Charles Allen becomes commercial radio king
Charles Allen, the openly gay former chief executive of ITV, looks set to become one of the most powerful figures in the world's radio sector.
Mr Allen, chairman of the private equity-backed Global Radio, has agreed to purchase GCap, the owner of Classic FM, Capital Radio and XFM for £375 million.
Just months ago, his company purchased Chrysalis Radio, the owners of Heart and talk radio station LBC 97.3.
Elections could bring hope for gay Zimbabweans
This weekend's elections in Zimbabwe bring the prospect of an end to the 28-year rule of one of the world's most homophobic heads of state.
Robert Mugabe, now 84, has terrorised many groups in his country, not least gays and lesbians.
He has previously described gay people as worse than "dogs and pigs", has warned against the dangers of homosexuality and threatened pro-gay clergy with prison sentences. For two people of the same sex to hold hands is against the law.
Lords gay rights foe dies
A member of the House of Lords who used his Roman Catholic faith to frustrate his own party's gay rights legislation has died.
Lord Stallard of St Pancras was 86. He was known throughout his career as Jock, a reference to his upbringing in Lanarkshire, Scotland.
A left-wing presence on the Labour benches, he was first elected to represent St Pancras North at the 1970 general election.
Ukrainian gay paper faces criminal charges
Kiev's public prosecutor is targeting a well-regarded gay newspaper under laws banning the distribution of pornography, while newspaper kiosks across the city openly sell explicit erotic heterosexual magazines.
Since 2003 Nash Mir, the oldest Ukrainian LGBT human rights organisation, has published Gay.Ua newspaper.
"The newspaper is registered as an "information, for leisure, and erotic" edition,"" Nash Mir said in a statement.
Support for gay marriage increases in Ireland
As Irish gay rights advocates await the government's proposals on legal recognition of same-sex partners, a new opinion poll has found that the vast majority of their countrymen and women are in favour.
MarriagEquality, a group formed to push for full civil marriage, has released the details of a poll it commissioned which shows the number of Irish people who support partnerships only has fallen from 33% to 26%.
Overall 84% of those polled support either gay marriage or civil partnerships.
Cameron backs Boris at launch of London campaign
Conservative leader David Cameron has publicly backed the party's candidate for Mayor of London as officially launched his campaign this morning.
He said Boris Johnson would be a "brilliant" mayor, claimed that "London's real problem is a lack of leadership" and said incumbent Mayor and Labour candidate Ken Livingstone had lost touch with the voters.
Londoners go to the polls on May 1st to elect a Mayor and the 25-member London Assembly.
Tenth anniversary of gay murder spurs new campaign
Erasing hate from schools, workplaces, and communities is the goal of a new campaign launched in America this week by the Matthew Shepard Foundation.
The foundation was created by Dennis and Judy Shepard in memory of their 21-year old son Matthew, who was murdered in an anti-gay hate crime in Wyoming in October 1998.
Matthew's murder was a watershed moment in the perceptions of LGBT people in America.
Gay couple excite press interest during visit to Poland
A New York couple who spoke out after footage of their wedding was used in a TV address by the President of Poland attacking gay rights are on a three-day visit to the country.
Brendan Fay and Tom Moulton met with gay rights leaders on the first day of their trip to the country, which was sponsored by TVN television.
President Lech Kaczynski's speech to the nation last week used heavy-handed tactics to warn of the dangers of the Lisbon treaty.
Gay Iranian spared deportation from Greece
Gay rights activists in Greece are celebrating after their government has decided not to deport a 40-year-old man back to Iran.
The Greek Homosexual Community (GHC-EOK), which led a campaign on his behalf, said today:
"We are happy to announce that the gay Iranian refugee, known as 'Alex,' was finally granted asylum following the reconsideration of his case.
No complaints over Bounty Killer concert says Met
The Metropolitan police have responded to criticism that it let a homoophobic singer perform in London.
In a statement to PinkNews.co.uk, a spokeswoman said that meetings have been held between police, the venue's management and lesbian and gay groups to discuss this issue.
"It has been agreed that the artist would not perform songs that contain what could be considered to be homophobic lyrics," she said.
Northern Ireland gay rights group welcome bill of rights
The Coalition on Sexual Orientation (CoSO) has welcomed the handover of the final Recommendations of the Bill of Rights Forum to the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission.
The group said that the Yogyakarta Principles were used to inform the drafing of the bill.
The principles were adopted by a meeting of experts in international law in Yogyakarta, Indonesia in 2006.
Coronation Street adds gay character as Emmerdale axes two
Coronation Street is to become the latest British soap opera to add a gay character, following EastEnders which is about to air a bisexual storyline. But fellow ITV drama Emmerdale will lose two gay characters.
The popular ITV drama will soon feature Michael Byrne playing Ted Paige, the long lost gay father to long suffering character Gail Platt.
Met Police criticised for allowing gay hate concert
The Metropolitan Police have allowed a concert by artist Bounty Killer to go ahead, despite his lyrics inciting homophobic hatred and violence.
The Jamaican reggae and dancehall DJ, born Rodney Basil Price, has already had two concerts cancelled in Bradford and Birmingham following protests by the gay human rights group Outrage!
The Met have previously stated that artists would not be allowed to perform unless they sign the Reggae Compassionate Act (RCA).
Politicians and church leaders back gay marriage in Iowa
The fight for gay equality continues in the heart of rural America this week, as the Iowa Supreme Court considers a lawsuit brought by six same-sex couples denied marriage licences in the state.
Senior attorneys from Lambda Legal, joined by former Iowa solicitor general Dennis Johnson, will argue that denying marriage to same-sex couples violates the equal protection and due process guarantees in the state's Constitution.
In August 2007 a trial court ruled that denying marriage to same-sex couples was unconstitutional.
Irish teachers face dismissal for being gay
Gay and lesbian teachers in Ireland could be sacked if their lifestyle is seen as undermining the religious ethos of schools, a conference was told this week.
Members of the Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual (LGB) group at the Irish National Teachers' Organisation conference said that the Employment Equality Act permits schools to dismiss homosexual teachers from religious schools.
Section 37 of the Act states that schools that promote certain religious values can take action to protect their "religious ethos."
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