UK Gay News - Gay and Lesbian News From Around the World

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Friday July 3, 2009

Pink Paper - UK:
Virgin Gyms Censor PinkPaper.com to Protect Minors. By Peter Lloyd. Virgin Active gyms are blocking the Pink Paper website in order to protect minors, we can exclusively reveal. The story unfolded when a Pink Paper user, Adrian Tippetts, was unable to access our popular site at the gym's Islington branch, yesterday.

Times of India - India:
Govt Unlikely to Appeal HC's Gay Order On Its Own. Though under pressure from religious groups of all hues to appeal against the Delhi High Court order legalising gay sex, the Manmohan Singh government is unlikely to move the Supreme Court on its own.

Times of India - India:
Victory for Choice. Editorial. In a landmark judgement, the capital's highest court has struck down an archaic provision of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) which criminalises homosexuality. It has ruled that Section 377, in so far as it penalises gay sex between consenting adults, was in violation of fundamental rights. In effect, this means that gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgenders cannot be hauled up anymore in the capital if they are adults, and engage in consensual sex.

UK and EUROPE
BiaNet - Turkey:
"Struggle of Turkey's LGBT Movement Has International Importance". An interview of Stuart Milk who attended the recent Gay Pride in Istanbul. Stuart Milk is the nephew of Harvey Milk. The BiaNet report of Pride in Istanbul is HERE (from June 29)

Pink Paper - UK:
Poland's First Married Couple Start Action Group. By Andrew Gilliver. Poland's first married gay couple have started a new UK political action group, specifically designed to help their peers back home. Polish gay activist Waldemar Zboralski has been campaigning for queer rights in his home country for over 25 years. Now living in Manchester with his civil partner, Krzysztof Nowak, he feels that the political situation in his homeland is worsening – and is best remedied from Britain.

Politics - UK:
Go on Sarah, Get Gordon Brown to Lift the Gay Marriage Ban. By Peter Tatchell. We've come a long way, baby! In 1972, I helped organise London's first Gay Pride parade. There were only 700 of us. We got lots of boos and no support from MPs. How times change. This Saturday, hundreds of thousands of gay people, and their straight friends, will converge on central London for the annual Gay Pride parade.

Politics - UK:
Parties Battle for Pink Vote as Gay Pride Hits London. By Ian Dunt. Labour and the Conservatives are engaged in an ugly battle for the pink vote as London prepares to host the annual gay Pride celebrations this weekend. But the struggle is not reserved to the two main parties. Factions of the gay community are also taking shots at the government, with surveys showing clear support for the Tories from the gay community.

BBC News - UK:
Minister in Tory Homophobia Claim. By Brian Wheeler. Culture Secretary Ben Bradshaw has said "a deep strain of homophobia still exists on the Conservative benches". Mr Bradshaw, one of three gay men currently in the cabinet, made the comments as a new poll suggested more gay people were turning to the Tories.

Pink Paper - UK:
Lesbian Jailed for £100,000 Online Fraud. By Peter Lloyd. A gay woman who conned innocent chat-room users out of their life savings has been jailed for four and a half years, today

Irish Times - Ireland:
Most Gay Pupils Bullied in School - Youth Service. By Olivia Kelly. Most lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT) second-level students have suffered homophobic bullying, the Belong To youth service has told an Oireachtas Education Committee. More than 20,000 post-primary students are lesbian, gay or bisexual, representing an average of two students in every classroom. A smaller number of students identify as transgender, according to Belong To.

The Scotsman - UK:
Kirk Looks to End Gay Row as Minister Takes Up Post. By Frank Urquhart and Craig Brown. The gay lover and former wife of a homosexual minister who almost caused a schism in the Church of Scotland will tonight attend the service to mark his controversial appointment to a new post. The Rev Scott Rennie, 37, will be inducted at Aberdeen's Queen's Cross Church where he will become the first openly-gay preacher in the Kirk to minister to a congregation.

USA and the AMERICAS
San Diego News Network - USA:
Congressman Brian Bilbray Missing in Action. Commentary by Stampp Corbin. Early Tuesday morning a sailor was found dead at Camp Pendleton. August Provost, 29, was found in a military guard shack; shot, gagged and reputedly burned. He was also an openly gay man prior to entering the military. Rep. Bob Filner (D-Calif.) was at Pendleton for over 5 hours the day of the murder and no one in the Navy thought it was important enough to tell the Congressman.

Dallas Morning News - USA:
Fort Worth Mayor Wants Federal Review in Gay Bar Raid. Fort Worth Mayor Mike Moncrief called on federal prosecutors Friday to ensure a thorough review of last week’s bar raid that resulted in a serious head injury to one patron.

ASIA
China Daily - China:
Beijing Youth Pave Way for Gay Acceptance. By Monique Ross and Paul Sutherland. Although traditional attitudes towards homosexuality in China's major cities are rapidly changing fueled by the rise of a new generation, in rural China it still remains a taboo topic.

AUSTRALASIA
GayNZ - New Zealand:
Ashburton Rugby Boss Denies Sex Charges. A rugby team captain is on trial in the Timaru District Court after a male complainant says he was sexually assaulted by him.

Thursday July 2, 2009

DELHI HIGH COURT JUDGEMENT

Times of India - India:
Homosexuality No Crime: Delhi High Court. In a historic judgement, the Delhi High Court on Thursday decriminalized homosexuality by reading down section 377 of the Indian Penal Code. The Section 377 of the IPC as far as it criminalizes gay sex among consenting adults is violation of fundamental rights, said the high court. However, Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code which criminalizes homosexuality, will continue for non-consensual and non-vaginal sex.

Newstrack - India:
Decriminalise Homosexuality Says Delhi High Court. In a landmark judgement the Delhi High Court today decriminalised homosexuality. A two-judge bench comprising Chief Justice A P Shah, and Justice S Muralidahr said the criminalisation of gay sex among consenting adults is a violation of fundamental rights.

Note: this ruling appears to apply to the Union Territory of Delhi only, and not the whole of India. This is what The Associated Press is reporting. However Reuters is reporting it applies to all of India.

The Delhi High Court Decision Published by the Court - Opens in Adobe Acrobat - 105 pages.

UK and EUROPE
UK Gay News - UK:
TUC Warns Spread of Far Right Across Europe Could Increase Gay Hate Crimes. Hate crimes against gay men and women could increase in the European Union following the spread of ‘far right’ political parties in last month’s European elections, the TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber warned this morning. Mr. Barber was addressing the 12th annual TUC LGBT conference in London.

