Fridae

With the 34th annual Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras upon the city this Saturday, Senthorun Raj, a policy and development co-ordinator at the Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby, asks if the event is still relevant.

Over 200 participants from 22 Asia-Pacific countries gathered in Bangkok for a historic dialogue hosted by the Global Commission on HIV and the Law. As of now, 90 percent of countries in the Asia-Pacific region still have laws and practices that obstruct the rights of people living with HIV and those at higher risk of HIV exposure.

Fridae.com's Hong Kong correspondent, Nigel Collett, examines Leo Burnett's recent survey of the Hong Kong gay community's spending power and attitudes about being (openly) gay.

Germans in the 19th century "invented" the modern gay rights movement and modern conceptions of homosexuality can be traced to an anti-sodomy law, a Maryland historian argues.

The gay community in India has organised a multi-city protest to demand that the TV station refrain from further "negative and homophobic portrayals of the queer and other marginalised communities", and air a public apology to the the persons involved and the LGBT community at large.

A gay couple in New Jersey, US who were chased and beaten by Burger King employees following a 2007 altercation have been awarded US$3.15 million in a civil suit.

Political parties in Singapore for the first time respond to a joint letter sent by seven members of the LGBT community in Singapore requesting a clarification of their position on selected issues of interest to LGBT Singaporeans.

While wills are one of the most commonly used tools to ensure that one's possessions are inherited by the intended beneficiaries, it can also be a lasting way to pronounce one's care and love for one's partner, LGBTQ child, siblings and friends. Fridae's legal columnist George Hwang suggests how.

The gay community has expressed their outrage after a TV channel in Hyderabad, India carried a nearly 7-minute long news story that outed close to a dozen men who had their photographs and personal details on a gay personals website.

The Obama administration says a federal law that bans recognition of same-sex marriage is unconstitutional and has directed the Justice Department not to defend the law anymore in court cases across the country.