Fridae

Ng Yi-Sheng interviews first-time director Vincent Garenq and finds out what inspired him as a straight man to make Comme Les Autres, a French movie about a gay man trying to become a father.

Dozens or even hundreds of gay men who had gathered at an outdoor pick-up spot in Beijing on Sunday night were rounded up and detained briefly in a major police swoop, according to media reports.

More than a hundred members of the hard-line Islamic Defenders Front have staged demonstrations outside three cultural centres affiliated to foreign governments today to pressure the venues to call off any events related to the festival.

Despite the Prime Minister’s promise not to proactively enforce Section 377A which criminalises sex between men, a man is facing charges under the law while another two were convicted last week.

While many may remember Dr Balaji Sadasivan for putting the blame on gay men for the spread of HIV in Singapore, his political leadership and support to expand AIDS prevention programmes and increasing access to HIV testing and treatment has largely gone under the radar. (Updated)

Q! Film Festival will kick off its 2010 season with two films and an opening party in Jakarta on Friday, 24 September before travelling to Surabaya, Malang, Yogyakarta, Bali and Makassar (South Sulawesi) in October.

Fridae.com’s Hong Kong Correspondent reviews Hong Kong novelist Marshall Moore’s new novel, An Ideal for Living, published earlier this year by Lethe Press of New Jersey.

Thousands of protesters ranging from humanists/atheists to gay rights campaigners, sexual health campaigners and women rights campaigners gathered in London on Saturday against Pope Benedict XVI's 4-day visit.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon called on countries to abolish laws that discriminate against gays and lesbians during a panel discussion held on the sidelines of the 15th regular session of the UN Human Rights Council. 

At least 17 Asia Pacific governments fail to provide protections for LGBT people because their national laws, policies and practices which are inconsistent with international human rights law.