UK Gay News - UK:
Tatchell to March with Sarah Brown in London’s Gay Pride. Gay rights campaigner Peter Tatchell promised this morning to be on his best behaviour on Saturday at Pride London when he marches through the streets of central London with the Prime Minister’s wife, Sarah Brown.

Ekklesia - UK:
Catholics Join Gay Pride. Gay Catholics, their parents, families and friends, will be out and about at Pride London this Saturday (4 July 2009) joined by churches in central London. Catholic groups will share a stall in the Community Market Place in London's Trafalgar Square.

MOLLIE SUGDEN

The death was announced last night of the comic actress Mollie Sugden, most famous for her role as Mrs. Slocombe in the BBC's hit sit-com Are You Being Served? which ran from 1972 to 1985. One of the campest TV shows of all time, the series is one of the very few British sit-coms to be screened in its original form in the USA. When many PBS TV stations started showing the series (almost 30 years after the programmes were made) it became a cult hit, especially within the American gay and university communities.
The Guardian - UK:
Pussy Galore: A Tribute to Mrs Slocombe, by Andrew Collins. Mollie Sugden, Comedy Actor, dies aged 86, by Helen Pidd. Guardian Obituary, by Dennis Barker.

BBC Wales News - UK:
Man Guilty of Murdering Gay Lover. A convicted conman has been found guilty of murdering his gay lover in a hotel room. Glenn Rycroft, 33, denied killing Gareth MacDonald, 30, from Prestatyn, Denbighshire, in a Travelodge hotel near London on 14 September 2007.

USA and the AMERICAS
The Guardian - UK:
Mennonites in Ohio Protest Exclusion of Gays. By Meghan Barr. Gay and lesbian Mennonites dressed in bright pink have gathered with others outside the church's biannual convention in Columbus to criticize its leaders for trying to push them out.
Fort Worth Star Telegram - USA:
Fort Worth Chief Suspends Operations with TABC as Incident Investigated. By Bill Miller. Joint operations between Fort Worth police and the Texas Alcohol Beverage Commission have been suspended during investigations into an inspection early Sunday that resulted in the injury of a man at a new gay club near the city's hospital district. Page includes a video report.
On Top Magazine - USA:
Uruguay Bishop Steps Down Amid Gay Sex Scandal. Uruguayan Bishop Francisco Domingo Barbosa Da Silveira has stepped down from his ministry amid a gay sex scandal.

New York Gay Gay City News - USA:
Now Choi Is Really Out. By Paul Schindler. Lieutenant Dan Choi, a New York Army National Guardsman and Arabic translator, was discharged under the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy by a military administrative board on June 30.

Raw Story - USA:
As Gay Discharges Continue, Sailor Is Murdered. By John Byrne. A 29-year-old Navy sailor was found dead at a Southern California military base Tuesday in a suspected homicide that activists say may have been related to his sexuality.

New York Times - USA:
New York Gay Newspaper Suspends Publication. By Jennifer 8. Lee. The New York Blade, one of the two major gay and lesbian newspapers in New York City, has laid off its editor in chief and suspended publication, the chief executive of its publishing company said on Wednesday.

Q Notes - USA:
Stephen Moller Released One Week Early. By Matt Comer. The man found guilty of the May 15, 2007, killing of openly gay Sean Kennedy was released from prison a week early.

AFRICA
New Vision - Uganda:
FUFA Bans Ayieko Over Sodomy Claims. By Swalley Kenyi. FUFA [the Uganda Football Federation] has slapped an indefinite suspension on tactician Charles ‘Mbuzi’ Ayieko over sodomy allegations. The suspension comes at a time Police in Lira is investigating the Horizon FC coach on allegations he attempted to sodomise brothers Isaac Omara and David Doii two weeks ago.

The Independent - South Africa:
FIFA Demand Explanation Over FUFA Anti-Gay Letter, Sanctions Could Follow. By Joe Powell. Uganda Talks can exclusively reveal that the governing body of world football, FIFA, has written to the Uganda Football Federation (FUFA) demanding an explanation “regarding recent media reports of an apparent FUFA campaign against homosexual related acts”. Article 6 of the FIFA Code of Ethics bans discrimination of all kinds.

AUSTRALASIA
Gay NZ - New Zealand:
Tamihere Challenged as Complaints Mount. The NZ AIDS Foundation has thrown down the gauntlet to homophobic talkback host John Tamihere, suggesting that if he is serious about the need to stem the spread of HIV he is welcome to meet with NZAF staff to discuss ways that he could assist the Foundation in its work against HIV.

Wednesday July 1, 2009

Agence France Press - France:
Uganda to Fight Donor Pressure on Gay Rights: Minister. Uganda will resist pressures from donor countries to soften its stance on homosexuality and plans to pass a new law that significantly clamps down on gay rights, a minister said Wednesday. "I have been receiving a number of friends from outside Uganda telling me that we should go slow on the rights of people who promote anal sex," Ethics Minister James Nsaba Buturo said.

Pink Paper - UK:
Cameron Says Sorry for Section 28. By Tris Reid-Smith. Conservative leader David Cameron has apologised for Section 28 and predicted his party will have the first openly gay prime minister, Pink Paper can exclusively reveal. [...] And he defended the party’s new European allies, saying they have shifted from their previous homophobic views. The Telegraph - UK:
The Tories' Gay Pride Event Is so Very 1990s. Commentary by Alex Singleton. I don’t know who came up with the plan to run a “Conference Pride” event at the Tory conference this year, but it sounds dreadful. It’s so very early Nineties - an era when Britain was still uncomfortable about gay people.

Pink Paper - UK:
Christian Institute Call for "Urgent Prayer" Against Equality Bill. By Jonathan Watkins. A recent mailshot letter from the Christian Institute has urged members to pray for the defeat of the governments Equality Bill, Pink Paper can report.

USA and the AMERICAS
Washington Post - USA:
Judge Upholds Start Date of D.C. Gay Marriage Law. By Keith L. Alexander. A Superior Court judge decided today not to delay enactment of a July 6 law that the D.C. government recognize same-sex marriages performed in other jurisdictions.

CNN - USA:
National Guard: Gay Iraq Veteran Must Leave Service. A panel of New York National Guard officers has recommended that an Iraq war veteran who acknowledged his homosexuality must leave the service, his supporters said Tuesday.

Raw Story - USA:
Pentagon Mulls Easing 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Law: Gates. The Pentagon is considering how it might ease the "don't ask, don't tell" law requiring gays to keep quiet about their sexual identity or face expulsion from the military, Defense Secretary Roert Gates said Tuesday.

