LGBT rights activists from across Asia gathered in Kathmandu, Nepal last week for a UN seminar to discuss strategies in the region.

'I laud the courage you have shown despite the circumstances you live and work in, said Nepal's Minister of Women, Children and Social Welfare, Riddhi Baba Pradham, AFP reports.

'This conference in Kathmandu proves that the common assertion that LGBT rights are incompatible with Asian values is false.'

Details have been released for a UN seminar on LGBTI human rights in Nepal this week, demonstrating the progressive attitude of the government. But at the same time it has decided not to renew the license for Nepal's only gay rights group.

More that 250 athletes competed in the first LGBTI sports festival in Nepal this weekend.

Former Olympic diver Greg Louganis played in the games’ opening football match wearing a Nepali cap and the festival continued for three days of athletics and team games.

Kathmandu-local Roshan Mahato won gold in the 100m sprint at a time of 13.14 seconds.

A Nepalese LGBT rights activist has received congratulations from the UN about his efforts towards third gender recognition in the Himalayan nation.

In May the Nepalese government agreed to recognize a third gender on ID cards, after a campaign by Sunil Babu Pant.

The late congratulations letter from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) at the UN reads:

Gay Olympian Greg Louganis will be guest of honor at South East Asia's first ever gay sports tournament.

The US athlete, who won two gold medals in diving in the 1984 and 1988 Olympics, will attend the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender games held at the national stadium in Kathmandu, Nepal, from 12 October to 14 October.

The 52-year-old who spoke publicly for the first time about being HIV positive earlier this month will join other gay athletes and artists, as well as international LGBT activists including Peter Tatchell.

A gay rights group in Nepal has blasted a TV channel for a 'despicable' news report which accused the LGBT campaigners of fraud and corruption.

Sagarmatha TV’s Khoj Khabar program, which bills itself as 'investigative journalism', claimed the Blue Diamond Society's leadership had been pocketing money meant to be used for activism and community work.

The 30-minute bulletin also accused the group, which spearheaded a successful campaign to have third gender people recognized as 'other' on citizenship identification cards, of neglecting Nepal's LGBT population.

Nepalese member of parliament and LGBT campaigner Sunil Babu Pant has started a petition to make Facebook a more inclusive place for transgender and gender variant people.

The All Out campaign calls on Facebook to change the current profile settings and add an additional 'third gender' for  members whose gender identity doesn't fit within simple male or female checkboxes.

Nepal's only openly gay politician has opened the south Asian country's first gender-neutral toilet.

The facility, which is labeled for 'third genders' and 'others', is situated in the southern area of Nepalganj.

It was unveiled by Sunil Babu Pant, Nepal’s first openly gay politician and head of gay rights group Blue Diamond Society and the LGBT travel company Pink Mountain.

A Nepalese member of parliament and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex campaigner has appealed to Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg to make the social networking site more inclusive.

In an open letter to the multi-billionaire king of social media, Sunil Babu Pant says Facebook is ‘sidelining’ people who don’t identify as ‘male’ or ‘female’ by only giving those two options at sign-up.

The national stadium is booked, top class athletes have been drafted in as coaches and referees and the date is set for Nepal to host Asia’s first gay Olympics this September, the organisers announced yesterday.