The Philippine National Police (PNP) is showing a more accepting attitude towards homosexuality by stating it is open to recruiting gays into its ranks.

PNP spokesman Chief Superintendent Agrimero Cruz Jr. notes the PNP does not discriminate against anyone interested in joining, reported the Philippine Star.

‘As long as there is a law passed by Congress, then we will abide by it,’ said Cruz. He points out the police force will be accepting any group or gender so long as they follow any rules laid out.

However, he has made an exception of cross dresser gays, stressing the PNP will definitely not take them.

Cruz’s comments come after a senator calls on the PNP to scrap its height thresholds, which he says the authorities are willing to accept since the capability of an individual is not measured by his or her height.

The Southeast Asian country does not fire gay officers, but caused heated controversy in 2007 when Samuel Pagdilao, another chief superintendent, said they could be given the ax for ‘swinging their hips or engaging in flamboyant behaviour.’

Ladlad, the country’s LGBT political party, then criticized the PNP for deepening the stereotype of gay men and forcing gay policemen back into the closet, but Pagdilao maintained he had never heard of any Philippine officer being gay.

Source: Gay Star News

It is important to "speak out" and acknowledge the problem in order to tackle it, she added.

Lady Warsi, the daughter of Pakistani immigrants, is co-chair of the Conservative party.

Her comments follow the jailing of nine men, eight of whom were of Pakistani origin, in Rochdale for sexually abusing young girls.

Speaking to the London Evening Standard, Lady Warsi said: "There is a small minority of Pakistani men who believe that white girls are fair game.

"And we have to be prepared to say that. You can only start solving a problem if you acknowledge it first.

"This small minority who see women as second class citizens, and white women probably as third class citizens, are to be spoken out against."

'Truly dreadful'

Earlier in May, a group of Rochdale men were found guilty of a number of offences including including rape and conspiracy to engage in sexual activity with a child, after exploiting vulnerable girls as young as 13.

David Cameron has described the case as "truly, truly dreadful".

Following the trial, Greater Manchester Police (GMP), which led the investigation, played down suggestions there was a racial element to the case.

GMP Assistant Chief Constable Steve Heywood said: "It just happens that in this particular area and time, the demographics were that these were Asian men."

And head of the Crown Prosecution Service in the North West, Nazir Afzal, said it was wrong to put race at the centre of the case.

But Baroness Warsi said she had decided to speak out after her father urged her to "show leadership" on the controversial issue.

She said it was important for communities to take responsibility for condemning this kind of behaviour.

"In mosque after mosque, this should be raised as an issue so that anybody remotely involved should start to feel that the community is turning on them,"

"Communities have a responsibility to stand up and say, 'This is wrong, this will not be tolerated'", she added.

A spokesman for the Conservative Party said Baroness Warsi's comments spoke for themselves and they did not want to elaborate on them.

'Easy meat'

BNP leader Nick Griffin, who is also an MEP for the area, has called for a public inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the Rochdale case.

He said his party's supporters had demonstrated throughout the trial to draw attention to the issues it raised.

Lady Warsi echoes comments made by Rochdale MP, Simon Danczuk who said it would be "daft" to ignore a "race element" to the case.

Trevor Phillips, chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, said it was "fatuous" to deny racial and cultural factors.

But Labour MP and chairman of the Commons Home Affairs Select Committee Keith Vaz has said it is wrong to focus on a particular racial or religious group.

"There is no excuse for this kind of criminality, whoever is involved in it but I don't think it is a particular group of people, I don't think it's a particular race or religion," he said.

Last year former home secretary Jack Straw caused controversy when speaking about a similar case of abuse in Derby.

Mr Straw suggested some men of Pakistani origin see white girls as "easy meat".

"There is a specific problem which involves Pakistani heritage men... who target vulnerable young white girls", he said.

Meanwhile, Samantha Roberts, a rape victim who has waived her right to anonymity, has written to David Cameron asking for a parliamentary inquiry into child exploitation.

Ms Roberts was attacked by 39-year-old Shakil Chowdhury and three other men in 2006 at the age of 12. He was later sentenced to six years in jail, but her other attackers have not been caught.

