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LATEST NEWS

Monday May 12

LATEST

The Scotsman - UK: 
Is Compensation Body Blaming an Assault Victim?  By Shân Ross.  A man who was subjected to a homophobic attack after being walked home from a night out says his claim for criminal compensation was rejected because he is gay.

GayNZ - New Zealand: 
Civil Peace: After LGBT Reform.  Commentary by Craig Young.  After we secure the final items on our LGBT reform agenda - inclusive adoption reform, same-sex marriage proper, transgender rights and provocation law reform, then what?  Civil peace happens.

The Age - Australia: 
Schools Open to Scrutiny After Same-Sex Ban.  By Christopher Bantick.  The decision last month by Brisbane's Anglican Church Grammar School - commonly known as Churchie - to ban same-sex partners from attending a year 12 formal raises two important questions: The first is whether the all-boy school was right to do so; the second, did this amount to discrimination?

Sunday May 11

UK and EUROPE
 

CHISINAU GAY PRIDE THWARTED BY ANTI-GAY PROTESTORS News is coming in of what amounts to a fiasco in Chisinau, the capital of Moldova, when anti-gay protestors prevented this afternoon's Gay Pride by attacking participants, with the police standing by watching and not doing anything.  Photo shows anti-gay protestors staging "an unauthorised" march to the offices of the gay rights group, GenderDoc-M this morning. photo courtesy GenderDoc-M/ILGA-Europe UK Gay News - UK:  Moldovan Police Stand Accused of Letting Protestors Highjack Bus Carrying Gay Pride Participants.  A ruling of the Moldovan Supreme Court and the provisions of the European Human Rights Convention, which Moldova signed, were set aside by Chisinau police who stood to one side and let extremist religious groups, members of the neo-fascist movement, “New Right”, and legionnaires prevent today’s “Gay Pride” from going ahead.  Updated at 19:30 and 20:00 (UK time)

Scotland on Sunday - UK: 
Gay Syrian Waits for Asylum Appeal Verdict.  By Kurt Bayer.  A gay asylum seeker who faces torture and death if he is deported to Syria, where homosexuality is illegal, is waiting to hear if this week's appeal for leave to stay in Scotland will be granted.  Jojo Jako Yakob, 19, fled Syria two years ago after being arrested, shot and beaten before being tortured in jail when he was caught distributing anti-government leaflets.

Sunday Independent - Ireland: 
How a Gay Friend Helped Change My Mind About Same-Sex Unions.  Commentary by Louis Jacob.  If gay couples want to get married, for Christ's sake, let them. Gay marriage is going to happen someday so let them get on with it.  Last week, I was visiting Kielce, an ultra-conservative city to the south of Warsaw in Poland, and I experienced what they call a 'moment of clarity'.

Mail on Sunday - UK: 
Brian Paddick's Hilarious Diary Reveals the Farcical Truth About His Failed Bid to Beat Boris and 'Red Wine Ken' To Be London Mayor.  By Brian Paddick.  The election diary of the openly gay former top policeman who stood as the Lib Dem candidate for London Mayor.

USA and the AMERICAS

The Observer - UK: 
Hidden Gay Life of Macho Hip Hop Stars.  By Paul Harris in New York.  A former MTV executive reveals a homosexual subculture in an aggressively male business where anti-gay lyrics and public homophobia are common.

CNN International - USA: 
'Raw Politics': Religious Right Leaning Toward Democrats?  By Tom Foreman.  For decades, evangelicals have been seen as solid supporters of the Republican Party. That could be changing.  The religious right, a cornerstone of the so-called Reagan revolution -- the battle over abortion law, and gay marriage -- wants a change.  At least some evangelicals do.

Boston Edge - USA: 
Advocates Aim High in Senate Budget Lobbying.  By Ethan Jacobs.  Following modest funding increases for LGBT and HIV/AIDS programs in the [Massachusetts] House budget for the next fiscal year, advocates are pushing the Senate to approve much larger increases in its budget plan.

