February 28:  EU/Russia:  Mayor of Moscow Condemned by Euro Parliament Gay Rights Group.  Recent statements from the Mayor of Moscow – and his office – that any application for a Gay Pride parade in Moscow in May would not be considered has been condemned by the European Parliament’s Gay and Lesbian Rights Intergroup.
February 28:  UK:  Gay People ‘Almost Invisible’ on BBC Flagship Channels.  Gay people are almost invisible on the BBC’s flagship channels, according to new research commissioned by Stonewall.  Yet gay people contribute £190 million a year to the BBC in TV licence fees.
February 27:  HIV/AIDS:  You Fly - I Live:  A Plea From Africa.  By Françoise Ndayishimiye. My name is Francoise.  I’m a mother, a doctor, and I live with HIV/AIDS in Burundi.  I also represent the global community of over fifty million people living with HIV, Tuberculosis and Malaria as Board member on the Global Fund, our leading hope in the battle to save our lives.
February 27:  UK:  Peter Tatchell Human Rights Fund Campaign Report 2005.  The trustees of the Peter Tatchell Human Rights Fund present the following report on Peter Tatchell’s human rights campaigns during 2005, released today.
February 27:  Russia/USA:   Moscow Gay Pride Parade Should Not Be Banned, Says Scott Long of HRW.   Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov’s promise to ban the city’s first-ever gay pride parade is a threat to civil liberties and civil society, Human Rights Watch said today in a letter to the mayor.
February 25:  Russia/Europe:   Polish Gays Spearhead Euro Demos at Russian Embassies.  Of all the demonstrations in support of Moscow Pride to be held on Thursday March 2 outside Russian embassies in Europe, perhaps the most poignant will be in Warsaw.  Gay men and women in Warsaw just happen to know a thing or two about a homophobic mayor who tries to bans Prides.
February 24:  UK:   Reader Letter:  Response to the Outrage! Statement on Unite Against Fascism Conference.  Outrage’s assertion that Sir Iqbal Sacranie pulled out of or that he was ‘dumped’ by UAF from Saturday’s conference is completely untrue.  Sir Iqbal had another engagement and the MCB instead sent Dr Daud Abdullah, their Assistant General Secretary, who was warmly received by all the delegates.
February 24:  UK:   Gay and Lesbian Groups Criticise Decision to Suspend Mayor of London.  A group of gay and lesbian organisations, including the Lesbian and Gay Coalition Against Racism, have condemned the suspension of London Mayor, Ken Livingstone for an “off the cuff” remark to a journalist from the London Evening Standard.
February 22:  Russia:   Moscow Mayor Again Says ‘No’ to Gay Pride Parade.  Minutes after signing the “Berlin Declaration” which included a clause recognising “the necessity of eliminating all forms of discrimination and intolerance”, the Mayor of Moscow, Juri Lushkov, said this afternoon that he would not give permission for the Moscow Gay Pride march and festival to go ahead at the end of May.
February 20:  Russia:  Deputies Line Up to Back Moscow Mayor on Gay Pride.  Russian politicians have today been virtually queuing up to give statements to the media in support of the Mayor of Moscow who last week said he would ban a gay pride parade in the city.
February 19:  Senegal:  HIV-Positive Gays Face Double Stigma.  DAKAR (PLUSNEWS)  –  Twenty-four-year old male sex worker Doudou (not his real name) was forced to turn to Senegal’s leading gay NGO when his family members threw him out for being a homosexual.
February 18:  UK:  Anti-Gay Rhetoric of Sacranie Forces Pull-Out from Conference. Sir Iqbal Sacranie has been pressured to withdraw from addressing a trade union-sponsored ‘Unite Against Fascism’ conference in London after protests against his ‘BNP-style homophobia’ from left-wingers, trade unionists and gay rights campaigners.
February 17:  Europe/Russia:  World Shows Solidarity with Russian Gays.  Gay men and women in Russia are tonight very encouraged at the world-wide response to the homophobic outbursts of religious leaders and the Mayor of Moscow during the week, with the Mayor proclaiming that Moscow Pride in May was a non-starter.  Condemnation of the outbursts, coupled with messages of solidarity with Russian gays, has come from across Europe – and as far a field as New Zealand.
