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Note that only articles originated by UK Gay News are archived

2008 Listing of UK, Ireland and Europe LGBT Events

NOVEMBER 2008

Nov 27: Burundi:  European Commissioner “Shocked” at New Burundi Law Criminalising Gay Men and Women.  A commissioner of the European Union has expressed his “shock” at the passing of a law in Burundi which criminalises sexual relations between consenting same-sex adults.
Nov 27: Russia:  Homophobic Mayor of Moscow Signs Schedule for Gay-Friendly Eurovision Song Fest.  Moscow authorities have officially approved the dates, places and schedule of Eurovision Song Contest and the events connected to it which will take place in Russia’s capital next spring, the Interfax news agency reported this morning.
Nov 25: USA:  Transgender Advocacy Group Calls Upon Lawmakers to Pass Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act.  In response to the tragic murder of Lateisha Green earlier this month, the Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund today called on New York State lawmakers in Albany to pass the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act [GENDA], which would add gender identity and expression to the states hate crimes law.
Nov 25: UK:  HIV Diagnoses Among Gay Men Continues to Rise in UK – Report.  An estimated 77,400 people were living with HIV in the UK in 2007 with more than a quarter (28 per cent) unaware of their infection, according to figures released today by the Health Protection Agency.  Diagnoses among gay men continue to increase with 3,160 men (41 per cent of all new diagnoses) testing positive in 2007.
Nov 25: Book Review:  Edward Carpenter: 19th Century Gay Activist, Author, Poet and Humanitarian.  By Peter Tatchell.  This is one of the best political biographies for many years.  As well as being a book about a sadly forgotten icon of past progressive history; it is bursting with ideas that are still relevant to the future of humanity – relevant for all people, LGBT and straight.
Nov 23: Lebanon:  Let’s Talk About Sex (or Not).  By Alexandra Sandels in Beirut.  As a sexual health worker in a country where talking about sex is still a taboo, Rajah Farah had turned to Facebook as an outreach tool.  His Facebook page, Sexual Health in Lebanon, soon became very popular – until Facebook shut it down for ‘obscenity.’
Nov 22: Cyprus:  MEPs Demand EU Intervention in the Cyprus Gay Iranian Asylum Case.  A group of Members of the European Parliament have expressed concern about the way the Cyprus government has handled a gay Iranian asylum case.  The  man, Abbas Bagherian, was due to be deported, but the extradition order has been suspended, the Interior Minister, Neoklis Sylikiotis, has told a  Cypriot MEP.
Nov 21: UK:  Police Allow Anti-Gay Singer to Perform – But Their Computer Hates Emails with His Offensive Words.  The computer at London’s Metropolitan Police is more sensitive to homophobia that the humans who staff the police force, it appears.
Nov 21: Germany:  Gay Lufthansa Flight Attendant Fired for Having Boy Friend in Room.  A gay flight attendant with the German airline Lufthansa claims he has been dismissed following an incident where the police were involved when he had his boyfriend in a Tokyo hotel room during a ‘stop-over’.
Nov 21: UK:  Tatchell Fumes at Cops and Home Secretary Over Anti-Gay Singer’s Concert.  The concert of the Jamaican “kill faggots” singer Bounty Killer is ahead this Sunday in London with the official sanction of the Home Secretary and the Acting Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police.  And the police say that unless there are threats of disturbances they will not cancel the concert.
Nov 20: European Union:  Cashman Calls for Comprehensive European Union Strategy on HIV/Aids.  The European Parliament today approved a resolution calling for the early diagnosis and early care for those living with HIV/Aids.  The adoption of the resolution provides a clear direction for the European Council’s twenty-seven Member States to formulate a strategy to fight HIV/AIDS in the French Presidency’s ‘Conclusions’ next month.
Nov 20: UK/USA:  BBC Radio to Examine How Aids Changed America.  American actor Paul Michael Glaser, who played Starsky in the long running US cop series Starsky and Hutch, is to host a special BBC Radio programme to coincide with World Aids Day.
Nov 20: World AIDS Day:  World AIDS Day Marks 20th Anniversary of Solidarity.  By Sara Speicher.  For Eric Sawyer, the late 1980s was a “war time situation”.  “People with AIDS were fighting for their lives and for their friends”, says Sawyer, an AIDS activist and co-founder of ACT UP New York
Nov 20: Belarus:  Belarusians More Tolerant to Sexual Minorities than Russians?  The ‘unification seminar’ between Russian and Belarusian gay activists in Minsk last weekend – and the announcement of the creation of the Slavic Gay Pride movement with its first march on May 16 next year in Moscow – has provoked reaction not only in Russia but also in Belarus.
Nov 20: UK:  TUC Calls for End to Discrimination Against Transgender People.  The TUC is today calling on employers to stop discriminating against transgender people in the workplace on International Trans Memorial Day.
Nov 19: Belarus:  Gay Activists Discuss Homosexuality with Homophobic Far Right Groups. Three of the leading gay rights activists in Belarus came face to face with representatives of the ‘far right’ at a seminar in Minsk yesterday.