Tampa Tribune - USA: 
Gay Marriage Rites And Civil Rights.  Op-Ed by Joseph H. Brown.  Mildred Loving died last Friday, very quietly and with little fanfare. It should not have been that way, but it was symbolic of the way she lived.

ASIA

GayNZ - New Zealand: 
Finding Your Gay Way in China.  By Tony Simpson.  Gay venues in China tend to be a bit elusive. This is because, as our gay friend Yi Ba explained in Beijing, while gay sex isn't.

Saturday May 10

UK and EUROPE

Lesbian & Gay Foundation - UK: 
Couples Wanted for New! Magazine Feature.  Writers of a weekly women's magazine called ‘New!’ are looking to find three gay or lesbian couples who would be willing to take part in a feature on same sex marriages.

Arizona Republic - USA: 
Forbidden Finds Success.  Megan Finnerty visits a club that got into a sport of bother on LGBT equality issues and went on to become Scotsdale's successful LGBT venue.

The Atlantic - USA: 
Boris's Gays.  Andrew Sullivan on the new Mayor of London - complete with several openly gay appointees.

USA and the AMERICAS

Los Angeles Times - USA: 
HIV Patient Triggers a Doctor's Dilemma About Confidentiality and Safety.  By Marc Siegel.  When a patient tests HIV-positive, a doctor has to navigate state law and medical ethics. It can be a rocky path.

Yahoo! News - USA: 
Librarians Against Censorship?  By Brent Bozell III.  The American Library Association (ALA) has released its annual survey of offenses to "intellectual freedom," the books whose place in public schools and public libraries is the most "challenged" by the public. 

Daily News Tribune - USA:
Press: An Inflammatory Preacher Escapes Media Scrutiny.  OpEd by Bill Press.  Imagine this: A preacher endorses a candidate for president. Then we learn the preacher has, for years and from the pulpit, made disgusting, inflammatory and un-American statements. Yet the mainstream media totally ignores the preacher's remarks and never pressures the candidate to explain all the ugly things the preacher has said and done over the last 20 years.  Impossible scenario? That depends on whether your name is Barack Obama or John McCain - and whether the preacher's name is Jeremiah Wright or John Hagee.

The Coloradoan - USA: 
Club Static Site To Be Torn Down.  By Cari Merrill.  A Fort Collins gay bar and nightclub has closed and will soon be torn down.  Club Static, 1437 E. Mulberry St., was evicted in October after almost a year of failing to pay rent, said Eloy Castillon, owner of the property.

Chicago Tribune - USA: 
Student-Led Effort Lobbies Online for Civil Unions Bill.  By Nguyen Huy Vu (AP).  When Phil Miatkowski created an online group to support civil union legislation in Illinois, it was meant to be just an easy way to keep friends informed.  A year later, the group on the social networking site Facebook has swelled to nearly 9,000 members.

Friday May 9

UK and EUROPE

UK Gay News - UK: 
Chisinau Mayor Bans Gay Pride on Eve of Parade.  Mayor Dorin Chirtoaca has banned the Gay Pride parade in the Moldovan capital.  The parade, part of “Rainbow over the Dniester” is scheduled to take place on Sunday (May 10).

UK Gay News - UK: 
Riga Council Can’t Switch Us Off, Say Latvian Gays.  By Kristine Garina.  Talking about illusions… We have gay-themed TV series like Will & Grace on TV.  We even have Queer Eye for the Straight Guy and it’s widely popular and everyone watches it.  But it’s just something out there, not here.

Polish Radio - Poland: 
GLBT Individuals Will Not Be Able to Donate Blood in Poland.  Homosexuals and bisexuals will not be allowed to donate blood. A ban to this effect is planned by the National Blood Center.

Lesbian & Gay Foundation - UK: 
Queer Soldiers Wanted.  Manchester’s Imperial War Museum North is still on the look out for people from the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities who have served or who are serving in the Armed Forces to contact them about a new photographic display as soon as possible.

