UNITED KINGDOM – Hundreds of people gathered outside the locked doors of the John Snow pub in Soho, London last week and staged a mass kiss-in at 7 p.m. as a protest at the London pub after a gay couple claimed they were thrown out for kissing. Several weeks ago two men were asked to…
LONDON – The British government is expected to announce full marriage equality for gays and lesbians under reforms to marriage laws to be announced soon. The reported move will end the final major legal discrimination against gays and lesbians in Britain. According to the Sunday Times, a proposal to end the ban on same sex…
LONDON – Stickers have been found placed in London’s East End declaring it a “gay-free zone.” The messages say, “Arise and warn. Gay free zone. And fear Allah; Verily Allah is severe in punishment.” A resident, who tried to remove the stickers, told PinkNews, “Tower Hamlets (an area in East London) council won praise from…
HUNGARY – A Budapest Court has overturned a police decision to deny permission for Budapest’s Pride march. Hungarian police had earlier banned this years Pride festival in the nation’s capital, citing that it would cause too much traffic disruption. The event had originally been approved and organizers had applied for an extension to the march…
AUSTRALIA – Australian Liberal MP Malcolm Turnbull has begun polling his constituents on the issue of marriage equality and has sent questionnaires to residents in his Sydney seat of Wentworth. The Herald Sun reported that Turnbull had said that 68 percent of the 1,800 people who had responded supported gay marriage. “This survey is important…
SCOTLAND – According to recent figures, homophobic crime has risen by up to 90 percent in some of Scotland’s regions. The new statistics have led equality groups to demand that the Scottish Executive extend “hate crime” legislation to the LGBT community. Campaigners believe the findings show that homophobia is still a major problem in Scotland….
BAHRAIN – Up to 130 gay men were reportedly arrested last week at a private party in Bahrain. The event, at a sports club in Hidd, was a gay wedding and guests were said to have been spotted in make-up and women’s clothes. Neighbors had complained about noise levels which led to police raiding the…
EGYPT – In what appears to be a revolution in Egypt, the gay community has been called on to join the protests against President Mubarak. Amid calls from pro-democracy demonstrators to hold massive protests against the President, GayEgypt.com posted this note on its site: “Egypt’s gay and lesbian community has had enough of years of…
FRANCE – The French hypocrites? Surely not, you say! But when it comes to transgender issues, France is in the vanguard of hypocrisy. That is certainly the case according to national transgender organization Trans-Aide after the French government Minister for Justice Michel Mercier confirmed that the state will not recognize a change of gender identity…
BANGKOK – PC Air, a newly-formed Thai airline, has selected three Ladyboys in its first round of hirings to promote equal opportunities for what is dubbed the “third sex” in Thailand. The new airline’s boss, Peter Chan, is enthusiastic about his groundbreaking move because of the opportunities it would afford transsexuals. “I think these people…
