Moscow: First Gay Pride Rally

Moscow allows city's first gay pride rally, say organizers. "After a five-year struggle, we have received permission from city hall to organize a gay pride parade on May 28," GayRussia association head Nikolai Alexeyev told AFP.

The Moscow event has been authorised to include 500 people, the organiser said.

Gays and Lesbians To be Honored With Monument in Barcelona
The Spanish city of Barcelona will erect a monument to gays, lesbians and transgendered people who have been persecuted and repressed throughout history , it announced Thursday.

Separately, officials in Saint Petersburg said they will allow a similar demonstration to take place in Russia's second city on May 1. The country's imperial capital allowed its first gay rights parade in November.

Earlier attempts to stage gay rights rallies have been brutally suppressed in major Russian cities, with Moscow's former mayor Yury Luzhkov once calling homosexuality "satanic".

Luzhkov was sacked from his post for officially losing the president's trust at the end of last year, with officials having since adopted a more lenient policy toward opposition groups.

Nearly Half of US Gays Unaware of Their HIV Infection
One in five gay men living in 21 major US cities are infected with the AIDS virus and nearly half are unaware of it, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said in a study.

Source-AFP

Study Says Older Lesbians, Gays Have Higher Rates of Chronic Disease, Mental Problems
California's aging lesbian, gay and bisexual population have higher rates of chronic diseases like diabetes, hypertension.

Suicide - A Big Risk Among Bullied Gays and Lesbians
Gays and lesbians who are bullied are at increased risk of suicides due to disruptions in their hormones and associated cardiovascular problems.