USA and the AMERICAS

Queerty - USA: 
Obama Knows His Gay Stores.  Politicians are human. Humans are animals. And, as we all know, animals like to have a bit of fun, even when the human is Barack Obama campaigning across the country.  That helps explain why the Democratic presidential candidate recently played a carefree game of Taboo with press and staff aboard his campaign plane.

Gay Wired - USA: 
Note to Hillary Clinton: The Singing Fat Lady Is In the Wings.  By Christopher Lisotta.  If you believe in media narratives (sometimes a very dangerous thing to do) Sen. Hillary Clinton’s quest for the White House has come to an end. Since the May 6 primaries in North Carolina and Indiana, media pundits of all stripes have been falling over themselves explaining the mathematical certainties that spell out Clinton’s imminent defeat and Sen. Barack Obama’s insurmountable lead in the pledged democratic delegate count.

PageOneQ - USA: 
Hit TV Drama Features Gay Soldiers in 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Tragedy.  By Nick Langewis.  The storyline of last night's "Grey's Anatomy" brought light to a possible scenario that faces thousands of partnered gay and lesbian military servicemembers under the veil of secrecy required to live under "Don't Ask, Don't Tell": A terminal illness.

San Diego Union-Tribune - USA: 
Former NBA Star's Opposition to Gay Marriage Stirs Anger.  Sacramento mayoral candidate Kevin Johnson upset local gay and lesbian leaders after saying he believes marriage is between a man and a woman.  The former NBA star made the statement in response to a question during a candidate debate this week.

The Coloradoan - USA: 
Club Static Closes; Unable to Pay Rent.  By Cari Merrill.  A popular Fort Collins gay bar and nightclub has closed and will soon be torn down.

Columbus Dispatch - USA: 
Gay Residents Say They're Happy but Not Carefree.  By Rita Price.  They are mostly healthy, in committed relationships and happy with central Ohio's social scene.  But people responding to a first-ever survey of area gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender residents also report high levels of depression, face threats because of their sexual orientation and often suffer discrimination in the workplace.  The findings show that Columbus, although known as a gay-friendly city, still has some work to do, survey organizers said.

Jamaica Gleaner - Jamaica: 
Hooray for Red Stripe.  By Dennie Quill.  I have had a few beers in my time, but it is not my brew of choice. However, I have decided to purchase a few cases of Red Stripe beer. As of now all visitors to my home will be having beer, like it or not. Why? This is my way of applauding the brewing giant for taking the bold decision to withdraw sponsorship of local concerts which feature filthy, violent lyrics from artistes who spew hatred and slackness from the stage.

Falls Church News Press - USA: 
Anything But Straight: The Bible Without Bile.  By Wayne Besen.  No matter who wins the presidential election, it is quite clear that the big loser in campaign 08 is religion. By far, the most strident political voices have come from renegade reverends that seem a bit hot under the collar. These cantankerous characters (or caricatures) have transformed their houses of worship into a harbor of war ships with loose cannons lobbing invective into an otherwise serene national conversation.

Waco Tribune-Herald - USA: 
Kansas Anti-Gay Group May Protest Near Bush Ranch.  By Tommy Witherspoon.  The crowd from the Crawford Texas Peace House may be sitting this one out, but the sanctity of President Bush’s daughter’s wedding Saturday won’t necessarily stop anti-homosexual protesters from the Westboro Baptist Church from trying to crash the blessed event.

AUSTRALASIA

GayNZ - New Zealand: 
'Overwhelming' Need for LGBT Centre.  An Auckland City Council scoping study has confirmed an 'overwhelming' need for an LGBT Centre in central Auckland, says a researcher employed to investigate whether such a centre would be of use to the local community.

International Herald Tribune - France: 
Australian City Government Passes Amended Same-Sex Union Law After Federal Intervention.  An Australian city government passed a watered-down version of a same-sex union law Friday after the federal government threatened to quash any legislation that resembled traditional marriage.