February 17:  UK/Russia:  Mayor of London Asked to Intervene in Moscow Gay Pride “Ban”.  The Gay and Lesbian Humanist Association (GALHA) has called on the Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, to appeal to his counterpart in Moscow to lift the threat of a ban on a gay pride parade in the city scheduled for the end of May.
February 16:  Russia:  Moscow Authorities Will Not Allow Gay Pride In Any Form – Mayor’s Office.   The row over the planned Gay Pride in Moscow, highlighted over the past two days by religious leaders, went squarely into the local political arena today when the Moscow city authorities said they will not permit “under any circumstances” the first-ever Gay Pride parade, scheduled for the end of May in the city.
February 16:  Poland:  Official Homophobia in Poland Threatens Human Rights – Scott Long of HRW.  As a new government in Poland brings to power officials with long records of opposing gay and lesbian rights, it is more important than ever for the country’s leadership to affirm all citizens’ equality, Human Rights Watch said today in a letter to Polish President Lech Kaczynski.
February 15:  Russia:  Russian Muslim Leader Calls For Gays to be “Thrashed”.  Russian Muslims could arrange serious protest actions if representatives of “sexual minorities” try to stage a Gay Pride parade later in Moscow in May, according to Interfax news agency following an outburst from an extremist religious leader.
February 15:  UK:  New Gay Youth Group for Shropshire.  Terrence Higgins Trust (THT) is launching a new youth group for lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) young people in Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin – one of a number of services run from the charity’s new office in Wellington.
February 10:  Russia:  International Gay Conference Set for Moscow Swissotel.  The International Day Against Homophobia (IDAHO) conference in Moscow is to be held at the prestigious Swissôtel Krasnye Holmy, it has been announced.
February 8:  Russia:  Putin Gets Protest Letter Over Anti-Gay Russian TV News Broadcast.  The grandson of British gay literary giant Oscar Wilde has written personally to the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, following a biased and homophobic television programme screened in Russia last weekend.
February 8:  UK:  Nursing Standard Celebrates Gay History Month.  The February 1 issue of Nursing Standard marked the start of LGBT History Month with a special issue "Pride in Nursing".  The weekly magazine brought-in a "guest editor", Drew Payne, an out-gay nurse who works as an advisor at NHS Direct.  This is Payne's poignant 'editorial' for the special issue, re-published here with the permission of Nursing Standard.
February 6:  Iraq:  Male Homosexuality Still a Taboo in Iraq.  Living in the shadow of religious pressure and social discrimination, medical student Ahmed Fatah says there’s no way he could ever tell anyone about his sexuality.
February 6:  Russia:  Famous Gay Russian Entertainer Now Takes ‘Homophobic Side’.  Famous Russian singer/dancer Boris Moiseev, whose concerts have incurred the wrath of church leaders and politicians claiming the “family agenda”, has told reporters he is against expressing one’s sexual orientation.
February 6:  UK:  Gloucester Marks Gay and Lesbian History Month.  A timeline of events which have historically affected gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people through out the ages is one of the highlights of the Second National LGBT History Month in the Gloucester Museum.
February 4:  Russia:  Pirate ‘Gay Cowboy’ DVD Is Hot Item in Russia.  Ang Lee’s “Brokeback Mountain” has not officially arrived in Russia.  The much talked about Academy Award-nominated film has had its cinema release postponed twice.  But “pirates” are cashing-in and the counterfeit DVD can be purchased in Moscow for as little as 100 roubles (about £2, €3 or $US3.50).
February 4:  UK:  Call For ‘Pink Heritage’ Plaques In Brighton.  A local councillor in Brighton and Hove has called for special ‘pink heritage plaques’ to be introduced in the town, often dubbed the ‘gay capital’ of England.
February 1:  Sports:  Martina Joins Montréal’s ‘Circle of Champions’.  Women’s tennis legend Martina Navrátilová, and probably the most famous “out lesbian” in world sports, has joined the “Circle of Champions” at the 1st World Outgames Montréal – and will actively participate in the International Conference on lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and transgendered human rights, which will be held for three days before the Opening Ceremony of the Outgames.