She told her local paper the Oldham Chronicle: "It's ridiculous that it has to take five girls, as in this case, for people to take notice.

"People have now realised that things like this do go on in places like Oldham and Rochdale. There are cultural problems."

Since the conviction of the nine men, further arrests have been made in a second sexual grooming inquiry in Rochdale.

Source: BBC News

Ryan Chambers, 19, of Milton Keynes, amassed the names and numbers of more than 1,000 girls aged 12 to 15, Aylesbury Crown Court heard.

He had denied eight counts of sexual activity with a child but was convicted in March following a trial.

He admitted four counts of possessing indecent images of children.

Thames Valley Police said its inquiry involved contacting hundreds of girls in Milton Keynes and Northamptonshire and writing to 800 parents to establish whether their child had been in contact with Chambers.

His offending stemmed from summer 2010, but officers were first alerted a year later by a mother concerned her 14-year-old daughter was being groomed over the internet.

Facebook aliases

Chambers was arrested and lists featuring more than 1,000 girls' names and mobile numbers were found at his home in Akerlea Close, Netherfield.

He was released on bail, but two weeks later police went to his home and found a 14-year-old girl who had been reported missing. She was not one of his four victims, police said.

Another search of his home uncovered more names and numbers and four indecent images of children rated at level four, five being the most serious.

He was found to have had "prolific" contact with girls and had set up 11 profiles on Facebook under variations of his name, including "Ryan Onit" and "Ryan missesyou", as well as one alias.

Det Sgt Sally Kestin said: "Ryan Chambers is a very dangerous and predatory young man who desires to groom his victims in order to sexually abuse them.

"He would use a number of profiles set up on Facebook to contact girls and request they add him as a friend.

'Ultimate aim'

"If a girl accepted his friend request he would initiate conversations with them through Facebook as a ploy to obtain their phone numbers.

"His ultimate aim was to entice them around to his home where he would encourage them to have sex with him."

Chambers was also sentenced to a sex offence prevention order, banning him from contacting anyone under 18 and from accessing social media for six years.

A Facebook spokesman said: "We work hard at Facebook to keep people safe on our service and we have developed highly sophisticated security systems aimed at preventing people from making inappropriate contact with other users.

"Sadly, a small number of determined individuals will persist in behaving illegally when using online services.

"We take a zero tolerance approach and when such illegal behaviour is detected, Facebook will offer its full co-operation to the police to ensure that these people are brought to justice as we did in the case of Mr Chambers."

Source: BBC News

Two Malawian men were sentenced to 14 years in prison in 2010 after saying they were getting married.

Several Western leaders have recently said they would cut aid to countries which did not recognise gay rights.

Mrs Banda took power last month after her predecessor, Bingu wa Mutharika, died of a heart attack.

She has since reversed several of his policies, including devaluing the currency, in a bid to get donor funding restored.

Many donors cut aid under Mr Mutharika, accusing him of economic mismanagement and political repression.

In a speech to parliament, which was broadcast live on national radio, Mrs Banda said: "The Indecency and Unnatural Acts laws shall be repealed."

However, analysts say she may struggle to persuade parliament in the conservative country to overturn the law.

After a storm of international condemnation, Mr Mutharika did pardon the two Malawian men on "humanitarian grounds only" but said they had "committed a crime against our culture, against our religion, and against our laws".

Homosexual acts are illegal in most African countries.

In Uganda, an MP recently introduced a bill which stipulated the death penalty could be imposed for some homosexual offences, although he has since said he now wants this changed to life in prison.

South Africa is the only African country where same-sex marriages are legal - discrimination based on sexual orientation was banned after a new constitution was introduced when white minority rule ended in 1994.

'Attempted coup'

Earlier this month, Mrs Banda said she did not want Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir to attend an African Union summit Malawi is hosting in July.

She said she feared the "economic implications" if Mr Bashir visited the country in defiance of an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court on war crimes charges over the conflict in Darfur.

Relations with donors have already improved under Mrs Banda and the UK, which had been extremely critical of Mr Mutharika, is now urging other donors to restore funding as soon as possible.