Thursday May 8

UK and EUROPE

UK Gay News - UK: 
We Want Donation Not Gay Discrimination, Northern Ireland Students Tell National Blood Service.  Students from campuses throughout Northern Ireland are campaigning today for the National Union of Students – Union of Students in Ireland Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (NUS-USI LGBT) day of action over the ‘gay blood donation ban’.

The Guardian - UK: 
Russian Pride?  By Nikolai Alekseev, the Russian gay activist and co-organiser of Moscow Gay Pride. Tomorrow, Russia will mark the anniversary of its 1945 victory over fascism. Meanwhile skinheads and neo-Nazis roam the streets. 

Hampstead & Highgate Express - UK: 
Record Response to Plan for Heath CCTV.  By Ed. Thomas.  Opinion is sharply divided over police use of CCTV on Hampstead Heath. Some support the surveillance scheme aimed at beating crime over the popular summer months but others remain opposed to being 'spied on' in one of London's secluded beauty spots. 

Lesbian & Gay Foundation - UK: 
Gaydio Prepars to Hit the Airwaves Again This Summer.  Gaydio, Manchester’s radio station for the city’s queer community will be hitting the airwaves once again this summer for their fourth and most ambitious broadcast to date.

Pink News - UK: 
Boris Will Attend Pride London.  By Tony Grew.  The new Mayor of London will take part in the city's gay Pride parade on July 5th, PinkNews.co.uk can confirm.  He had previously promised at a hustings organised by Stonewall during the campaign to come along whatever the outcome of the election.

BBC  - UK: 
Talking Shop: Alan Cumming.  Genevieve Hassan interviews the openly gay Scots actor known for his roles in X-Men 2, the Spy Kids films and his Tony Award-winning performance as the Emcee in the highly successful revival of Cabaret on Broadway.

USA and the AMERICAS

New York Gay City News - USA: 
Gay Activist Joins Nepal's Parliament.  By Doug Ireland.  In an historic breakthrough, the leader of Nepal's largest LGBT group, the Blue Diamond Society, has been named to a seat in the parliament following April 10 elections in that nation, home to some 30 million people.

New York Gay City News - USA: 
Is a Larry Kramer Needed Again?  By Lawrence D. Mass.  As all of us who lived through the terrible earliest period of AIDS recall, there was a great deal of blame and excoriation that went around, a lot of accusations of immorality and irresponsibility, and worse - of murder and mass-murder. Whatever the far more complex truth about us, we were at best a bunch of sex-besotted ninnies (as in nincompoops) and sissies, we were told, so outspokenly and consistently that we were bullied into submission, into accepting this explanation.

ProudParenting - USA: 
ProudParenting Celebrates Mother's Day.  We share our favorite blogs written by moms and intended moms in honor of Mother's Day weekend

Boston Bay Windows - USA: 
Long-Awaited Bullying Guide Released.  By Ethan Jacobs.  On April 30 the Massachusetts Department of Public Health released an anti-bullying guide for teachers and administrators that includes a three-page section on LGBT-related bullying issues.

PrideSource Michigan - USA: 
Community Homophobia Breeds Community Outcries.  When the federal government makes a decision to not allow certain rights for the LGBT community, there is little that we as individuals can do that we feel will actually make a difference. We can write letters and organize trips to legislators' offices, but often it seems as though we can't fight against wrong doings and homophobia that reaches as high as, for example, state representatives and even the White House.

Boston Edge - USA: 
NY Court Decision Puts Gay Marriage Pressure on Lawmakers.  By Kilian Melloy.  New York’s Court of Appeals has bounced a case involving family benefits for a lesbian couple married out of state back to the lower courts, and now the legislature needs to decide on the issue.

