Indian Supreme Court orders reconsideration of sodomy case
India's Supreme Court on Feb. 3 told the Delhi High Court to reconsider a case challenging the nation's ban on gay sex.
The lower court had dismissed the case on a technicality, claiming that the plaintiff, the AIDS organization Naz Foundation, lacked standing to bring the case because Naz had not been injured by the ban. The court also said homosexuality is an 'unnatural offence' and is opposed by Indian society.
Naz had argued that the law, Penal Code Section 377, interferes with its anti-HIV work by forcing gays to stay closeted.
The Supreme Court ordered the Delhi court to consider the case on its merits and rule on the constitutionality of Section 377, which punishes 'carnal intercourse against the order of nature' with up to 10 years in prison.
Gays march in tsunami-ravaged Phuket
More than 1,000 gays, reportedly from some 40 nations, turned out for the annual gay pride parade in tsunami-ravaged Phuket, Thailand, Feb. 5.
Reports said the celebration was aimed, in part, at helping revive gay tourism on Phuket's Patong Beach, which suffered a sharp drop-off in visitors following the December 2004 tsunami.
A Reuters report said that more than 400 tourist-oriented establishments closed due to a lack of business after the tidal wave hit the island.