Fridae

Statistics from an US research group show that infection rates are growing among MSM in Africa, Asia and Latin America, of which less than five percent have access to HIV-related health care due to stigma, repressive laws and poor access to health services.

The Elton John AIDS Foundation has in a statement chastised the attitude of Nepalese government health officials after a local group, which is partially funded by the foundation, was asked to stop its support programme for gays and transgenders on the grounds that gays "polluted" society.

This weekend, the Singapore Lyric Opera presents Hey, Figaro!, a campy, modern take on Rossini's comic opera The Barber of Seville set in a hairdressing salon. Fridae talks to SLO Artistic Manager Adrian Poon and explores the hidden gay heritage of opera.

You might know him better as Magneto in X-Men or Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings, but Sir Ian McKellen (or Serena, as he once nicknamed himself) also holds a proud legacy as a gay rights campaigner in the UK and abroad. Currently touring with the Royal Shakespeare Company in a stage production of Shakespeare's King Lear and Anton Chekhov's The Seagull in Singapore, Sir Ian stops for a while to speak to Fridae about acting and activism. A Fridae exclusive.

Upholding a lower court ruling, Hong Kong's highest court has ruled that the territory's laws which applies specifically to gay men but not heterosexuals "for the same or comparable conduct" is unconstitutional and discriminatory.

Held in its third consecutive year, Indignation is the gay and lesbian Pride season in Singapore.

For the first time in the history of forums on gay issues in Singapore, a member of parliament from the ruling People's Action Party and a Nominated Member of Parliament were part of a 5-member panel convened to discuss whether homosexual acts should remain criminalised.

Fridae has partnered with LOTL International, a new online lesbian magazine to present a unique and exciting product that will offer readers a free 60-day trial.

A task force set up by the American Psychological Association (APA) is set to conduct the first review of its 10-year-old policy on gay reparative therapy next week.

A movie not only about safer sex practices but also demonstrations of said practices, says Bangkok-based movie producer.