Malawi is one of the poorest countries in the world and aid used to make up a large proportion of the national budget.

Mrs Banda was elected vice-president as Mr Mutharika's running mate in 2009 but the pair had since fallen out.

When the president died, there were reports that Mr Mutharika's allies attempted to sidestep the constitution to prevent her succeeding him.

Mrs Banda also announced that an official inquiry would be opened into this "attempted coup" and the circumstances of Mr Mutharika's death.

Source: BBC News

The aim is to answer young people’s questions about sexuality. But some say the federal science museum in Ottawa has gone too far.

Amid the outcry, it has raised the age for admission for unaccompanied children from 12 to 16.

“I respect the independence of the museum but they asked me my opinion and in my opinion it is not appropriate for young, underage children to be exposed to sexually explicit material without the consent of their parents,” said James Moore, the Minister of Canadian Heritage.

Other politicians however insist that broaching such issues early has social benefits.

“The more and earlier people learn about sex, the less unplanned pregnancies,” claimed Ontario Liberal MP Carolyn Bennett.

An animated video about youngsters exploring their own bodies has been removed after complaints.

The show still includes life-sized, full-frontal nude photos of males and females at various stages of life and Canada’s Sun newspapers have described a “climax room” showing animations of aroused genitals with a voice of a man describing an orgasm.

Like it or loathe it, there is no chance this exhibition will pass by unnoticed.

Source: Euronews

The festival reflects a new climate of political reform that has led to the election of a civilian government, ending 50 years of military rule.

Gay relationships are still a crime in Burma, but the law is not strictly enforced.

However activists say discrimination is rife and they want the law to be repealed.

Burma is a conservative, mainly Buddhist country where many gay men and women feel they cannot come out.

As such organisers decided against hosting a street parade, which is a traditional feature of gay pride events around the world.

Instead, around 400 people attended an evening of music and talks held in the ballroom of a hotel in Rangoon.

Other Burmese cities also took part in the event, which marks the International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia.

"In the past we didn't dare do this. We've been preparing to hold this event for a long time… and today, finally it happened," gay make-up artist Min-Min told the AFP news agency.

Social taboos concerning sexuality have also had an impact on Burma's sexual health.

A United Nations report published two years ago said that 29% of gay men in some Burmese cities were HIV-positive.

Source: BBC News

In announcing their decision, Indonesian police also cited concerns over safety. The Islamic Defender’s Front,  FPI,  threatened to deploy 30,000 members to physically prevent Lady Gaga from getting off the plane.

Although the majority of Indonesia's population is decidedly moderate,  the FPI has been particularly vocal and politically influential over the past year.
 
Salim Alatas who heads FPI’s Jakarta branch,  thanked police for their efforts.
 
"We from the FPI reject the Lady Gaga concert because she will destroy the morals and culture of Indonesia," he said.  Alatas said Lady Gaga represents Satanism adding that the group would not reject her if she was not “pornographic.”
 
This week the Indonesian government warned music promoters to consider the country's culture and tradition when inviting foreign artists to perform here. The tourism ministry also emphasized that foreign performers should wear modest outfits on stage.
 
But many of Jakarta’s Western-minded young people believe hardline groups should not have the right to define their morals for them.      
 
Giat, 18, is a Jakarta student who runs a Twitter page called Lady.Gaga.Indonesia.
 
The page has 22,000 followers -" Little Monsters" as Lady Gaga fans are known - many of whom have criticized the decision.
 
“Those arguments from those people who don't like Lady Gaga aren't rational to me, actually not only to me but to all little monsters in Indonesia," Giat said. "As we know Lady Gaga never asked anyone to worship Satan so it's like they are trying to lie to the public because not everyone knows Lady Gaga, so everyone will hate Lady Gaga and the concert will be canceled. It is so ridiculous to me and all little monsters.”
 
Despite allegations that the pop star would tarnish Indonesia’s moral fiber, she has plenty of fans in Jakarta. More than 52,000 tickets were purchased in advance, making the sold-out show her biggest in Asia.
 
