On Saturday (18 May) approximately 100 million people around the world will watch the Eurovision Song Contest. First launched in Switzerland in 1956, Eurovision is not just a musical fixture but a continent-wide institution Europeans love and sometimes love to mock. 

For those who have never heard of the competition – think of it as a hybrid of American Idol with original songs and the World Cup or Olympics. 

President Barack Obama said at the end of a White House press conference today that he 'couldn't be prouder' of NBA player Jason Collins for coming out publicly this week as a gay man.

'I had a chance to talk to him yesterday, he seems like a terrific young man,' Obama told reporters. 'I told him I couldn't be prouder.'

Collins, 34, became the first openly gay male athlete in one of the four major US team sports - basketball, football, baseball and hockey - to come out during his playing career.

The White House Correspondents' Dinner is often called an adult prom for nerds. Political journalists wear tuxedoes and evening gowns while drinking with high powered politicians, including the president of the United States.

1 Recycle your e-waste

Instead of leaving old electronic devices to get dusty in the corner, you can make money off of them while de-cluttering your living space and saving the planet at the same time.

Websites like Cash in Your Gadgets offer e-waste recycling.

2 Turn off the lights

Even if it’s just for an hour a week, turning off your lights can help to reduce the amount of energy used in your household significantly.

Dan Choi, who led the movement to end the US’s army ban on out gay soldiers, called, Don’t Ask Don’t Tell (DADT), has been fined $100 for chaining himself to the White House in 2010.

Choi, who stood on trial yesterday (28 March) was a lieutenant that was fired from the US Army after coming out on the Rachel Maddow Show.

He was then billed by the US Defense Department for $2,500 for failing to fulfill his military contract, which he is refusing to pay.

Gay mathematician Alan Turing’s ‘Universal Machine’ – the basis for all modern computers – has been voted the greatest British innovation of the 20th century.

The computer scientist developed the theoretical machine in 1936. His idea was for a device that would read and write symbols on a tape – effectively a programmable computer.

He went on to be a code breaker during World War II, cracking the Nazi’s Engima code which helped the Allies win the war.

Openly gay candidate Mike Bonin was elected to the Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday (5 March).

He replaces his boss, Bill Rosendahl, who was the first openly gay council member in the city's history. Rosendahl is retiring after two terms and had endorsed his longtime chief of staff Bonin.

On his campaign website today, Bonin described himself as 'grateful, relieved and thrilled.'

At one point during Sunday's Academy Awards ceremony in Hollywood, host Seth MacFarlane said the crowd: 'We're concerned tonight's show isn't gay enough yet.'

He then introduced the cast of Chicago, the 2002 film musical with a huge gay fan base, to present the award for best original song to gay icon Adele.

President Obama is considering urging the US supreme court to overturn California's ban on gay marriage.

Proposition 8 was voted by Californians in 2008 and overturned a state supreme court decision allowing gay marriage.

Twenty-nine other states have constitutional amendments banning gay marriage, while nine states and Washington, D.C., recognize same-sex marriage.

Obama told San Francisco’s KGO-TV that the government is considering filing an administration brief against proposition 8 in the supreme court.

The daughter of the founder the straight ally group Parents and Friends of Gay and Lesbians accepted the 2012 Presidential Citizens Medal on behalf of her late mother from President Barack Obama on Friday (15 February).

Jeanne Manford, who founded PFLAG in 1972, died last month at the age of 92. So her daughter, Suzanne Swan, traveled to The White House and stood in her place as Obama handed the nation’s second-highest civilian honor to Manford and 12 other honorees.

For decades, the proposed Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) has languished in the US C0ngress.

But Iowa Senator Tom Harkin on Tuesday (12 February) promised at least a vote for that ENDA, which would establish protections nationally to prevent employers from discriminating against an employee because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

Harkin made the pledge at an event held at the Center for American Progress in Washington DC saying that ENDA 'will move this year.'

Jeanne Manford, who founded the straight ally group Parents and Friends of Gay and Lesbians (PFLAG) in 1972, will posthumously receive 2012 Presidential Citizens Medal next week from President Barack Obama.

Manford died last month at the age of 92 but part of her legacy will now be as a recipient of nation’s second-highest civilian honor. It is given to those who display a commitment to public service.