The Independent - UK:
Almost Everywhere Is Touched by the Stonewall Riots Now. Commentary by Johann Hari. It is now 40 years since the start of a riot for freedom in a small tavern in New York City – and the riot has never stopped. It is spreading slowly across the world, to every continent, to Mumbai and Shanghai and Dubai. Everywhere it goes, it wins, in time. Yet on 28 June 1969, it seemed only like another Sixties ruck in the muck against corrupt cops.

Detroit News - USA:
Obama Tells Gay Activists: Trust Me. Commentary by Deb Price. President Barack Obama's unprecedented White House celebration of the four-decades-long struggle of gay Americans for full equality hit all the right notes, including the host's acknowledgement that politicians' pretty words are no substitute for getting rid of discriminatory laws.

Fort Worth Star Telegram - USA:
Web Helps Mobilize Protest Against Incident at Gay Club. By Eva-Marie Ayala. Officers with the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission and Fort Worth police began their inspection of the Rainbow Lounge about 1 a.m. Sunday. By 2:30 a.m., seven people had been arrested on suspicion of public intoxication and one man was injured. Patrons of the gay nightclub were outraged, saying excessive force was used. At 3 a.m., a Facebook page was started, encouraging people to attend a protest Sunday afternoon

The Advocate - USA:
Bank Offloads HX Magazine. Putting to rest rumors that long-running New York-based HX Magazine was on its way out, New York Press confirmed with owner-founder Matthew Bank on Tuesday that the magazine had been sold.

Tuesday June 30, 2009

UK and EUROPE
France 24 - France:
Muslim Mayor Flies Flag for Gays in Dutch Suburb. By Alix Rijckaert (AFP). A harassed gay minority in a conservative suburb in otherwise tolerant Amsterdam has found a guardian angel in the local Muslim mayor. Ahmed Marcouch, 41, is on a self-appointed mission to end homophobia in Slotervaart, just a stones' throw from the capital but light-years away from its anything-goes mentality.

UK Gay News - UK:
Gordon Brown Hypocritical on Gay Rights, Says Outrage(d) Gay Human Rights Leader. Peter Tatchell this morning hit out at Gordon Brown, saying that the Prime Minister’s claims in a message of support to the gay, lesbian bisexual and transgender community ahead of Saturday’s Pride London were ‘hollow’.

Homovision - UK:
Video: Peter Tatchell on London Pride. How has Pride changed, is it still relevant, does it still do what it was hoped to do all those years ago? Peter Tatchell talks about the commercialisation of Pride, the lack of politics, his urge for us all not to forget the politics behind Pride, and what you can do if you’re bored of the feathers, the arts and the parties during Pride Week.

Pink Paper - UK:
Judge Suspended After Alleged Rent Boy Relationship. By James Sanders. A judge has been suspended after allegations that he had a nine-month relationship with a male prostitute. Judge Gerald Price, QC, 60, a senior circuit judge who has sat for nine years in courts in South Wales, is to be investigated after claims by Christopher Williams, 25.

Bridgwater Mercury - UK:
Attacked for Being Gay. By Laura Nesbitt. Bridgwater man says he is too scared to leave his home after he claims he was brutally attacked because he is gay.   Jason Saunders, aged 18, says he was repeatedly kicked and punched by five people he says taunted him over his sexuality and his ginger hair.

The Times - UK:
Gay Icons at the National Portrait Gallery. Review by Tim Teeman. We knew, after the initial flurry of controversy when this show was announced, that there was going to be no Judy, no Dusty, no Barbra, no Liza. Gay Icons, the exhibition, would recast the notion of what a gay icon was, and those who expected divas with fabulous voices, frocks, pill addictions and capacities to suffer were in for disappointment. Gay Icons, opens at the National Portrait Gallery, London WC2, on Thursday July 2 and continues until October 18.

Pink Paper - UK:
Johnson Marks Pride London with City Hall Reception. By Peter Lloyd. Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, marked this weekend's Pride celebration with a reception at City Hall, last night.

Daily Mail - UK:
First Glastonbury... Now Sarah Brown Is 'To March in Gay Pride Parade'. Prime Minister's wife Sarah Brown is planning to take part in the London Gay Pride parade, Downing Street has confirmed. She will show her support for the gay and lesbian community by joining the 5,000-strong march on Saturday.

USA and the AMERICAS
Venezuelanalysis - Venezuela:
Gay Pride March in Caracas. Individuals of every sexual orientation and gender identity arrived from the four corners of the country and marched this Sunday in Caracas to promote respect for sexual diversity.

Newsweek - USA:
A Long Road Traveled. There will undoubtedly be political struggles ahead, but for one gay activist, meeting with President Obama on the anniversary of Stonewall was a deeply emotional event. Essay by Michael Adams.

ABC News - USA:
POTUS to LGBT: "Welcome to Your White House". By Yunji de Nies. ABBA's "Dancing Queen" filled the East Room, as more than 200 prominent gays and lesbians gathered for the first ever celebration of Pride month at the White House. The President and First Lady entered to thunderous applause. President Obama told the group he is committed to equality for their community.   See also CBS News, CNN.

Washington Post - USA:
At White House, Obama Aims to Reassure Gays. By Michael D. Shear. President Obama opened the doors of the White House to hundreds of gay and lesbian leaders yesterday, continuing his cautious outreach to a constituency that has loudly criticized his efforts on their behalf.

The White House - USA:
Remarks by The President at LGBT Pride Month Reception. The official White House transcript of the remarks of President Obama in the East Room at the Reception for LGBT Pride Month - and the 40th anniversary of Stonewall.

The Guardian - UK:
Don't Ask, Don't Tell: Gay Veteran of Iraq Takes on US Army. By Daniel Nasaw in Washington. On paper, Dan Choi is everything the US military could have hoped for. He is a graduate of the prestigious West Point academy, has served a tour in Iraq, and is fluent in Arabic and Korean. But despite his talents and experience, the army is seeking to get rid of Choi because of another personal quality it considers incompatible with military life: Choi is openly gay.

BBC News - UK:
The March of Gay Politics. Jon Kelly on how the impact of the Stonewall riots 40 years ago is still being felt by politicians in the United Kingdom.

Dallas Morning News - USA:
2 Council Members Want Probe into Gay Bar Raid. Two Fort Worth City Council members are calling for an investigation into a police raid at a gay bar.

