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June 14, 2013
'It can only get worse': Gays despair of Iran's elections

LGBT Iranians comment on today's election but with real power held by a religious and military elite and no candidates interested in easing the persecution they face, they say it can only get worse, not better

As the controversial Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, heads out of office, Iranians are at the polls today (14 June) to vote for a new president.

But what will this election mean for LGBT Iranians? Are any of the candidates likely to improve the situation for gays and lesbians in Iran, who face systematic persecution? Is there an end in sight to Iran’s hard-line anti-LGBT policies?

June 1, 2013
Egypt blocks inclusion of gay health in World Health Organization's agenda

Egypt's Health Minister, Mohamed Mostafa Hamed, boasted that he ‘succeeded’ in deleting an item on improving the health of LGBT people from the agenda of the World Health Organization (WHO)

LGBT health issues were removed from the agenda of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) board meeting, after Egypt and other member states of the Eastern Mediterranean and Africa objected.

Egypt's Health Minister Mohamed Mostafa Hamed boasted yesterday (30 May) that his country ‘succeeded’ in deleting an item on improving the health of LGBT people from the agenda of the WHO’s 133rd Executive Board meeting that was held in Geneva.

May 21, 2013
Oklahoma tornado, killing up to 91, blamed on gay Jason Collins

Westboro Baptist Church is believed to be getting ready to protest the funerals of those killed by the 200mph winds

An Oklahoma tornado that has claimed the lives of up to 91 people is being blamed on Jason Collins.

Fred Phelps Jr, the son of the leader behind the infamous Westboro Baptist Church, has linked homosexuality to the destructive natural disaster.

He said Oklahoma sportsman Kevin Durant offended God by saying ‘no one has the right to judge’ the first openly gay basketball player.

Phelps tweeted: ‘OK Thunder’s Durant flips God by praising fag Collins. God smashed OK. You do the math. #GodH8sFags #FagsDoomNations #FearGod #GodH8sU’

May 20, 2013
A gay Muslim answers the imams trying to stop equal marriage

Muslim leaders in Britain have claimed introducing gay marriage would undermine traditional families and take away parents’ and teachers’ rights

Gay Star News yesterday (19 May) reported Muslim leaders representing tens of thousands worshippers in the UK have banded together against gay marriage.

In what British right-wing newspaper The Telegraph calls ‘an unprecedented intervention from the British Muslim community,’ over 500 imams have signed a letter to express ‘serious misgivings’ about Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron’s gay marriage bill.

May 17, 2013
George Michael injured in car crash

British gay pop singer George Michael was a passenger in a car which crashed during the evening rush-hour

Gay pop singer George Michael has been involved in a car crash on Britain’s M1.

An air ambulance, and other medics, were called to the incident which happened at 5.50pm yesterday (16 May) near the motorway’s (freeway) junction with the M25, the main ring-road around London.

Michael, 49, was a passenger in the car.

A statement from his publicist sent to GSN and other media said: ‘George Michael was a passenger in a vehicle involved in a traffic accident yesterday evening, no third party was involved.

April 3, 2013
Joey Barton calls fellow footballer a 'transsexual ladyboy'

English soccer player, currently playing for Olympique de Marseille, has slammed Brazilian Thiago Silva

English footballer Joey Barton is being accused of transphobia after calling a fellow footballer a ‘transsexual ladyboy’.

The 30-year-old was talking about soccer player Thiago Silva, who said Barton was not respecting ‘Brazilian football’ in a press conference before the Barcelona and Paris Saint Germain game yesterday (2 April).

On Twitter today (3 April), he said: ‘2 questions for Thiago Silva. Firstly, Why are YOU talking about ME, in your press conference before PSG v Barca? Very strange.

March 22, 2013
Man who killed gay teen by burning him alive jailed for three years

A 20-year-old British man was jailed for 42 months after pleading guilty to manslaughter

A British man who killed a gay teen by setting him on fire during his 18th birthday will be jailed for three and a half years.

Steven Simpson, who had Asperger’s syndrome, a speech impairment and epilepsy, was covered in self-tanning oil and set alight in the early hours of 23 June last year.

Jordan Sheard, 20, was sentenced at Sheffield Crown Court after pleading guilty to manslaughter.

A judge heard how as Simpson became more drunk, homophobic insults were scrawled on his arm and stomach, told to strip to his boxers and encouraged to dance around.

March 20, 2013
Celebrities to bid for tattoos, art and more at HIV auction

The UK’s largest HIV and sexual health charity Terrence Higgins Trust will mark its 30th anniversary with a prize auction and a host of star guests

BBC actresses Alison Steadman and Tracey-Ann Oberman will join other celebrities at an auction celebrating 30 years of Terrence Higgins Trust fighting HIV.

