World
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22 September 2006Tutu criticises church’s gay opposition 2 One of Christianity's most high profile figures has criticised the Anglican Church for its conservative attitude towards the ordination of gay clergy.An authorised biography on Nobel peace prize winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu, reveals the church leader was shocked by the Episcopal denomination's reaction to the appointment of gay bishop Gene Robinson in 2003. -
22 September 2006Japanese city amends pro-gay law despite protests + A Japanese city has amended a rare local law protecting homosexuals from discrimination, despite protests from activists who said the law was being watered down to exclude the gay community.The step coincides with efforts by conservative lawmakers, including the next prime minister, Shinzo Abe, to revive respect for traditional family values they fear are being eroded in modern society. -
22 September 2006USA: compulsory AIDS tests for teenagers and adults + In a major shift of policy, the USA federal government recommended yesterday that all teenagers and most adults have H.I.V. -
21 September 2006British students protest for LGBT rights in Uganda. 2 The National Union of Students (NUS) is organising an emergency demonstration outside the Ugandan embassy this week over continued persecution of the LGBT community within the country.The NUS LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) led campaign will be handing a letter of protest to the Ugandan embassy calling on the country to respect equality and freedom. -
21 September 2006South Korea tips gay film for Oscar success + South Korea has only recently taken homosexuality off its list of "unacceptable social acts," but now the conservative country has picked a gay themed production as its Foreign Language Film submission for next year's Oscars.The film, King and Clown, has been a surprise hit in South Korea selling over 12 million tickets, and now it hopes to follow the success of gay themed cowboy movie Brokeback Mountain which proved a hit at the Academy Awards this year. -
21 September 2006Japan pushed to uphold gay rights + A move to eliminate "sexual orientation" from a Japanese city's groundbreaking antidiscrimination ordinance would be a damaging blow to the cause of full equality, gay activists at Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a letter to the city's mayor this week.The city assembly of Miyakonojo has begun debating the proposed changes week but Scott Long, director of HRW's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights programme warned that equality should never be taken away.
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21 September 2006Russian transgender’s killer sentenced to life 4 A transgender woman was stabbed to death by a man whom had left a gay club with him, the St Petersburg Times reports.Lucas McCauley, 30, frequented a well known gay and transgender club dressed as a woman named Reshae.The murder was being considered as a possible hate crime. -
20 September 2006US big banks recognised for LGBT achievements + JPMorgan Chase and PriceWaterhouseCoopers both received a prestigious 'Outie' Award last week from Out Equal Workplace Advocates for advancing a safe and equitable workplace for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) professionals.This year's Out and Equal Workplace Awards were presented during the 16th Annual Out Equal Workplace Summit, where a record-setting 1,723 attendees gathered to share best practices on how to achieve workplace equality for LGBT employees. -
20 September 2006Fears over anti gay pact. 57 Anglican bishops from developing countries are expected to agree on a pact this week condemning the ordination of gay clergy, according to Nigeria's Archbishop.The church of Nigeria's standing committee led by Peter Akinola in a message to the country said: ''The Church affirms our commitment to the total rejection of the evil of homosexuality which is a perversion of human dignity''. -
20 September 2006Gay age of consent unfair in Hong Kong 1 A court of Appeal has deemed the higher age of sexual consent for homosexuals in Hong Kong unconstitutional and discriminatory.Hong Kong law states that homosexuals must be 21 before consenting to sex, whilst the age for heterosexuals is five years lower at 16.Gay men who risk having sex before 21 face potential life imprisonment. -
19 September 2006Gay father gains custody of his ‘neglected’ sons + A gay doctor in South Africa has been in court trying to obtain custody of his two sons so that they could live with him and his gay partner.The doctor, who cannot be named to protect the identity of the children, has been granted temporary custody of his children by the Johannesburg High Court last week.
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19 September 2006Teen Pleads Guilty to San Diego Gay Pride Attacks + A 15-year old suspect pleaded guilty yesterday to attacking several men leaving San Diego's gay pride Festival on July 29th.According to prosecutor Oscar Garcia, the 15-year old and two other men targeted six victims leaving the gay pride festival, attacking them with knives and baseball bats.
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19 September 2006Calls for UN to end homophobic persecution. + Gay rights campaigner Peter Tatchell has called on the United Nations (UN) to initiate a global campaign to end the criminalisation of same sex relationships.The proposal comes on the day that world leaders descended upon New York for the opening of the UN General Assembly, and coincides with the warning by UN General Secretary Kofi Annan that ''if current patterns of alienation and violence persist much longer, there is a grave danger that the Iraqi state will break down, possibly in the midst of a full-scale civil war." -
19 September 2006South African Christians march against gay marriage 10 Thousands of Christians marched through South African cities last weekend protesting a bill that would make the nation the first on the continent to legalise gay marriage.The protests, spearheaded by the conservative African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP), came before a parliamentary committee holds hearings on a bill today that would accord same-sex couples the same rights as heterosexual ones. -
19 September 2006Poland’s president says his views on gays are misunderstood 2 Staunch Roman Catholic Polish President Lech Kaczynski says his views on issues such as gay people are misunderstood.Kaczynski, of the social conservative Law and Justice Party, made pledges upon taking office in December including making sure that Poland's traditional Roman Catholic values were not overwhelmed by the general European liberal viewpoint. -
19 September 2006Pressure to cancel US Buju Banton gig 7 LGBT campaigners have again demanded the cancellation of a concert due to be held this Wednesday at the Fox Theatre in Boulder, Colorado.Activists say the Jamaican reggae star Buju Banton hasn't repudiated a 1992 song that calls for violence against gays and lesbians, reports Rocky Mountain News. -
19 September 2006San Diego Gay Pride attackers in court + The six men accused of attacking six men leaving San Diego's Gay Pride festival in July may be agreeing to plea bargains in court today, their prosecutors and lawyers said yesterday.The case yesterday was to be presented to a San Diego Superior Court judge to decide whether there is enough evidence against them for a trial.
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19 September 2006Secret gay sex in the city + Nearly one in ten straight New Yorkers are having same sex relations, according to New York city health officials.The survey was carried out in 2003 with the results published in today's Annals of Internal Medicine. -
19 September 2006Moscow Gay Pride Ban goes to European Court + An appeals court in Moscow upholds a lower court ruling today, stating that banning May's gay pride parade was not illegal.However, Dmitry Bartenev, a lawyer representing the groups, told the Russian news agency Novosti, "We intend to appeal shortly with the European Human Rights Court in Strasbourg to vindicate our rights, and also to lodge a complaint with the presidium of the Moscow City Court. -
19 September 2006US companies battle to become LGBT friendly + A record number of the largest US companies are increasingly competing to expand benefits and protections for their lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) employees and consumers, according to the Human Rights Campaign (HRC).The HRC's Corporate Equality Index covers 446 companies and shows an unprecedented 138 major US organisations earned the top rating of 100 percent, an increase of 37 in one year and a tenfold growth in four years.