Boston Bay Windows - USA: 
The Literati Meet the Glitterati at The Red Fez.  By Brian Jewell.  Award-winning author Joseph Olshon (Clara’s Heart, The Night Swimmer) talks like a New Yorker and currently lives in Vermont. But when Bay Windows spoke with him about his upcoming reading at The Red Fez, where he’ll appear with fellow author Maureen Freely (Enlightenment), he was quick to remind me that one of the South End restaurant’s amenities is parking in the back.

Xtra West - Canada: 
City Terminates Gay Club's Lease.  By Natasha Barsotti.  The Odyssey nightclub [in Vancouver], a major gay stomping ground for over two decades, is looking for a new home following a joint city-provincial agreement to build supportive housing on its site.

Denver Post - USA: 
Lesbian Couple Guilty of Trespassing.  By Howard Pankratz.  A lesbian couple who staged a sit-in at the Denver Clerk and Recorder's Office after being denied a marriage license was found guilty today of trespassing.

AFRICA

GBC - Ghana: 
Government Asked to Improve on Human Rights.  Human Rights Non-Governmental Organisations in Ghana have expressed concern about human rights abuses in the country saying that even though the country is not doing badly, more needs to be done. Mac-Darling Cobbinah, Executive Director of International Gay and Lesbians Association, condemned the criminalisation of their activity.

ASIA

Bangkok Post - Thailand: 
My Life:  Being Gay Is Okay.  At the age of 21, a boy called Frank and a girl called Muk have defined themselves as homosexuals. Unlike many others, the two do not hide their status. Thanks to the love and understanding of their parents, they can be open and proud of being what they are.  By Anjira Assavanonda.

AUSTRALASIA

Sydney Morning Herald - Australia: 
Gay Unions Accepted But Don't Use Our Symbolism.  Op-Ed by Tim Dick.  Marriage is for one man and one woman. It is not for two men or two women, unless one is no longer a man or woman. A woman born a man may marry a man, as long as he remains a man, and she keeps taking her hormones.  The only way gays may marry in Australia is by sex-change, a rather extreme declaration of love, and anything that even "mimics" marriage is likewise banned.

AND FUNILLY

Madonna has been at it again.  As the Guardian headline puts it:  Madonna (49) snogs young brunette in gay Paris.  Madonna a closet lesbian?  Whatever next ...

Wednesday May 7

UK and EUROPE

Moscow Times - Russia: 
New London Mayor Told to Lose Russia Barbs.  Max Delany looks at the relationship between Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov and the former Mayor of London Ken Livingstone who enjoyed a good relationship which soured when Livingstone criticised Luzhkov for banning Moscow Gay Pride.  Will the relationship become more cordial with Boris Johnson in London's City Hall?

Deutsche Welle Germany: 
Berlin Pays Tribute to Gay-Rights Activist Persecuted by Nazis.  Berlin renamed a stretch of the Spree River in honor of a gay-rights activist persecuted by the Nazis in the 1930s as the city's biggest hospital opened an exhibition devoted to the sex researcher.

Blackpool Citizen - UK: 
Cash Aid for Blackpool Pride.  By Tyrone Marshall.  The Blackpool Pride festival is set to get bigger and better after it received a £5,000 funding boost from the council.

Lesbian & Gay Foundation - UK: 
Laughing Cows Club Night Fundraiser.  Following on from the monthly comedy night, Laughing Cows will be staging a special one-off club night called ‘Milktooth’ to raise funds for the Lesbian and Gay Foundation.

USA and the AMERICAS

California Literary Review - USA: 
Our Fair Lady.  Elinor Teele reviews Home, the autobiography of the gay icon Julie Andrews who went from a child star of the English music hall to fame on BBC Radio in "Educating Archie" before crossing the Atlantic with The Boyfriend and clinching the female lead in Broadway's  My Fair Lady - becoming a 'mega star' in the true sense of the word.

