Fridae

Nearly two million people gathered in Sao Paulo on Sunday to celebrate gay pride. In marriage news, the Church of England announced that priests may 'marry' although they have to stay celibate while California appeals judge's ruling on gay marriage.

More gays and lesbians will find themselves cut off from important HIV and other resources as China blocks it's largest gay resource site - without an official reason. Beijing-based Dinah Gardner tracks down site manager Damien Lu and prominent AIDS activist Dr Wan Yanhai to find out more.

Last week, China blocked a leading Chinese-language web site providing gay-related info and safe-sex information while a survey of men in Shenzhen found that only 20 per cent regularly use condoms for anal sex. In Hong Kong, health officials have expressed concerned over increasing HIV infection rates among homosexuals and bisexuals.

The Amazing Race 7 contestants Alex Ali and Lynn Warren are getting married in Ottawa, Canada next month, while in Guangdong, China, free and anonymous HIV and STD tests are being offered to gay men in a month long exercise.

Chants of "Celebrate diversity" and "Yung po, daw yun fat" (Cantonese for "embrace difference") echoed in Hong Kong's busy Causeway Bay retail district on Monday as gays and lesbians held the city's first rally in support of gay rights and against homophobia. Tim Cribb reports.

Hong Kong's gays and lesbians are being urged to join a march next Monday, May 16, to mark the International Day Against Homophobia (IDAHO). Tim Cribb reports the march comes amid growing attempts by fundamentalist Christians to kill a proposed law that would protect homosexuals from discrimination.

A US study has revealed that gay men's brains respond differently from those of heterosexual males when exposed to a sexual stimulus, meanwhile a HK gay group is planning a march on May 16 to mark International Day Against Homophobia. A US official is being investigated for allegedly offering city jobs to young men he met on gay web sites.

In Hong Kong, a Christian group took out four full-page advertisements in a local Chinese language paper to protest possible anti-discrimination bill, meanwhile in the US, hundreds protested at the Focus on the Family HQ last weekend.

Four men were arrested in a gay sauna in Singapore after police who were reportedly on its premises to conduct a routine fire inspection found the men engaging in sexual activity. In a separate case, a well-known sauna announced its closure on its web site.

Pop superstar Sir Elton John has announced his plans to marry longtime partner David Furnish while in Beijing, a gay film festival was forced to move to a disused factory after campus officials banned the event. New Zealand meanwhile is earning reputation as a gay-friendly country as new immigration laws for same-sex couples come into effect.