walton-on-Thames.
He had been stabbed. Despite being rushed to hospital by air ambulance he died of his injuries later that afternoon.
Twin porn performers arrested after robbery spree
Twin brothers, 26-year-old Taleon and Keyontyli Goffney, were arrested last week after burgling a Rite Aid pharmacy in Philadelphia.
The brothers, whom gossip blogger Perez Hilton outed on his site as gay porn actors, are suspected in a spree of at least 35 other robberies over three states.
The twins have appeared in videos on sites such as Blackmen.net and EbonyD.com.
Obama endorsed by former Presidential rival
Illinois Senator Barack Obama received the endorsement of former Presidential candidate Chris Dodd yesterday.
The Connecticut Senator said at a press conference in Cleveland that he is "deeply proud to be the first 2008 Democratic Presidential candidate to endorse Barack Obama."
In endorsing Obama, Dodd urged Democrats to "come together, to get behind this candidacy."
War of words over photos of Obama in traditional dress
When visiting his father's homeland of Kenya two years ago, Presidential candidate Barack Obama wore a traditional white turban and a wraparound white robe presented to him by elders.
In the febrile atmosphere of the 2008 primaries, that picture has been released, allegedly by staffers for his rival for the Democratic nomination for President, Senator Hillary Clinton.
The public scrapping between the only female and the only black candidate in the race for the White House has reached a new low.
Thank you to gay partner edited out of Oscars transcript
Scott Rubin thanked several people on Sunday when he collected an Oscar for Best Picture for No Country For Old Men, which he produced.
The 49-year-old, after name-checking the film's directors Joel and Ethan Coen and producer Sydney Pollack, paid tribute to "my partner, John Barlow. Without you, honey, this is just hardware."
Theatre publicist Barlow was at the ceremony, but was not honoured with a close-up when his name was mentioned, as is common practice when heterosexual spouses are similarly praised.
Petition calls for repeal of repressive gay sex law
A human rights movement has called on the Moroccan government to repeal a law that demands prison terms for consensual homosexual acts.
The petition, launched by Human Rights Watch and the Moroccan Human Rights Association, also asks for the release of six men currently imprisoned under this article of the penal code, and demands that the government protect the rights to privacy and a fair trial.
Police arrested the six men in November 2007, after a video was circulated on the internet.
Pride petrol bomber jailed for attempted attack
A 25-year-old man has been sentenced to 14 months in jail after being found guilty of a hate crime by a court in Croatia.
Yesterday Josip Situm was convicted of endangering lives and property and ordered to undergo psychiatric treatment while behind bars.
Police spotted him at the Pride event in the Croatian capital Zagreb on 7th July 2007 with petrol bombs, but he fled the scene. He was later arrested.
Gay Iranian due for deportation today
A gay teenager from Iran who fled the UK for the Netherlands last year after his appeal for asylum was refused is expected to be returned to the UK today by Dutch authorities.
London Liberal Democrat MEP Baroness Sarah Ludford has written to the Home Secretary to request her to urgently review the case of Medhi Kazemi, who faces possible execution by stoning if he returns to Iran.
At the end of last year a court in the Netherlands ruled Medhi must be returned back to the UK.
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