Brooklyn Rail - USA: 
Extreme Behavior? Or Simply Queer?  By Ryan Tracy.  Whether we’re post-gay, post-AIDS, post-Will & Grace, or blindly drifting in the marketing-driven scam of metrosexuality (which, by definition, is a male heterosexual mannerism), queer male identity is certainly due for an overhaul. Luckily, there appears to be a trend in queer performance to boldly, and with intelligence, break out of, or at least seriously bend, the tropes of camp and drag in an effort to present queerness in all its rich, contemporary complexity.

National Public Radio - USA: 
Two Families Grapple with Sons' Gender Identities.  By Alix Spiegel.  It wasn't until Halloween when her 2 1/2-year-old son decided to dress as Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz that Carol began to worry.  From today's "All Things Considered".  Audio of this item will also be available on this page from about midnight UK time - 7pm New York.

PageOneQ - USA: 
Evangelicals Call for Political Pullout.  By Ed. Stoddard (Reuters).  A group of U.S. evangelical leaders called Wednesday for a pullback from party politics so that followers would not become "useful idiots" exploited for partisan gain.  One in four U.S. adults count themselves as evangelical Protestants, giving them serious clout in a country where religion and politics often mix.

The Advocate - USA: 
The Insider Is Out.  In 2006, a blog announced to the world that Thomas Roberts is gay, and the then CNN anchor instantly became the poster boy for a very rare breed: the out news anchor. But as Sean Kennedy reports, the success of Roberts and other out anchors and on-air talent may finally shatter their industry's glass ceiling for gays -- and usher in the future of broadcast news

PageOneQ - USA: 
City Panel Votes to Nix Boy Scouts-Connected Front Group.  By Nick Langewis.  A commission in the nation's second-largest city, by a unanimous vote, is forcing its fire department to drop part of its cadet program administered by a group it says is a front for the Boy Scouts of America to skirt anti-discrimination policy.

Lower Hudson Journal - USA: 
Many Peers Back Cross-Dressing Student.  By Marcela Rojas.  It wasn't a spur-of-the-moment decision that drove Brewster High School student Michael Loscalzo to go to school dressed as a girl.

The Associated Press - USA: 
Mich. High Court Says Gay Partners Can't Get Health Benefits.  By David Eggert.  Local governments and state universities in Michigan can't offer health insurance to the partners of gay workers, the state Supreme Court ruled Wednesday.

  Washington Blade - USA: 
FBI Raids Office, Home of OSC Director.  FBI agents on Tuesday raided the offices of Special Counsel Scott J. Bloch, who oversees protection for federal whistleblowers.  ...  The Blade has reported for several years on Bloch's anti-gay record and his close association with anti-gay groups. 

Xtra - Canada: 
Queer Sex on the Edge.  By Lauryn Kronick.  It's easy to get sucked into the Village in Montreal — with several blocks of clubs, bars, bathhouses and cafés, the wandering eye may not want to leave Sainte-Catherine's East end.

Queerty - USA: 
Judging John McCain.  It seems the Senator will say anything to woo conservatives, many of whom worry you’re too - gasp! - liberal for the presidency. Today the Republican vowed to take on the dreaded “activist judge.” You know, the ones who rule in favor of the flamers…

  Washington Blade - USA: 
Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff Would Support 'Don't Ask' Repeal.  Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told cadets graduating from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point on Sunday that should Congress repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," the military would respect it.

The Guardian - UK: 
Agents Raid US Special Counsel Office.  By Elana Schor in Washington.  Law enforcement agents today raided the home and office of Scott Bloch, the US special counsel whose mission is helping government whistleblowers ... The OSC also stopped prosecuting allegations of anti-gay discrimination under Bloch, alarming civil rights advocates.

The Advocate - USA: 
Gay Penguin Tale Tops List of 'Challenged' Childrens Books.  A children's story about a family of penguins with two fathers once again tops the list of library books the public objects to the most.

ASIA

Manila Standard - Philippines: 
Archbishop Cruz Defends Gay Queens.  By Arlie Calalo.  The gay community crossed swords with Catholic bishops yesterday as more clerics supported Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Rosales’ call to bar homosexuals from parading as women in the Santacruzan, a traditional procession held in honor of the Virgin Mary.