Nov 18: UK:  Why Has the London Police Broken the Agreement on Anti-Gay Reggae ‘Murder Music’?  Editorial.  It is astonishing that a Jamaican reggae singer who features lyrics enticing violence against gays – and even murder – in his repertoire should be performing in the United Kingdom.  But this is what is about to happen on Sunday when Bounty Killer (real name Rodney Basil Price), who styles himself as “Di 5 Star General”, is scheduled to perform in East London at the Stratford Rex this weekend.
Nov 18: Russia:  Gay Activists Considering a Boycott of Oldest Democratic Party in Russia.  Russia’s oldest democratic political party, Yabloko, faces a possible boycott following the revelation that local party officials had pressed city officials in Tambov to ban a picket and march by gay men and women  in the city last month.
Nov 17: Nepal:  Tears of Joy for Nepali Gays, Transgender Persons Over Supreme Court Decision.  There were tears of joy in the Nepali LGBT community today when the Supreme Court published its full written decision on a petition demanding both protection and rights for sexual and gender minorities.
Nov 17: Australia:  Australia: Red Cross Accused of “Playing on Fear” as Gay Blood Ban Closes.  The landmark Tasmanian case on gay blood donation has ended with claims the Red Cross is “playing on fear”. 
Nov 17: United Nations:  Boost for Worldwide Gay Rights as IDAHO Decriminalisation Initiative Heads for UN General Assembly.  An historic declaration against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity is to be presented to the General Assembly of the United Nations between December 15 and 20
Nov 17: Russia/Belarus:  Belarusian, Russian Activists Agree a Slavic Gay Pride for Moscow in May Next Year.  The first trans-national meeting of gay activists from Russia and Belarus has agreed that there should be a Slavic Gay Pride, which alternates each year between Moscow and Minsk.
Nov 16: USA/World:  Marriage Equality for Gay Men and Women Gets Worldwide Support.  For Seattle resident Amy Balliett, the passing of Proposition 8 by voters in California was a ‘vote too far’. The 26-years-old, who ‘married’ her same-sex partner in Seattle last August and made the marriage legal in California last month, decided to fight the result in the best way she knew – on the internet.
Nov 16: USA:  Gay Californian Newly-Wed Couple Among Prop 8 Protesters in Hawaii.  Days before the election when Californians voted by a very narrow margin to approve the infamous ‘Prop 8’ that banned ‘gay marriage’, Damon Romine and Charles Robbins were married in Palm Springs.
Nov 14: Russia:  Russian Governor Cleared by Court for “Faggots Must Be Torn Apart” Anti-Gay Hate Speech.  The governor of the Tambov region of Russia has been cleared of charges by an appeals court following an anti-gay outburst reported in the daily newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda last May.
Nov 13: Russia:  Moscow Gay Pride Group Appeals to French and EU Presidents on Eve of EU-Russia Summit.  The group of gay activists who organise Moscow Pride has written to the French President, Nicolas Sarkozy, and European Commission President José Manuel Barroso ahead of the European Union-Russia ‘summit’ which opens in Nice tomorrow (November 14).
Nov 13: Bulgaria:    MEPs Ask Bulgaria to Grant Legal Recognition to Gay Couples.  A group of Members of the European Parliament has asked member-nation Bulgaria to include same-sex couples in its draft legislation on ‘domestic partnerships’.
Nov 13: UK:  Gay Pressure Group to Recruit New Trustees.  Stonewall is holding an open recruitment process to find up to three more trustees to support its work.  Interviews will be held in December for appointment early in 2009.
Nov 12: Russia:   European Court of Human Rights Rejects Right to “Sham” Same-Sex Marriage in Russia.  The European Court of Human Rights has denied to consider an application of Russian human rights activist and former deputy of Bashkortostan parliament Edward Murzin against the ban of same-sex marriage, it was learned here this morning.
Nov 10: Ireland:  Sad Loss of Prominent HIV Activist: Noel Walsh Dies in Amsterdam.  It is with sadness that The Rainbow Project has learnt of the sudden death of Irish HIV activist Noel Walsh who died at the weekend.  He had attended an HIV conference in Oslo last week and was returning to Ireland via Amsterdam where he died.
Nov 10: Russia:  Moscow Authorities Say Gays to Be Safe at Eurovision Next May.  Gays and lesbians will be safe in Moscow during next year’s Eurovision Song Contest, a Moscow government official said at the opening day of World Travel Market 2008 in London.  But a Moscow activist said the statement made in London was “pure hypocrisy”.
Nov 7: Switzerland:  Capleton Concert Cancelled in Basel After Singer Continued to Urge Violence Against Gays.  A major reggae concert with the Jamaican singer Capleton, that had been scheduled to take place last night (November 6) in Basel, Switzerland, was cancelled at the last minute by the organisers, according to Homosexuelle Arbeitsgruppen Basel (HABS), the local LGBT rights group.
Nov 7: Australia:  Removing Gay Blood Ban Would Help Save Lives, Lawyer Says.  The Red Cross would have more safe blood available for people in need if it accepted blood from gay men who have safe sex at tribunal was told today.
Nov 4: UK:  Transgender Groups to Protest at High Profile London Awards Ceremony Against Stonewall “Bigotry”.  An unprecedented protest is to be staged on Thursday outside the £125-a-head “champagne and canape reception” for the Stonewall awards at the V&A Museum in London by transgender groups.
Nov 3: USA:  New Play About the Two ‘Gay’ Iranian Teens Executed in 2005 Opens This Week in Chicago.  A play centred around Ayaz Marhouni and Mahmoud Asgari, the two Iranian teenagers executed in Iran three years ago and who were widely thought to have been gay, is set to have its world premier in Chicago this week.