Q Notes - USA:
What Are You Fighting For? Commentary by Jeff Olsen. It’s clear that the majority of the human population is usually fighting for something. It could be fighting for Equal Rights to ensure better lives for younger generations to come or getting people to recycle more or it could be fighting with your neighbor’s dog over who gets to the Sunday morning newspaper first. Whatever the situation, there is a lot of competition out there. However, it really hits home hard when you are fighting for something that will change your life in some way and affect the lives of those you care about.

Dallas Morning News - USA:
Fort Worth Police Better Start Clarifying Gay Bar 'Check'. Commentary by Jacquielynn Floyd. The Fort Worth Police Department still has some explaining to do about what happened early Sunday at a southside gay bar called the Rainbow Lounge. Or some clarifying or some illuminating or some supplementary detailing – anything to mitigate the apparently self-administered public-relations shot-to-the-foot it suffered after what it keeps calling a routine "bar check."

BBC News America - UK:
40 Years Since Stonewall Riots. Video report. Jerry Hoose, who took part in the Stonewall rebellion, looks back.

Salon - USA:
The Big Chill: Why Obama Defends DOMA as He Works For Repeal. Commentary by John Mortimer. As the LBGT community decries the Obama Administration’s recent defense of the indefensible Defense of Marriage Act ( DoMA), the community ought to be holding their own activists’ feet to the fire. Propagandists and bloggers really must learn to make distinctions with very real legal differences and to stop mindlessly cutting and pasting every gossipy piece of rubbish delivered to them.

AUSTRALASIA
GayNZ - New Zealand:
Blood and Drug Evidence in Ambach Trial. As the prosecution lawyers in the Ambach murder trial nears the end of their case blood stains and drugs have been the main subjects of evidence in the Auckland High Court today.

Monday June 29, 2009

UK and EUROPE
UK Gay News - UK:
BBC Radio to Air Documentary Stonewall: The Riots That Triggered the Gay Revolution. BBC Radio 2 is to air its major documentary Stonewall: The Riots That Triggered the Gay Revolution tomorrow (June 30) at 10:30pm. Presented by Tom Robinson, the programme visits the Stonewall Inn as it is now to re-imagine the riots, and examines the legacy of this historic week of disturbances. See also 'Stonewall Gave Me New Gay Role Models' by David Carter - from BBC America News.

Reuters - UK:
Russian Gays Ready to Protest During Obama Visit. By Tatyana Ustinova and James Kilner. Gay rights activists in Moscow plan to ignore a ban and rally in favour of same-sex marriages when U.S. President Barack Obama visits next week, one of their leaders said on Monday.

Irish Times - Ireland:
Dublin Pride Celebrations Soured by Anger Over Civil Partnership Bill. By Genevieve Carbery. The was dissatisfaction with the Civil Partnership Bill among a larger than expected crowd which marched in the Dublin Pride Parade at the weekend. The city centre was filled with colour, costumes, balloons, music, whistles and chants on Saturday as thousands of members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community made their way from the Garden of Remembrance, down O’Connell Street and Dame Street to a rally at Dublin City civic offices.

The Independent - UK:
End of the Road for an Iconic Champion of Gay Rights. Commentary by Rob Sharp. Think free-sheet and you think of multi-coloured commuter-fodder littering public transport, not necessarily about one of the country's most community-cohesive, progressive publications. But the Pink Paper, the country's only gay national newspaper, has long championed the threats and triumphs facing Britain's gay community with a cover price totalling a big round zero. This week, the Paper became the recession's latest media victim.

Yorkshire Evening Post - UK:
Leeds Lesbian in Bedroom Bloodfest. By Richard Edwards. An alcoholic lesbian stabbed a friend twice after he let himself into the bedroom she was sharing with her lover. And, Leeds Crown Court heard, Ann-Marie Lacey talked her victim into protecting her by telling the police he had been knifed by a street robber.
USA and the AMERICAS
Raw Story - USA:
Texas Gay Community Outraged at Nightclub Raid. By David Edwards and Daniel Tencer. Forty years to the day after Stonewall — when a police raid of a New York gay club led to riots and launched the modern gay-rights movement — police in Fort Worth, TX, are being accused of repeating the incident. Early Sunday morning, Fort Worth police, accompanied by agents of the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, raided the Rainbow Lounge, a newly-opened gay club in Fort Worth.

Dallas Voice - USA:
Gays, Lesbians Rally in Fort Worth Over Bar Raid. By Tammye Nash. About 18 hours after officers with the Fort Worth Police Department and agents with the Texas Alcoholic Beverages Commission raided a Fort Worth gay bar, about 150 to 200 people gathered on the steps of the Tarrant County Courthouse in downtown Fort Worth Sunday night, June 28, to protest the raid. The raid happened on the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall rebellion. See also Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

Washington Blade - USA:
Judge Could Block D.C. Marriage Law. By Lou Chibbaro Jr. If a D.C. judge approves a request for a court injunction to postpone the July 6 deadline to complete requirements for a voter referendum, the city’s same-sex marriage recognition law would be blocked from taking effect on July 7, according to an election board official.

Washington Post - USA:
Pride at the White House. Commentary by Jarrett Barrios. The Stonewall Riots of 1969 [...] have been commemorated in various ways. There have been protests, rallies, academic lectures and parties. Today is the first time Stonewall will be remembered in the tony quarters of the White House. I have to admit I was ambivalent when I received the invitation, with its fancy curlicue script (truly, just like my sister's wedding announcement) and a return address that read simply "The White House."

National Public Radio - USA:
40 Years Later, Stonewall Riots Remembered. Audio report by Margot Adler. Forty years ago, gay street youth started a riot at a bar in New York City that would forever change the struggle for gay rights in America.

Yagg - France:
Doug Ireland, Journaliste: “Stonewall Est Devenu un Mythe, Quoiqu’un Mythe Utile et Rassembleur”. Par Christophe Martet. Doug Ireland, un journaliste américain, remonte le fil de ses souvenirs et livre son regard – forcément critique – sur l’héritage stonewallien et la communauté LGBT d’aujourd’hui. For those who do not read French and want to read this article, click HERE for a Google French-to-Englishon-line translation.
ASIA
CNN International - USA:
India Faith Leaders: Anti-Gay Law Must Stay. By Harmeet Shah Singh. Religious groups in India have warned they will oppose any move to legalize homosexuality as the federal government prepares to hold talks on a law that classifies same-sex acts as crimes. India's Hindu nationalist main opposition has in the meantime called for a national debate on the legislation that law minister M. Veerappa Moily last week said would come up for a discussion within the government.