AUSTRALASIA

Sydney Star Observer - Australia: 
Newtown Rally to Protest Homophobia.  By Ani Lamont.  There will be a rally staged in Newtown to commemorate International Day Against Homophobia.

SX - Australia: 
Mimicking Straights?  By Steve Dow.  Nine years after meeting my boyfriend, we sat on our couch this past week, wished each other a happy anniversary and listened as federal Attorney-General Robert McClelland informed us that Australians in same-sex relationships had been discriminated against “for too long”, and he pledged to fix this situation.

Sydney Star Observer - Australia: 
Vic Sports Minister Say Being Gay Is OK.  By Doug Pollard.  Victoria’s sports clubs will soon adopt an anti-discrimination policy, but former St Kilda captain Nathan Burke says change will take 10 years.

Tuesday May 6

Box Turtle Bulletin - USA: 
Today In History: The Love That Dares Not Speak Its Name Gets A Name.  By Jim Burroway.  One hundred and forty years ago today, on May 6, 1868, the word homosexuality was invented.

UK and EUROPE

UK Gay News - UK: 
Russian Gays Mark ‘Day of Silence’ With Individual Action in St. Petersburg.  With their mouths taped, 25 participants in Russia’s first ‘Day of Silence’ on Saturday, took turns to hold a banner that said: “I am silent to be heard”.

UK Gay News - UK: 
Chisinau Authorities OK Gay Pride Parade for First Time.  Organisers of the Gay Pride in Moldova – “Rainbow over the Dniester” – are hopeful of being able to stage a parade this year in the country’s capital, Chisinau.

The Voice - UK: 
Amaechi Comes Out Again.  By Leon Mann.  It is hard to believe that 18 years after Justin Fashanu publicly announced he was gay, he remains the only professional footballer to have come out.  On the tenth anniversary of Fashanu’s tragic death, former British NBA basketball star, John Amaechi -who came out last year - has told The Voice that there should be “no more martyrs for the cause.”

UK Gay News - UK: 
How Much It Really Costs to Stage the UK’s Capital Gay Pride.  Pride London, the UK’s largest LGBT Pride, revealed today how much it costs to keep the event free-to-attend.

The Independent - UK: 
Who Are the Real Lesbians?  By John Walsh.  When is a lesbian not a Lesbian? The answer's in the capital letter – it's when you are a woman who loves women, rather than an inhabitant of the Aegean paradise of Lesbos (or Lesvos in the modern spelling). For decades, foolish and unsophisticated tourists have giggled about the coincidence of the Greek island and the sexual orientation. Now it's become the crux of a legal dispute whose implications are global.

The Guardian - UK: 
Does The Naked Civil Servant Need a Sequel?  By Richard Smith.  When it was first broadcast in 1975, The Naked Civil Servant - starring John Hurt as the notorious homosexual Quentin Crisp swishing through 30s Soho "dumb with lipstick and blind with mascara" - was praised to the very heavens. And rightly so.

USA and the AMERICAS

Cay Compass - Cayman Islands: 
DoT Apologises to Gay Kisser.  By Alan Markoff.  The gay man who was detained by the Royal Cayman Islands Police last week for kissing his male partner on a dance floor, received a written letter of apology from Director of Tourism Pilar Bush.

Cay Compass - Cayman Islands: 
Police Detain Gay Kisser.  By Alan Markoff.  The Royal Cayman Islands Police detained a visiting homosexual man for kissing his partner on a dance floor last week.  The man, 23–year–old Aaron Chandler from Amherst, Massachusetts, was dancing at the Royal Palms last Wednesday night with his partner. His partner’s sister and brother–in–law also came along to the popular nightspot after they had all dined at Reef Grill.

