Three LGBT groups have been granted consultative status at the United Nations. Gay blogger Perez Hilton, who runs his highly popular namesake gossip site, is facing US$7.6 million copyright infringement lawsuit. In the UK, the High Court has allowed Christian groups to seek a judicial review regarding new gay equality laws in Northern Ireland.
Studies in Africa have shown that a man's risk of contracting HIV/AIDS can be halved if he is circumcised but the New Zealand AIDS Foundation was quick to point out that it does not mean circumcised gay and bisexual men are only half as likely to get infected with HIV.
The Thai military will no longer define gays and transsexuals as mentally ill but will continue to reject them as soldiers. In Turkey, the owner of Turkey's only LGBT magazine has been being accused of publishing pornographic material and will face up to three years jail. A UK councillor who remarked that "equated gay people with paedophiles" was found guilty of a public order offence and ordered to pay 250.
Do-good consumers can now make a socially conscious choice to purchase T-shirts, iPods, footwear, among other products where a share of profits to go towards the fight against Aids in Africa. Motorola is the first in Asia to launch a special handset under the (Product) Red label, a business initiative by major brands including Apple, Nike and Gap to raise awareness and funds for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS.
A San Francisco lawmaker has reintroduced a bill seeking to legalise gay marriage in California as State lawmakers kicked off the new legislative session on Monday.
A HIV/AIDS researcher has warned that Sydney's gay community could have an HIV infection rate that is similar to countries in Africa. South Africa is a step closer to legalising same-sex marriage after the controversial legislation passed both houses of Parliament. In Manila next week, the LGBT community and their allies will march on Dec 9 as the Philippine Congress is considering passing an Anti-Discrimination Bill.
New Zealand's Gay Men's Health launches "Assume Nothing," a major new HIV/AIDS awareness campaign; still on HIV/AIDS, the fifth Singapore AIDS Conference will be held on Dec 2. A Chinese university has approved the country's first LGBT campus group. In a landmark ruling, a court ruled that couples who marry in civil ceremonies abroad will be allowed to register their unions locally.
As part of Singapore's first major penal code amendments in 22 years, anal and oral sex in private among between consenting heterosexual adults will soon be decriminalised but the law criminalising sexual acts between men will remain.
Disgraced former US evangelical leader Ted Haggard, who was fired amid allegations of paying for gay sex and drug use, will undergo "therapeutic restoration" conducted by Focus on the Family's James Dobson and two other pastors.
The Hong Kong Lesbian & Gay Film and Video Festival 2006 will open on Thursday featuring over 50 screenings as well as a forum on transgenderism and a performance/lecture on FTM transgenderism by NY-based artist Tobaron Waxman. Elsewhere, the Bangkok Pride festival will culminate in a parade on Sunday; Beijing has opened its first clinic for gays providing anonymous and free STD testing and treatment.
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