Fridae

An anonymous anti-gay activist/group has posted a video on YouTube to protest the UK's new anti-discrimination laws as the law will be voted on in the House of Lords on Wednesday. In Melbourne, a man has been charged with 122 offences stemming from having sex with 16 men knowing that he was infected with HIV.

In response to the National Council Of Churches In Singapore (NCCS)'s statement on the proposed amendments to the Penal Code, the Free Community Church and SAFE Singapore have issued statements objecting to NCCS's call to criminalising lesbian acts and advocating the retention of Section 377A.

Hong Kong's Legislative Council panel has unanimously passed a motion demanding that the Broadcasting Authority withdraws its earlier ruling that a TV show that discussed same-sex partnerships was biased. In France, the highest court has declared the first marriage by a gay couple in France to be unlawful.

Sen. Hillary Clinton has pledged to support gay causes if elected president in the 2008 race. Same-sex couples in Taiwan may soon be covered under the revised Domestic Violence Bill. In London, a man responsible for the 1999 bombing of a London gay bar, which killed three, has had his original prison sentence extended from 30 years to 50.

Look out for a Fridae Version 5 (V5) beta launch party happening near you in Hong Kong, Tokyo, Shanghai, Manila, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and even San Francisco this March and April.

A woman in Kuala Lumpur has gone to the press about a club's discriminatory policy of a club for not admitting ''tomboys.'' Gaydar co-founder Gary Frisch was found dead outside his London apartment. Captive female koalas in Australia have been found for the first time engaging in 'lesbian' sex.

With the shut down happening just days ahead of the big Mardi Gras parade and party weekend, last Sunday's drug bust has somewhat dampened moods in the Australian city as some fear similar action by the police.

Nowhere as gay as the last but the 79th Annual Academy Awards is for the first time hosted by an openly gay host Ellen DeGeneres and lesbian singer-songwriter Melissa Etheridge's who won Best Song for her global warming anthem, ''I Need to Wake Up,'' highlighted not only the environmental issue but also same-sex marriages.

The second International Conference of Asian Queer Studies will convene in Sydney this week. New Jersey has became the third state in the US to offer civil unions, meanwhile in Italy, the civil union debate rages. A Russian lawmaker has introduced a bill to recriminalise homosexuality, punishable with a five-year prison sentence.

Former professional basketball player John Amaechi has made history by becoming the first National Basketball Association (NBA) player to ever come out and talk about his life and experiences as an athlete and a gay man in the homophobic world of professional sports.