‘Money can’t buy’ items going under the hammer tomorrow (21 March) will include a four-night getaway to Bhutan in South Asia, artworks by guest Tracey Emin, an 18 carat white gold charm necklace and the chance to be ‘inked’ by tattooist to the stars Mo Coppoletta.

March 19, 2013
An escape to Spain goes up in flames

GSN snatches triumph from disaster – swapping the rain of London for the fires of Spain

As I boarded my flight from London’s Gatwick airport to Madrid, I had never been so glad to be leaving London.

I’ve lived in London for 10 years and it’s a city that I’m proud to call home, however just lately it’s been doing my head in.

March 19, 2013
Islamists anti-gay hate speech blocked by a London university

University of East London has blocked an Islamist meeting with hate preachers Khalid Yasin and Jalal Ibn Saeed

Following lobbying by rights group, the University of East London (UEL) blocked an Islamist meeting that featured anti-gay preachers Khalid Yasin and Jalal Ibn Saeed.

March 16, 2013
New pope ‘is a bad sign’ for equality, says Argentine LGBT rights group

Argentina’s leading LGBT rights organization ‘expresses its deep regret’ at the appointment of a new pope, a former archbishop of the City of Buenos Aires, with an anti-gay record

Newly-elected Pope Francis has received a frigid welcome from Argentina’s leading LGBT rights group.

In a statement released yesterday by the Argentine LGBT Federation (FALGBT), the organization condemns the election of Jorge Mario Bergoglio as the new pope, saying: ‘the election… marks a clear desire of the Vatican to radicalize its position against the recognition of diverse family structures’.

March 12, 2013
UK medical watchdog to investigate if doctors mistreated trans patients

General Medical Council to look at 39 cases brought to them by trans campaigners against medical professionals. Claims include sexual abuse and damaging treatment

Britain’s General Medical Council (GMC) is to investigate 39 cases where doctors and other medical professionals are accused of misconduct or mistreatment of transgender patients.

Speaking at the Trans Health Matters Conference, hosted by LGBT Consortium, this afternoon, Helen Belcher, a member of the UK Parliamentary Forum on Gender Identity and GSN contributor, will provide significant new insight into how trans individuals experience healthcare.

March 6, 2013
Sydney gay Mardi Gras victim 'not angry' at police

Jamie Jackson, 18, has said he is not angry with the police force in general, just the officer who threw him to the ground

The 18-year-old who was seen attacked by a policeman at Sydney’s gay Mardi Gras has said he is not angry at the authorities, just the officer.

In the video, which has now been viewed over 200,000 times, Jamie Jackson is seen being held by the throat, slammed to the ground and stood on by a police officer.

Jackson is seen screaming ‘I did nothing wrong!’ as he is arrested by the police.

NSW Police has announced he was charged with assaulting a police officer, resisting arrest and using offensive language in public.

February 27, 2013
Uganda jails British actor for role in gay-themed play

British actor Keith Prosser, who appeared in a gay-themed play last year in Uganda, has been arrested and jailed in preparation for deportation

A British actor who played a role in the gay themed play, 'The River and the Mountain', that has been staged in Uganda, has been detained and arrested in the country.

The Independent reported that Prosser has been held in a Kampala detention centre for eight days since Thursday (21 February).

February 25, 2013
How we should react to the Muslim leader who called hijras ‘dirty’

Gay Muslim advocate Omar Kuddus addresses a video where the president of India’s Islamic Research Centre attacked ‘LGBT’ hijras as ‘defective’

Yesterday GSN broke a story about a YouTube video in which a Muslim leader decries the hijra community.

The interview shows Faiz Syed, the founder and president of India’s Islamic Research Centre (IRC), a non-profit organization that promotes Islamic teachings, answering a question about how Islam deals with the ‘other’ gender that is neither man nor woman.

February 12, 2013
Muslim channel punished for saying ‘gays should be tortured’

British communications watchdog has punished several minor channels for allowing extremist attitudes to air unchallenged

Fringe Muslim television channels in the UK have been reprimanded for allowing extremists to say their views unchallenged, such as gay people should be tortured.

Regulatory watchdog OFCOM has found the stations broke the broadcasting code by allowing the extreme opinions to be aired.

In one case, a female presenter said homosexuals should be beaten and tortured for the ‘evil, shameful act’.

The Radio Asian Fever host, named ‘Sister Ruby Ramadan’ said: ‘Torture them; punish them; beat them and give them mental torture.’ 