The Independent - UK:
India's Gays Prepare to Join the Rainbow Nation. By Andrew Buncombe in Delhi. The Indian government is considering rewriting a law drafted more than 100 years ago that criminalises homosexuality. The news emerged as the capital, Delhi, held its second gay rights march yesterday and other cities across the nation played host to similar parades. See also The Times.

Sunday June 28, 2009

HOMO NEST RAIDED - QUEEN BEES ARE STINGING MAD
New York Daily News Headline - June 29, 1969

FOUR POLICEMEN HURT IN 'VILLAGE' RAID
Melee in Sheridan Square Follows Action at Bar
New York Times headline - June 29, 1969

40th ANNIVERSARY OF STONEWALL

Police raids on gay establishments were common in the 1960s, but in the early hours of a summer morning in ’69, patrons at the Stonewall Inn in New York have had enough. This time, when the cops barge into the bar, the drag queens and gay men fight back, resulting in six nights of protest on the streets of the bohemian West Village. A year later, New York’s first gay-pride parade is held, and a political movement has begun. - Newsweek

NY1 News - USA:
Thousands March In Support Of Gay Pride. First report of the Pride parade in New York City - the page included embedded video report from the streets of Manhattan.

New York Times - USA:
40 Years Later, Still Second-Class Americans. Op-Ed by Frank Rich. Like all students caught up in the civil rights and antiwar movements of the 1960s, I was riveted by the violent confrontations between the police and protestors in Selma, 1965, and Chicago, 1968. But I never heard about the several days of riots that rocked Greenwich Village after the police raided a gay bar called the Stonewall Inn in the wee hours of June 28, 1969 — 40 years ago today.

New York Daily News - USA:
Memories of Stonewall Are Still Alive. Kate Nocera meets 'Tree' a bar tender at the Stonewall Inn on the night of the riots - and he still works there.

BBC News - UK:
Video: Stonewall Veteran Recalls Gay Riot. BBC's Philippa Thomas talks to one of the rioters, Martin Boyce, about his memories of the night it started.

National Public Radio - USA:
Stonewall At 40: Gay Rights Hits Middle Age. By Marc Acito. Sure, the gay liberation movement may be turning forty, but since a lot of gay guys moisturize, we look a lot younger. For those of you who are what we call "homosexually impaired," let me give you a quick history... Audio, from All Things Considered, is available on this page.

The Age - Australia:
Gay Rights Movement: 40 Years Dince Stonewall Riots. By Luis Torres de la Llosa (AFP). Forty years ago, a New York City bar called the Stonewall Inn shot to global attention when its gay clientele staged a revolt against police harassment, launching the US homosexual rights movement.

New York Times - USA:
Political Shifts on Gay Rights Lag Behind Culture. By Adam Nagourney. For 15 minutes in the Oval Office the other day, one of President Obama’s top campaign lieutenants, Steve Hildebrand, told the president about the “hurt, anxiety and anger” that he and other gay supporters felt over the slow pace of the White House’s engagement with gay issues.

UK and EUROPE
UK Gay News - UK:
“We Will Not Be Intimidated” – Organisers of Budapest Gay Pride. Extreme right wing groups plan to stop September’s Pride march “by all means necessary”. Organisers of Budapest Gay Pride are calling for world-wide support for their September event which, they say, is no longer only about the rights of gay and lesbian people, but about the freedom of everyone.
Independent on Sunday - UK:
The IoS Pink List 2009. It's back - as controversial and, we believe, as necessary as ever. Here is this year's roster of the 101 most influential gay and lesbian people in Britian today.
Independent on Sunday - UK:
Ben Bradshaw: Glad to Be 'More Wagner than Wenger'. Jane Merrick meets Ben Bradshaw, the openly gay Minister of Culture and Sport - and the first cabinet minister to be in a civil partnership.

South Wales Echo - UK:
Gay Pride Event Pulls Crowds. Thousands of revellers flocked to Swansea's first-ever outdoor gay pride event. Organisers are hailing it a success and say plans are already underway to hold another Swansea Pride next year.

The Observer - UK:
Under the Gaydar. By Patrick Strudwick. Henry Badenhorst has certainly been a quiet revolutionary. As Gaydar, the website he co-founded 10 years ago, became the world's most successful online dating site, Badenhorst remained silent. The site has transformed the way people relate to each other on and offline, an influence reaching far beyond its original ambition of hooking up single gay men. But apart from Badenhorst's regular namechecks on gay power lists - he tends to vie for position alongside the likes of Elton John, Ian McKellen and Evan Davis - we know almost nothing about him.

AFRICA
Scotland on Sunday - UK:
Uganda Gay Purge Puts Football Coach on Spot. By Ewing Grahame. A Scottish football manager could lose his job leading an African football team unless he signs a form condemning gays. Bobby Williamson, the former Rangers and West Bromwich star who is now head coach of the Ugandan national squad, has been asked to take part in an anti-sodomy offensive in the country, where homosexuality is illegal.

Global Voices - USA:
The Plight of Gays and Lesbians in Kenya. By Haute Haiku in Nairobi. As much as Nairobi is being described as one of the cosmopolitan cities in Africa and where a lot of homosexuals find solace in, homophobia is widespread.

ASIA
The Times of India - India:
Families to Stand by LGBT Community During Pride March. By Priya M Menon. On Sunday, the city will host the Chennai Rainbow Pride March, Chennai Vaanavil Ula', for the first time. Members of the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender (LGBT) community will get together to express their solidarity, create awareness and, above all, celebrate their visibility. Significantly, standing by them will be supportive parents, family members and friends.

The Times of India - India:
Is India Ready to Accept Gays? Commentary by Manoj Mitta. If the government musters courage to decriminalize homosexuality, or if the Delhi high court effects such a change on the petition challenging Section 377 of IPC, India will shed the dubious distinction of being among the 10 countries that impose life sentence for gay sex.

Saturday June 27, 2009

Irish Times - Ireland:
Gay Pride March Held in Dublin. By Genevieve Carbery. The city centre of Dublin was filled with colour, noise, music whistles and chants this afternoon as thousands marched in this year's gay pride march.

Sofia Echo - Bulgaria:
Rainbow Friendship 2009 Without Incidents. By Rene Beekman. Tension was high with organisers, police and private security when the 300 or-so participants in the 2009 Rainbow Friendship parade gathered on Lovers' Bridge behind Sofia's National Palace of Culture (NDK).

