Fridae

The cause is said to have no realistic hope of enactment but critics have accused the president of playing politics with the socially divisive issue by seeking to revive support from his conservative base in light of slumping popularity in opinion polls and other issues of higher priority.

DC Comics' new Batwoman is making a comeback as a "lesbian socialite by night and a crime fighter by later in the night." Meanwhile, a new UN AIDS report has revealed that unprotected sex among MSM is increasing in the US. In Moscow, undeterred by the opposition, organisers have announced their plan to hold another gay rally in Moscow next year.

Despite an official ban and faced with threats of violence, gay and lesbian activists in Moscow attempted to hold Russia's first gay pride march - clashing with police, and nationalists and religious protesters shouting "Moscow is not Sodom!"

Australian PM John Howard was "grilled" by a student over his negative stance on gay marriage at an Irish university. In China, a 33-year-old Beijing man was sentenced to a year in jail for using the Internet to organise gay sex parties, meanwhile Mauritian gays are seeking legal protection against discrimination three days after their first gay rally.

An estimated 150 people attended the first ever Spring Fling at Disneyland Hong Kong last Saturday and 600 at Floatilla, the territory's largest party on water. In China, the Chi Heng Foundation together with volunteers in Guangzhou and Shanghai have launched the country's first national gay hotline.

A new study has found that lesbians' brains reacted somewhat, though not completely, like those of straight men to specific odours. In HK this weekend, some 600 gay men and lesbians are expected to party on boats off Lamma Island in the first event of its kind. Spring Fling is set for Saturday, where hundreds of "red-shirted" gay men and lesbians are expected to gather at Disneyland.

Do gays and lesbians really recruit? They will be this Saturday as gay community groups gather at the relaunch of Singapore's only LGBT resource centre. On Sunday, gay men and lesbians are invited to a forum where lesbian daughters and mothers of gay and lesbian children share their experiences.

Asia's most renowned gay and lesbian party, Nation, will be back in Phuket, Thailand this year. In addition to an unforgettable partying experience, partygoers can look forward to a unique weekend featuring top DJs, the luxurious Hilton Phuket Arcadia, private daytrips and even an exclusive Fridae flight on Jetstar Asia to Phuket - if you're departing from Singapore!

Hong Kong's Radio 2 will launch a new weekly gay radio talk-show from Saturday, May 6, hosted by veteran radio host Brian Leung. In Moscow, a gay party was cancelled as protesters including skinheads and Russian Orthodox Christians hurled abuse and stones at partygoers last weekend.

With the general elections scheduled for May 6 in Singapore, three Workers' Party candidates revealed their positions on homosexuality in a newspaper interview.