Five gays run for
legislature in Nepal
Five gay men are running for seats in Nepal's national legislature in the April 10 election.
The new 601-seat Constituent Assembly will replace an interim legislature that has been in place since Parliament was dissolved in early 2007.
The gay men are candidates for the large Communist Party of Nepal ( Unified Marxist-Leninist ) , which is part of the ruling alliance.
Sunil Pant, founder of Nepal's leading gay group, the Blue Diamond Society, is among those seeking office.
In December, Nepal's Supreme Court ordered the government to pass new laws and rewrite old ones to extend equal rights and anti-discrimination protections to gay, lesbian, bisexual, transsexual and intersex people. The ruling came in a public-interest case filed by gay organizations.
'Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual and intersex are natural persons irrespective of their masculine and feminine gender and they have the right to exercise their rights and live an independent life in society,' the court said.
The court also ordered the government to form a committee to study same-sex marriage in other nations with a view to changing Nepalese law in that area, as well.
At present, 'unnatural' sex is illegal in Nepal under penalty of up to two years in prison.
Argentine president
said to support
gay marriage
New Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner supports legalization of same-sex marriage, according to the president of the National Institute Against Discrimination, Xenophobia and Racism ( INADI ) .
In a Feb. 24 interview with the Buenos Aires newspaper Clarín, María José Lubertino was asked, 'With [ former President Raúl ] Alfonsín the divorce law was established. Will Cristina's accomplishment be gay marriage?'
Lubertino responded, 'I have no doubt. ... If they didn't want me to advance this issue, they wouldn't have put me in charge of INADI.'
90 cops visit
Mexico City gay bar
Some 90 police officers descended on the Mexico City gay bar Neón in the gay Zona Rosa district Feb. 16.
A city official called the incident a 'verification visit' to check for irregularities and the presence of minors.
Seven patrons were detained for alleged drug-dealing.
Other patrons said some of the officers behaved violently during the visit.
About 200 gay people protested outside in Plaza del Ángel during the raid, according to a NotieSe report.
In recent months, eight gay bars have been shut down in the Zona Rosa by city officials from the Cuauhtémoc borough—Boy Bar, Colors, Crazy, Lipstick, Liverpool 100, Oasis, The Pussi and VIP, NotieSe said.
Activists have blamed the closures on the local government district's 'homophobia.'
Palestinian gay group
sets out on its own
Al-Qaws, the Palestinian LGBT project of Jerusalem's Open House gay center, has spun off as an independent organization.
'With this decision, our community begins a new journey with a committed leadership group and widespread local activists, friends and supporters,' the group said in a press release.
Al-Qaws achieved official status as a nonprofit organization in November, and renamed itself 'Al-Qaws - for Sexual & Gender Diversity in the Palestinian Society.'
'This new phase presents new opportunities with promises of growth through self-definition for Palestinian LGBTQs,' said Director Haneen Maikey.
—Assistance: Bill Kelley