February 12, 2013
Pope Factor: Who will be the next Pontiff and what will that mean to gay rights?

Place your bets on who will be the next Pope. But more important than the winner is the direction they will take the church, including on LGBT issues

Put not your faith in princes nor, if you are looking for anything more than pure flutter on the Papal handicap, bookmakers. For with the starting pistol fired on next month’s papal competition a number of online bookies are already quoting odds on the most ‘papabile’ of a long field of cardinals and also-rans.

February 4, 2013
Opponents slam Tennessee’s ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill

A bill forcing adults in schools to 'out' gay students has angered parents, teachers, and politicians

A bill forcing teachers, school nurses and counselors to ‘out’ gay students has been slammed by parents, teachers, rights leaders and even by Republicans.  

State Senator Stacey Campfield, a Republican, introduced SB 49 back in 2012 when it said teachers should not discuss any other sexual orientation other than heterosexuality.

February 3, 2013
Scots equality charity warns against anti-gay scare tactics

Anti-gay marriage campaign tactics have been slammed as scaremongering by Scotland's equality campaigners

Scotland for Marriage, an anti-gay marriage campaign group has warned that the same-sex marriage bill will compromise ‘civil liberty’, that anyone opposing it could be ‘sacked’, refused as foster parents, and discriminated in school.

The stepping up of the anti-gay marriage campaign comes as the Scottish Government launched a consultation on its draft legislation to legalise same-sex marriage in December.

Equality campaigners have slammed today (3 Feburary) the group for misleading information and anti-gay scare tactics.

January 31, 2013
Elderly Chinese gay couple hold wedding in Beijing

An elderly male couple, who have become an internet sensation since they publicly declared their love for each other on Weibo (China's twitter), held a wedding in Beijing yesterday

An elderly gay couple, who have gathered 12,000 fans on China's most popular microblogging site Weibo, held a wedding ceremony in Beijing yesterday.

One of the men wore a wedding dress and the couple shared traditional shots of Chinese spirit bajiu, Daqi.com reports. They posted on Weibo yesterday that the wedding went smoothly, with many friends from the internet coming to bless them.

January 30, 2013
Russian footballer denies he’s gay despite hugging pictures

Alexander Kokorin and Pavel Mamaev, who set the world alight with their 'intimate' pictures, have denied they are gay

A Russian footballer has denied he is gay after pictures of him kissing, cuddling and sharing a bath with a male friend went viral.

When Gay Star News reported the pictures back in December, social networks were set alight by the idea two top-level professional footballers could be gay.

December 28, 2012
Jamaica paper publish anti-gay hate cartoon for Christmas

One of the Jamaica's most widely read papers has published an anti-gay cartoon designed to inflame hate, say LGBT rights advocates

The Jamaica Observer, one of the country's main daily papers, published an anti-gay editorial cartoon on Christmas Day (25 December), designed, according to local gay activists, to inflame hate.

The cartoon is meant, according to Jamaican activists, to foment hate by ridiculing gays and depicting them as a threat to young boys.

December 11, 2012
Ian McKellen ‘feared the worst’ after prostate cancer shock

Gay British acting legend has also revealed he fancied his fellow gay thespian Sir Derek Jacobi while at university

British gay acting legend Sir Ian McKellen has spoken out about how he ‘feared the worst’ after he was diagnosed with prostate cancer.

The 73-year-old Hobbit and X-Men star has revealed he has had it for ‘six or seven years’.

‘You do gulp when you hear the news,’ he told the Daily Mirror. ‘It’s like when you go for an HIV test, you go “Arghh is this the end of the road?”’

December 10, 2012
London protesters demand Uganda drops 'Kill The Gays' bill

On Human Rights Day, activists demand the Anti-Homosexual Bill in Uganda is stopped

LGBT campaign groups, HIV charities, trade unions, Ugandan exiles and refugees protested outside the Ugandan High Commission in London today (10 December) against the 'Kill The Gays' bill.

December 10, 2012
Stop the gay gag laws, Europe activists demand on Human Rights Day

ILGA-Europe protests ‘homosexuality anti-propaganda’ law plans in Russia, Moldova, Lithuania and Ukraine

A leading European gay rights group has used international Human Rights Day to condemn gay gag laws now being discussed in Russia, Moldova, Lithuania and Ukraine.

ILGA-Europe says all the planned legislation in Eastern Europe violates basic human rights principles and sees the laws as a new attempt to criminalize lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities.

Known as ‘homosexuality anti-propaganda laws’ they already exist in some states in Russia, most famously in St Petersburg where their introduction this year sparked international outcry.