Lady Gaga’s local promoter, Big Daddy productions, says it is still trying to persuade authorities to issue the permit, but rights groups say the damage to Indonesia’s tolerant Islamic image is done.
 
Human Rights Watch Asia deputy director Elaine Pearson says hardline groups like the FPI are becoming increasingly aggressive.
 
“It used to be that they would only go after the minorities like the Ahmadiyah but increasingly over the last couple of years we have seen more attacks against Christian churches and so on," Pearson said. "I think now the fact they are even taking on the Lady Gaga concert shows that there are very emboldened by the failure if the state to really rein in their activities. They really want to control what people can do and see in Indonesia.”
 
Lady Gaga’s “Born this Way Ball” world tour includes stops in Bangkok, Manila, Tapei, Hong Kong and South Korea.

And there have been culture clashes in those places too.

Conservative groups in South Korea complained about Lady Gaga’s skimpy costumes, leading authorities to ban minors from attending her recent show. Several of the pop singer’s tunes are banned in China.

Source: VOA News

Petras Grazulis, who proposed a 2010 law fining the promotion of homosexuality among minors in Lithuania, interrupted a press conference for the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia tomorrow,15min.lt said.

Mr Grazulis disrupted the event, attended by LGBT rights advocates and ambassadors, asking: “How are homosexuals better than necrophiliacs or paedophiles?”

“I’m ashamed that the rotten West, coming from the European Union that is morally corrupted, propagates this to Lithuania and tells us how we should treat homosexuals. Gays should leave Lithuania, not dictate their terms to us.”

Vladimiras Simonko, of the Lithuanian Gay League, said Mr Grazulis had interrupted the press conference before.

He told 15min.lt: “The same thing happened in 2010, it happens in 2012, except that this time he does it among honourable guests, 11 ambassadors. I have no doubts that the circus will be repeated in 2013. This adds no credit to the Parliament. I’m ashamed to have such bigoted MPs.”

Complaining of “moral rottenness” being promoted in the Parliament, Mr Grazulis, an Order and Justice Party MP, continued: “It won’t be long before kleptomaniacs, drug addicts, necrophiliacs, or zoophiles start organizing their press conferences in the Parliament. There are many kinds of devildom – shall we give rights to them all? Could we have thought 10 years ago that things like that would be happening? In 10 years, they’ll be bringing goats to the Parliament.”

In 2007, Mr Grazulis was among the fifty percent of Lithuanian MPs polled who thought homosexuality was a perversion.

He said: “I support the position of the Church, there is no doubt about it. These people are indeed sick and perverted. They pose a threat to society because they molest children.”

The event in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius was organised by the Lithuania Gay League and social democratic MP Marija Aušrinė Pavilionienė. Representatives from the Dutch and American embassies and Amnesty International attended to hear about human rights issues affecting the country’s LGBT community.

Source: Pink News

Religious activists disrupted what was dubbed the country’s first-ever march to mark the International Day Against Homophobia.

A fist fight broke out as radical Orthodox believers in central Tbilisi tried to block the progress of those taking part, demanding the event be stopped. Police intervened and people from both sides were detained.

Gay campaigners claim that hate speech against their community has been unleashed by radical nationalist and religious groups in Georgia.

Source: Euronews

Homophobia and transphobia are social disorders that cause people to act out against homosexuals and transsexuals. 

LGBT rights activists have done a variety of things to memorialize this day against this disease everywhere around the world.

In Iran, because of anti-homosexuality laws and oppressive conditions, there aren't many observable activities; however, LGBT activists have many actions for this day every year.

Last year, many of the LGBT rights activists distributed brochures and ads about this day in Tehran. The great We Are Everywhere campaignon Facebook was one of the human rights activist initiatives from the US, which received widespread support and involvement from many people.

This year, LGBT rights activists have launched the “Homophilia” campaign on Facebook.

Some homosexuals and transsexuals distributed educational brochures in Tehran, carried rainbow flags and banners, and flew colored balloons in order to create new social movements.
The pictures below were received from LGBT activists in Iran.

Download full album in a zip file here.

Persian Signs: No to Homophobia and Transphobia