Cuban parliament considers LGBT rights bill
A draft lesbian, gay and trans rights bill will be considered by Cuban legislators today.
The proposed new law would grant equal rights to all citizens and is the first step towards same-sex unions and access to gender reassignment surgery.
Mariela Castro, director of the National Sex Education Centre, said:
"A relevant resolution will be signed in the nearest future by the Ministry of Health, which will determine the procedure for such surgery."
INTERVIEW: My short career as a gay Apprentice
Last night the new series of The Apprentice started on BBC1.
PinkNews.co.uk spoke to Sir Alan Sugar's first victim, 23 year old Nick De Lacey, about being booted out in the first week, his fear of chavs, and what how homophobia still exists in the workplace.
You had to compete with over 20,000 people to get on to The Apprentice, how did it feel to get on the show?
It felt really good!
Activist calls on people to ditch LGBT labels
An ambitious campaign that aims to change the ways in which young people label themselves was launched last week in the form of a funky teen-oriented website.
The website Ditch the Label (www.DitchtheLabel.com) was 'virtually' launched last Saturday night in a co-ordinated browsing of the new site, after being advertised via its original Myspace and the founder's personal Myspace sites.
The founder of DitchtheLabel is 17-year old student, activist and part-time model, Liam Hackett.
Fight against "ex-gay" movement goes multi-media
TruthWinsOut.org (TWO), a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to debunking the "ex-gay myth", launched a newly revamped web site this week.
The goal of the site is to serve as an educational resource and an "all-encompassing look at the dangerous world of conversion therapy".
TWO claims the ex-gay industry has dominated the flow of information about conversion therapy in the past and the new web site is geared to help "counter ex-gay lies and reach vulnerable people with messages of truth and hope."
Obama and Clinton supporters attracted by McCain
A surprising number of supporters of both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton would throw their votes to Republican John McCain if their candidate does not become the Democratic Presidential nominee, according to a new Gallup poll released yesterday.
While only 19 percent of Obama supporters said they would vote for McCain over Clinton, 28 percent of Clinton supporters would switch their vote to the Republican nominee.
Mardi Gras clergy feel the wrath of fundamentalists
Some Sydney-based clergy who marched in this year's 30th anniversary Mardi Gras have had their careers threatened by those who objected to their public participation and support of gay rights.
Some 35 ministers marched, alongside eight people who acted as proxies on behalf of their church's Reverends, as part of a group known as 100Revs.
The name refers to the 100 Reverends who signed a formal apology to the LGBT community.
Paddick still favourite with gay voters
The results of the second PinkNews.co.uk Mayor of London poll show that Lib Dem candidate Brian Paddick still leads among respondents.
225 people who live in the London area took part in the poll. Mr Paddick, who until last year was the most senior out gay police officer in the UK, won 43.5%, or 98 of the first preference votes.
He was followed by incumbent Mayor and Labour candidate Ken Livingstone, with 29.4% (66 votes). Tory candidate Boris Johnson won 12% (27 votes).
Moroccan newspaper sued by judges over gay party story
One Morocco's leading newspapers has been ordered to pay four judges more than £100,000 each after it mistakenly reported that a judge had been present at a gay "wedding" in the city of town of Ksar el-Kbir.
Last November Al Massae published the first reports of an alleged gay wedding party in the town and said that a local judge attended.
The paper did not name him, so all four local judges sued. It later emerged that a man with the same name as one of the judges was arrested.
Fundraising auction lots range from Take That to Tate Modern
Stonewall has launched its 2008 silent auction. All proceeds will go toward funding the gay equality organisation's charitable work, including the Education for All campaign, which aims to stamp out homophobic bullying in schools.
Up for grabs is an array of rare and unusual prizes, including a chance to be a VIP guest to the stars of Strictly Come Dancing, an afternoon in the studio with BBC Radio 2's Paul Gambacinni and snowboarding lessons for four with the UK's number one snowboarder, Jo Chastney.
New England captain has learnt from past mistakes
Rio Ferdinand's appointment as the new captain of the England football squad has been accompanied by a pledge from the player that he has learnt from past mistakes.
The 29-year-old stirred controversy in 2006 during an interview with Radio 1 DJ Chris Moyles, in which he used the word "faggot."
In 2003 he failed to appear to give a drugs test and was suspended from club and international games for eight months and fined £50,000.
Hillary caught out over "sniper fire" claims
Presidential hopeful Senator Hillary Clinton has admitted she "made a mistake" over her claims that while visiting Bosnia in 1996 she was subject to sniper fire.
The Former First Lady has been keen to portray her time in the White House as proof of her foreign affairs credentials.
In a series of interviews last week she claimed that after her plane landed in Tuzla, Bosnia, she and her daughter Chelsea had to run for cover as they were targeted by sniper fire.
INTERVIEW: How the internet changed gay society
Channel 4 News technology correspondent Benjamin Cohen spoke to PinkNews.co.uk about what his report into how the gay dating site Gaydar changed the lives of the gay community.
The report, one of a series of three marking ten years since the dot.com boom for More 4 News, will be broadcast this evening.
Ownership and Control, to be broadcast tomorrow evening, compares the development of the internet to the division of land into enclosed, private areas, controlled by the few to control the masses.
US rules gay married name 'illegal' and refuses passport
An American AIDS activist was denied a new passport by the US State Department on the grounds that his hyphenated surname with his married gay partner is illegal.
The Sun Chronicle reports that Jason Hair-Wynn, who married his partner in 2005 in Massachusetts - which is currently the only American state to have legalised same-sex marriage - is now having to face reapplying for a new passport.
The federal Defence of Marriage Act (DOMA) prohibited the legal recognition of his new name.
Gay star announces seven week US tour
George Michael is returning to the land of Stars and Stripes for a seven-week jaunt, his first American tour since 1991.
He will perform 22 shows on the North American leg of his world tour.
Commencing in June, he will perform in cities such as San Jose, Las
Vegas, Los Angeles, Seattle, Vancouver, Minneapolis, Chicago, Dallas, Houston and New York. Michael, the former Wham! frontman, is also planning a new album which will feature a duet with Sir Paul McCartney.
Israel grants visa to gay Palestinian
A Palestinian homosexual was granted an extraordinary Israeli temporary residential visa, after it was claimed he faced persecution and possible danger if he remained in the West Bank, it was revealed yesterday.
After failed attempts to gain a visa through the Israeli Interior Ministry - a process which can take years - the man was granted a visa after he applied directly to the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF).
The unnamed 33-year-old Palestinian from Jenin is planning a reunion with his Israeli partner in Tel Aviv once he gains his visa.
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