Local residents across Sydney have created their own rainbow crossings in chalk after the New South Wales (NSW) State Government dismissed public pressure and had a rainbow pride crossing installed for the Sydney Mardi Gras torn up in the dead of night on Wednesday.

Not even Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore had been told that road workers would be blocking off Sydney’s iconic Oxford Street to tear up the rainbow section of the road and replace it with black bitumen.

In honour of the annual LGBT History Month, Cambridge city, the famous UK University City, flew the rainbow flag over Guildhall.

Mayor, Cllr Sheila Stuart, officially opened the celebrations yesterday (1 January) and handed out flyers as the Arco Iris samba band played. Workshops, film screenings and other events will be held across the city.

The celebrations are directed by Encompass Network – a network for LGBT voluntary organisations.

South Africa has become the first country in the world to recognize the rainbow flag as a national symbol.

South Africa’s Department of Arts and Culture, through its Bureau of Heraldry, announced the registry of the flag in the official Government Gazette this week following an application by the South African version of the rainbow flag’s designer, Eugene Brockman.

‘The Gay Flag of SA is now officially recognized and protected by the Department of Arts and Culture and the government of South Africa,” said Mava Mothiba, a spokesperson for the department.

Britain’s Got Talent semi-finalists The Showbears will be lending some of their sparkle to Manchester Pride in northern England.

The UK TV reality show stars will be there as part of the Co-operative Group’s entry at the event on Saturday (25 August).

They will join 150 members of the Co-operative’s award winning LGBT employee network Respect in a vibrant procession through the city center, home to the company’s head office.

US Secretary of State, Hillary Rodham Clinton, has been honored with a unique work of art for her gay rights work.

International gay organization Kaleidoscope Trust has given her a huge American flag with the full text of her historic speech to the United Nations, where she called for global LGBT rights, sewn into it.

The US ambassador to the United Kingdom, Louis Susman, received the flag at the American embassy today in advance of Independence Day, 4 July tomorrow.

Gay activists recreated a Berlin Wall checkpoint in the city today – as CSD gay pride marchers protested the homophobic ‘propaganda’ laws in Russia.

Around 750,000 people danced to the beat of LGBT rights in Germany’s capital this afternoon (23 June).

London 2012 organizers are making a last ditch effort to sell gay Olympic pin badges as many shops refuse to stock them.

The badges which feature the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic logos combined with an LGBT rainbow flag were unveiled two years ago at a special reception at the headquarters of the LOCOG, the London body running the games.

LOCOG has heralded them as one of the most groundbreaking things it has done to bring lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people into the Olympic celebrations.

Activists in Iran, one of the most homophobic countries in the world, braved persecution today (17 May) by publicly unfurling a rainbow flag to mark the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHO).

Campaigners in the Muslim state's capital Tehran also distributed leaflets and flew multi-colored balloons to raise awareness of LGBT rights.

At the first night of Strawberry music festival in Shanghai on Sunday, headlining act Top Floor Circus made a bold declaration for gay rights, unfurling a giant rainbow flag on stage.

When the band returned to the Love Stage for an encore, they performed a song by Leslie Cheung, the popular Hong Kong actor and singer and one of the first openly gay Chinese celebrities, who committed suicide nine years ago.

Top Floor Circus vocalist Lu Chen said: 'There is diversity in love. I hope you all love your real selves'.

Equality activist Clare Dimyon has announced the dates and locations of her upcoming PRIDE Solidarity tour.

Her travels will take her to the first-ever Kyiv Pride held 14 May, on to Warsaw's Parade of Equality, followed by Bratislava Pride. She will also be attending championship football matches in Kiev, Lviv and Kharkiv to raise awareness of homophobia in football. She will end her tour at the first ever Gay Eurogames in Budapest on 1 July.

A leading Taiwanese singer will sell 10,000 rainbow flags during the upcoming concerts at home to raise funds for an HIV/AIDS group.

Long-term LGBT rights supporter A-Mei Chang Hui-mei - who has been on her ‘AMeiZing’ world tour to celebrate the 15^th anniversary of her singing career from September – will be selling rainbow flags and distributing red ribbons during the six concerts in Taipei, starting from Friday (30 March).

Activists braved the wet weather to protest against a Christian group's conference which calls gay men and women 'lepers'.

Campaigners gathered outside Belfast's Orangefield Presbyterian Church today, angry at an event run by the Core Issues Trust, a non-profit Christian group which uses 'reparative therapy', helping to 'turn' gay men and women straight.