Sofia Echo - Bulgaria:
Rainbow Friendship Supported by 2 Local Political Organisations - Organisers. By Rene Beekman. The Bulgarian Greens and the Socialist Youth organisation were the only political organisations that supported the Rainbow Friendship 2009 parade, organisers said at a media conference on the morning of the parade The parade had received the support of 11 foreign embassies, including the US, UK, The Netherlands and France.

France24 - France:
Liza Minnelli Enchants Paris Gay Pride March.  Hundreds of thousands on Saturday marched through Paris and Berlin in flamboyant Gay Pride parades with US showbiz diva and gay icon Liza Minnelli mesmerising crowds in the French capital.

The Guardian - UK:
Amid Jewish Revival, Poland Gets Openly Gay Rabbi. By Vanessa Gera in Warsaw. When Rabbi Aaron Katz walks the streets of Warsaw's former Jewish quarter, scenes of that lost world fill his imagination: Families headed to synagogue, women in their kitchens cooking Sabbath meals, his father as a boy with the sidecurls of an Orthodox Jew. But Katz's life could hardly be more different from that prewar eastern European culture, at least in one key respect: He is Poland's first openly gay rabbi.

The Times - UK:
Church 'Out of Touch' as Public Supports Equal Rights for Homosexuals. By Rosemary Bennett. A revolution in attitudes towards gay men and lesbians is indicated in a poll which shows that a majority of the public want homosexuals to share identical rights to everyone else. Just 40 years after homosexual acts were legalised, and only nine years since the age of consent was equalised, 61 per cent of the public want gay couples to be able to marry just like the rest of the population, not just have civil partnerships. See also the blog of Ruth Gledhill, the religion correspondent at The Times.

Irish Times - Ireland:
Campaign Groups Give Cautious Reaction to Bill. By Tim O'Brien. The Gay and Lesbian Equality Network described the Civil Partnership Bill as “an historic civil rights reform” that would resolve “many immediate and pressing issues faced by lesbian and gay couples”.

STONEWALL ANNIVERSARY - June 28, 1969
Women Born Transsexual - USA:
Stonewall 1949-1969: The Back Story. By Suzan. Stonewall is one of those great events. [...] The riot that happened 40 years ago this weekend had some 20 years of people organizing, agitating, building movements and shifting consciousness. When Stonewall happened it marked the end of one era and the birth of another instead of simply vanishing into an incident forgotten by all except perhaps the participants the way so many acts of resistance from that era are forgotten.

New York Daily News - USA:
Let My Two Moms Marry! On Stonewall Anniversary, Kids of Gay Parents Join Same-Sex Marriage Fight. By Samuel Goldsmith. Children of gay parents say it's time to let Heather's two mommies get married.

Washington Post - USA:
Stonewall Baby, All Grown Up. By Michael Hamill Remaley. I was born on the day of the Stonewall riots, June 27, 1969, so my life is an individual history of the 40-year-old modern gay rights movement. What makes my story particularly representative is just how conventional my life has become. I grew up on a farm in Pennsylvania. My parents were liberal college professors, but I was aware in high school -- in the 1980s, when AIDS had no treatment and hatred for gays reached a fever pitch -- that they wanted both of their boys to be heterosexual. Logically, it seemed to be the only path to a happy, successful life. I knew I was gay but said nothing.

MSNBC - USA:
Arrested at Stonewall, Gay Man Sees Progress. Sunday, June 28, marks the 40^th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, considered by many the beginning of the modern gay rights movement in the U.S. NBC News Editor Sandra Lilley spoke to two men, one who was at the Stonewall Inn on the night of the riots and the other a historian who wrote a book about the events. They discuss how the movement for gay rights has, and hasn’t, changed over the last 40 years.

Newark Star-Ledger - USA:
Stonewall Riots Anniversary and the Modern Gay Rights Movement. Editorial. Eric Mongerson of Atlanta received a special Father's Day gift this year: the right to spend time with three of his young children in the company of his same-sex partner. Two years ago a judge, siding with Mongerson's ex-wife, ruled that Mongerson could not introduce his gay partner and friends to his children on the grounds it would cause them harm.

Seattle Times - USA:
Gay Rights Mean Different Things to Different Generations of Community. By Lornet Turnball. Forty years after New York's Stonewall Riots launched the gay-rights movement, older gays and younger ones share much the same agenda of equality. But their needs within the movement are also divergent.

The Times - UK:
Stonewall Anniversary: Writers and TV Presenters Discuss the Progress of Gay Rights. Ten personalities, from Paul O'Grady to Peter Tatchell reflect on the Stonewall anniversay.

ARCHIVE VIDEO
How the 20th Anniversary of Stonwall Was Marked on NBC's
The Nightly News - June 25, 1989
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

USA and the AMERICAS
The Advocate - USA:
Fed. Prop. 8 Suit: Gay Groups Weigh In. The American Civil Liberties Union and two prominent gay and lesbian legal organizations have filed a brief in support of a lawsuit against California’s Proposition 8, though one attorney said the move is not an endorsement of federal suits that challenge existing state marriage bans.

Virginian Pilot - USA:
Scott Signs Letter to Suspend Policy on Gays. By Bill Bartel. U.S. Rep. Bobby Scott, D- 3rd District, has signed a letter asking President Barack Obama to suspend the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy and allow gay people to serve in the military without penalty.

The Advocate - USA:
View From the Hill. Commentary by Kerry Eleveld. President Barack Obama will have the chance to commit America to the work of providing equality to its LGBT citizens when he addresses activists at a White House reception Monday. Let's hope it doesn't become a missed opportunity

National Post - Canada:
How Toronto Police and the Gay Community Kissed and Made Up. By Kathryn Blaze Carlson. Armed with Crime Stoppers condoms sporting the slogan “Your Tip is Safe With us,” Toronto police will march alongside the gay community at this weekend’s Pride Parade, symbolizing the epic shift in a relationship once plagued by violence and mistrust. Not long ago, much of the gay community viewed the city’s police officers as skinheads in uniform, a force to be feared.

The Advocate - USA:
HIV Travel Ban to Be Lifted. By Kerry Eleveld. The first step to ending the HIV travel ban in the United States has been taken by the Obama administration. The Office of Management and Budget posted a notice on its site Friday afternoon indicating that the department of Health and Human Services could move forward with steps to change a regulation that has restricted HIV-positive people from gaining entrance into the United States.