  Washington Blade - USA: 
Is the McGreevey Divorce Really Gay News?  By Rebecca Armendariz.  This week, looking for gay news means my searches are clogged up by former New Jersey governor Jim McGreevey and his soon-to-be-ex-wife Dina Matos-McGreevey getting their day in closed court.

Box Turtle Bulletin - USA: 
Whatever Happened to Zach?  By Jim Burroway.  He’s back, and he talked to Morgan Jon Fox for his forthcoming documentary, “This Is What Love In Action Looks Like.”  Zach was the sixteen-year-old gay teen who, in 2005, gained worldwide attention.  From the UK Gay News archive:  Zach’s Story:  Other American Gay Kids’ Pleas For Help (June 17, 2005)

Chicago Sun-Times - USA: 
MLB Looking Into White Sox Doll Prank, Will Talk to Team.  By Kara Spack.  A spokesman for Major League Baseball said today the league is looking into an incident in the White Sox clubhouse in Toronto involving inflatable dolls. Pat Courtney of Major League Baseball wouldn't comment further, declining to say if he felt the display was appropriate.  ... Apparently the sensitivity training classes White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen attended after using a gay slur in 2006 did not include a segment on blow-up dolls.

Queerty - USA: 
Gay Politician Neal’s Fate Decided Today.  It’s a big day for homo-politico Jim Neal, who’s running for the Democratic senatorial seat in North Carolina.

New York Times - USA: 
Mildred Loving, Who Battled Ban on Mixed-Race Marriage, Dies at 68.  By Douglas Martin.  Mildred Loving, a black woman whose anger over being banished from Virginia for marrying a white man led to a landmark Supreme Court ruling overturning state miscegenation laws, died on May 2 at her home in Central Point, Va. She was 68.  Mildred Loving was an advotacte of same-sex marriage.

PBS - USA: 
Gene Robinson: In the Eye of the Storm.  Video report and transcript of Kim Lawton's report on the openly gay Bishop Gene Robinson from the weekend Religion & Ethics programme.

Ventura County Star - USA: 
Gay, Lesbian Students Rally Over Safety on Campuses.  By Timm Nerdit.  Rick Griswold, a high school senior in a small town west of Fresno, used to wear makeup to school, an act that he says helped him to express his identity. He suffered harassment as a consequence, went to teachers for help and got none.  "There is a problem at California schools," he said. "LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) students at California schools are not safe."

AFRICA

Cape Times - South Africa: 
Lesbian Pupils Face High Rape Risk.  By Aeysha Kassiem.  "Corrective Rape" at schools in the Western Cape is a growing concern, say non-governmental organisations, some of who have noted an "alarming" level of cases.

South Africa Star - South Africa: 
'I Have Lost a Partner and Everything'.  The girlfriend of the late Banyana Banyana player Eudy Simelane wishes she was raped and killed like her partner.

AUSTRALASIA

GayNZ - New Zealand: 
Over 250 Gay Couples Civilly United in 2007.  Two hundred and fifty-three same-sex couples civilly united last year, according to official figures released by Statistics New Zealand today.  Of the 316 civil unions registered to New Zealand residents in 2007, 103 were male couples, 150 were female couples and 63 were opposite-sex unions choosing a civil union instead of a marriage.

Herald Sun - Australia: 
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd Blasted Over Gay Law.  By Peter Jean.  Kevin Rudd's decision to block the introduction of same-sex marriages in the ACT has been compared to slavery by gay rights groups.

GayNZ - New Zealand: 
High Tea for Mother's Day at Dot's Sister.  This Sunday is Mother's Day - and Ponsonby Road's campiest venue will welcome our community's treasured mums with a special High Tea.

GayNZ - New Zealand: 
NZAF: Cash Injection for K' Road HIV Clinic.  The Board of Trustees of the New Zealand AIDS Foundation has made a one-off grant of $80,000 to Body Positive, to help the HIV support service continue its work in Auckland's Karangahape Road area.

A Queer Eye on the World of Cinema