Washington Post - USA:
Out of the Closet and Into Congress? With California Democrat Ellen Tauscher heading to the State Department, former Army captain and West Point grad Anthony Woods has set his sights on her congressional seat. After two tours in Iraq, Woods came out of the closet and had to leave the military. Outlook's Rachel Dry spoke with him about the Obama administration's position on gay rights, the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall riots and why "don't ask, don't tell" is the least of the president's problems.

Washington Blade - USA:
Gay Invitees ‘Eager’ for White House Reception. By Chris Johnson. President Obama has invited a several key players in the LGBT community for a White House reception Monday to celebrate Pride month.
AFRICA
Beyond the Mask - South Africa:
Reasearch Puts Rural Gays Under Spotlight. By Lesego Tlhwale. The University of South Africa (UNISA) together with Gay Umbrella, a lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) organisation in the North West Province, have joined forces in a two year systematic research project that will provide important insights into the rural perspective of gays and lesbians.

AUSTRALASIA
Gay NZ - New Zealand:
Ambach to Police: 'Maybe I Pushed him'. The Ambach trial - Day 5: Interviewed by police just hours after the deadly assault on elderly gay man Ronald Brown, Ferdinand Ambach suggested that he may have pushed Brown, that the elderly man feel over, perhaps down the stairs.

Friday June 26, 2009

Michael Jackson
August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009
Special 'mini-site' by The Guardian

UK and EUROPE
UK Gay News - UK:
Anti-Gay Law Is Vetoed by Lithuanian President. The President of Lithuania, Valdas Adamkus, has vetoed the proposed new law which was approved last week by the Seimas (Parliament). The law, described by an MEP this week as “a spit into the face of European values”, would ban “propaganda for homosexuality and bisexuality” as one of the “detrimental effectors” on children. The ban will not only include schools, but will also apply to “other places accessible to youngsters”.Deutsche Welle - Germany:
German Activists Push for Constitutional Amendment for Gay Rights. By Kateri Jochum. Forty years after the landmark "Stonewall uprising," German politicians and gay rights activists are demanding changes to the constitution to include equal rights for gay people.

UK Gay News - UK:
The Disgrace of So-Called Christian After Anti-Gay Rant. Commentary by Sean Morrin. The remarks made by Pastor Mark Bradfield in a letter to the Derry Journal last week are nothing more than disgraceful and very dangerous.

BBC Wales - UK:
Councillor's Ban Over Gay Remark. A councillor has been disqualified for a year after referring to homosexuality as a "notorious disability". Bill Pritchard, who was a town councillor in Barmouth, Gwynedd, wrote to an assembly government minister, referring to two men in a local development.

STONEWALL ANNIVERSARY

New York Times - USA:
The Real Mob at Stonewall. Op-Ed by Lucian K. Truscott IV. I was perhaps the unlikeliest person in the world to cover the Stonewall riots for The Village Voice. It was June 27, 1969. I had graduated from West Point only three weeks earlier and was spending my summer leave in New York before reporting for duty at Fort Benning, in Georgia. After a late dinner in Chinatown, I was about to enter the Lion’s Head, a writers’ hangout on Christopher Street near the Voice’s offices, when I blundered straight into the first moments of the police raid on the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar a couple of doors down the street. Even a newly minted second lieutenant of infantry could see that it was a story.

The Guardian - UK:
Our Lost Gay Radicalism. Commentary by Peter Tatchell. The Stonewall riots of 40 years ago led to demands for liberation. Now we meekly hope for equality.

USA and the AMERICAS

Washington Blade - USA:
Gays Boycott DNC Fundraiser. By Chris Johnson. Tension continued to build this week over a LGBT fundraiser for the Democratic National Committee with several gay invitees boycotting the event, while others who planned to attend said they would voice their frustrations to party leaders. Chuck Wolfe, president of the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund, withdrew from the event on Tuesday.

Q Notes - USA:
Controversial Sex Ed Bill Approved. By Matt Comer. On Thursday, the North Carolina House of Representatives voted 60-55 to concur with a Senate version of a sexual health education bill designed to revamp the state’s curre. After its passage, the bill was sent to the governor.
KBDI TV Denver - USA:
Studio 12 GLBT Frustrations with Obama Administration. Video of the topical discussion programme that this week focuses on the current frustrations of many gay people with President Obama and his perceived lack of urgency on promised LGBT issues. Transmitted June 24 - 58 minutes.
USA Today - USA:
Survey: 60% of Gays Say Faith Is Important to Them. By Adelle M. Banks. A significant majority of gays and lesbians — six in 10 — say faith is important in their lives, but heterosexuals generally state such commitments more often, according to a new survey by a Christian research firm.

Washington Blade - USA:
An Ill-Advised Protest. Opinion by Peter Rosenstein. Having participated in a number of marches on Washington, I think the few people who are focusing their energy on this ought to find something more productive to do. Before we ask our community to spend the time and money — and make no mistake a march on Washington is an expensive proposition — we should look at who we will influence with the march. Are we going to attack the Congress and the president we just helped to elect?

Reuters - UK:
U.S. Pastor Defends Video of Exorcism of Gay Man. By Michelle Nichols. A U.S. pastor defended a video posted on YouTube of an exorcism of a gay man, saying the Manifested Glory Ministries church does not hate gay people, it just does not believe in their lifestyle. The video, which has sparked outrage among gay rights advocates, shows a young man writhing around on the floor at the Stamford, Connecticut church.

ABC News - USA:
Church Reported to State for Gay Exorcism Video. By Sarah Netter. The exorcism caught on video showed the Connecticut teen writhing on the floor as adults hovered above him ordering the demons to be cast out. The boy's supposed sin? Being gay.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer - USA:
Judge: Gay City Workers Names Don't Have to be Released, For Now. By Levi Pulkkinen. A King County judge has temporarily barred the release of the names of Seattle city employees involved in a city-sponsored group for gay and lesbian workers to an anti-gay rights activist.

Thursday June 25, 2009

23:40 UK Time. BREAKING NEWS: US TV Network NBC is reporting that Michael Jackson has died in Los Angeles aged 50

UK and EUROPE
Lesbilicious - UK:
Transphobia: The Prejudice It's Still OK to Laugh At? By Cate Simpson. There’s only so much homophobia the media can get away with these days without having to issue a hasty apology. But when it comes to reporting on trans issues, stories about ’sex swaps’ and ‘pregnant men’ are still depressingly mainstream. What effect does this kind of attention have on a minority that is already contending with higher than average rates of violence, unemployment and street harassment?

Reuters AlertNet - UK:
Lithuania: Reject Censorship Law. Op-Ed by Human Rights Watch. President Valdas Adamkus should veto a proposed law passed by Lithuania's parliament that would ban references to gay, lesbian, and bisexual relations in public places.

Irish Examiner - Ireland:
Gay Rights Protesters Chain Themselves to Dáil. Gay rights activists chained themselves to the gates of Dáil Eireann today in protest at the Government's proposed Civil Partnership Bill.

The Independent - UK:
Gay Referee Gets Red Card in Turkey. By Nicholas Birch in Istanbul. Turkey's football authorities were at the centre of a growing scandal this week after a referee they had sacked for homosexuality and outed to the press began fighting back in the courts and the press.

The Guardian - UK:
Gilbert and George: The Odd Couple. Stuart Jeffries meets Gilbert and George, the gay artistic couple who have "their strangest show yet" at London's White Cube fron next month. Guardian video report is HERE.

The Guardian - UK:
Thank You, and Goodbye Pink Paper. Commentary by Peter Tatchell. The print edition of the Pink Paper, Britain's only national gay newspaper, ceased publication this week – killed off by the recession and the resultant sharp fall in advertising revenue.
South Wales Evening Post - UK:
Gay Pride Date Is Expecting to Pull the Crowds. Revellers from across the UK are set to visit Swansea on Saturday for the city's gay pride festival.

Pink Paper - UK:
Secret Snappers Target Innocent Single Men. By Haydn Price. Rangers in Cardiff have been taking secret pictures of single men they suspect of cruising in a city centre park, it has been claimed.
East Anglia Daily News - UK:
Tories Wrong to Join a `Bizarre Cabal'. Commentary by Graham Dines. It was a good day for the Conservatives to announce bad news - the formation of the new centre-right grouping in the European Parliament headed by the Tories was almost lost as John Bercow became the new Speaker.

The Guardian - UK:
DIY Gay Porn – Bromance's Logical Fourth Base. By Demetrios Matheou at the Edinburgh Film Festival. Lynn Shelton's Humpday is drawing Judd Apatow comparisons at Edinburgh with its hardcore buddy study - the director has already won Shane Meadows's 'special prize'.

Limerick Post - Ireland:
Confession: New Club Night. By Calire Kelly. Madonna Lucia is delighted to announce the launch of her new club night for the Gay community called Confession. The club is hosted every fortnight downstairs at Scotts in Alandale just off of the Dock Road. The official launch party is on Saturday July 4 at 11.30pm with former Alternative Miss Ireland Sheila Fits-Patrick cutting the ribbon.
USA and the AMERICAS
Daily Mail - UK:
Disturbing Video of Church Casting Out 'Homosexual Demon' from Boy, 16, Posted on YouTube. Shocking footage of church elders carrying out a exorcism to cast a 'homosexual demon' from a teenage boy have been posted online. The video shows the 16-year-old lying on the floor, his body convulsing, while members of a small Connecticut church stand over him. See also Raw Story (USA)

San Francisco Chronicle - USA:
West Point Grad Among Pride Parade Marshals. By Meredith May. When Army National Guard Lt. Dan Choi fell in love, he couldn't stop talking about it. Choi lived in a "don't ask, don't tell" world, an Arabic-speaking West Point graduate and combat veteran of the Iraq war, whose future career, health and housing benefits depended on a smooth relationship with the military.

The Villager - USA:
I Wasn’t Quite at Stonewall, But it Changed My Life. By Tim Gay. I remember when Judy Garland died but I don’t recall Stonewall. After all, I was not quite 14 back in June 1969. But a year and a couple of months later, in the fall of 1970, I was voraciously reading about homosexuality, the Stonewall Inn Riots, the Gay Liberation Organization, the Mattachine Society and Judy Garland — all thanks to a high school librarian who quietly stocked the shelves with “liberal” books and magazines.

Vancouver Metro - Canada:
Pride Starts Adding Up. Commentary by Steve Collins. In the middle of Pride Week, en route to Canada Day, it’s possible to conflate Pride and patriotism. To the south, the Obama administration has extended benefits to same-sex couples working for the federal government — except, presumably, in the military, where the old “don’t ask don’t tell” policy is still in place.

Miami Herald - USA:
Gays Should Stick with President, and He with Them. Op-Ed by Susan Estrich. Rep. Barney Frank, the first member of Congress to be re-elected after coming out, is right in telling gays not to abandon the president. As Frank put it, ``The notion that if someone doesn't agree with you 100 percent, then you shouldn't be supportive of him -- versus someone who disagrees with you 100 percent -- is very bad politics.
ASIA
The Guardian - UK:
A Tale of Two Parties. By Brian Whittaker. Hot on the heels of the gay night out in Saudi Arabia that ended disastrously in the arrest of 69 Filipinos comes word of some more "offensive" partying by foreigners – this time stalwarts of Riyadh's expatriate English community, including the British ambassador himself.

Ha'aretz - Israel:
Thousands Turn Out for Jerasualem 's Gay Pride Parade. Thousands turned out Thursday for the start of the annual Gay pride parade in Jerusalem, an event which has previously seen violent demonstrations by anti-gay protesters. But police sources say that this year the parade is not expected to stir violent protests.

New Statesman - UK:
Pride and Prejudice. By Anisha Ahmed. Last year, beating drums and impromptu song and dance sequences gave India’s first Pride parades a distinctive desi flavour. This year, the stage is set for two new Indian cities – Chennai and Bhubaneshwar – to join Delhi, Kolkata, Bangalore and Mumbai in the ranks of the global queer community. However, the masked faces that dot India’s Pride marches signify a grave underlying problem.

The Nation - Thailand:
The Story of Lady Boys. James Eckhardt reviews the book Ladyboys. A recent newspaper story reported that a high school in Loei has set up a separate bathroom for kathoey students, 200 out of an enrolment of 1,200. Two hundred? In Loei? As in American movies about high school, there are similar factions in Thai schools: the jocks, the brains, the nerds, the cheerleaders. In Thailand you also have the kathoeys.

Y Net News - Israel:
Jerusalem Expects Unprecedented Calm at Pride Parade. By Ronen Medzini. Thousands are expected to march in the Jerusalem Pride Parade Thursday, and in contrast to previous years no violent threats have been heard from the ultra-Orthodox community, which has a history of aggressively objecting to the parade.
AUSTRALASIA
GayNZ - New Zealand:
Ambach Describes Self as Regular, "Normal". Day 4 of the trial of Ferdinand Ambach, a 32-year old Hungarian tourist, is on trial for the murder of elderly gay Onehunga man Ronald Brown in December 2007. He has pleaded not guilty