A 17-year-old girl was raped as she stopped to go to the toilet in bushes on her way home from a night out in Nottingham, a court was told. (more…)

The Archbishop of Canterbury has outlined the Church of England’s opposition to equal marriage rights. Dr Rowan Williams told a private meeting of influential MPs that the Church does not support moves towards equal marriage, and will refuse to host same-sex civil partnerships. (more…)

The Department of Health has been criticised for paying £1000 per person for a training course in Hertfordshire.

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The extremist Christian website that blamed the recent earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand on the “amoral” behaviour of lesbians and gay men, has been suspended. (more…)

In an article for Attitude magazine Johann Hari advocated an open discussion on homophobia in the Muslim community.

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A faction of the Anonymous collective have taken down godhatesfags.com, the Westboro Baptist Church home page. The website was attacked during a TV debate yesterday following an extended stand-off between the two groups. (more…)

A Conservative member of the European Parliament has suggested that African countries should respect gay rights as a condition for financial aid. (more…)

Gay rights campaigning is very grown up these days, writes Milly Shaw. Gone are the days of lesbian avengers abseiling into the BBC to protest for gay rights on live TV. Nowadays all the campaigning is done by the sensible folk at Stonewall, who have polite conversations with government thinktanks over tea and unthreatening biscuits. (more…)

East London residents are organising a Pride demonstration in the wake of a homophobic sticker campaign. A Facebook group in support of the event has seen over 700 people join in a matter of hours. (more…)

Stephen Twigg, MP for Liverpool West Derby, has compared the discrimination against Jews with that against gays.

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The Lesbian & Gay Foundation (LGF) have released a series of short films aimed at encouraging lesbian and bisexual women to access cervical screening services. The Youtube “screenings” pay tribute to Gone With The Wind, Star Wars, Dirty Dancing and Pretty Woman. (more…)

Liverpool’s city council has unveiled plans to redevelop and promote its gay quarter. (more…)

The Equality and Human Rights Commission is preparing to test exclusively gay hotels for breaches of equality legislation. (more…)

The Budapest Metropolitan Court has reversed a police ban on Pride in the Hungarian capital. The court refuted claims that the march would cause an undue disruption of traffic. (more…)

Facebook has changed the relationship information it provides to reflect civil partnerships. Since Thursday (17 February), users have been able to select ‘in a civil union’ as a relationship status, along with ‘in a domestic partnership’. (more…)

Activists held the first ever officially sanctioned LGBT demonstration in Minsk earlier this week. A dozen people protested outside of the Justice Ministry, where they demanded equal rights and an end to prejudice. (more…)

The Oscar-nominated lesbian flick The Kids Are All Right has received a restrictive rating in Singapore, with its release also being limited to just one print. The move has shocked local cinema fans and film-makers. (more…)

The Hungarian festival was banned after police voiced concerns, ostensibly about traffic disruption.

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Lynne Featherstone has announced a government consultation that will “formally look at what steps can be taken” to address the differences between marriage and civil partnership. The equality minister’s statement has led to speculation over the future of both institutions. (more…)

A new iphone app has come under fire from LGBT groups for promoting the idea that homosexuality is a sin. (more…)

Islamists have ignited anger in East London by flyposting homophobic stickers over the weekend.

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Emma Donoghue’s next novel will be a historical fiction based on the true story of a murdered 19th century cross-dressing frog catcher. (more…)

London’s Candy Bar, one of the longest-running dedicated lesbian bars in the UK, is to be the subject of its own reality TV show.

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A small group of lesbian activists have won a meeting with South Africa’s Justice Ministry after their campaign against corrective rape went viral. Anti-rape charity Luleki Sizwe obtained massive international support for an online petition targeting lawmakers. (more…)

“Born This Way”, the latest single from Lady Gaga, has topped the itunes charts in 21 countries. It also hit #3 in last week’s UK singles chart, despite having only being released as a digital download on Friday. (more…)

Equalities Minister Lynne Featherstone is expected to announce a move to legalise civil partnerships in religious venues during the next few days. The change will be a step towards marriage equality, but stops short of full gay marriage rights. (more…)

Michael Buerk has criticised the fact that political correctness dictates how presenters are recruited.

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When Heather Peace first auditioned for Lip Service, she knew it was something special. “I had a feeling in my gut that this was going to be a life-changing job,” she admits, but the success of the show surprised even her. “I’m feeling the pressure now!”

No wonder – as well as stealing the heart of every lesbian in the country (including a certain Scottish architect) as DS Sam Murray, she’s about to embark on a UK tour showcasing material from her upcoming album, This is Me. Oh, and she scored a place on the Independent’s coveted Pink List last year, before Lip Service even aired. (more…)

An inquiry has been launched after staff at a Darlington Jobcentre allegedly told a trans woman that she should dress as a man for job interviews. (more…)

Given money to donate by his parents, Malcolm decided to split it between the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center and the Human Rights Campaign Foundation.

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The Lesbian Lives conference will celebrate its 18th birthday in Brighton on 11th and 12th February 2011. The conference has been organised by the Women’s Studies Centre at University College Dublin for the past seventeen years and is coming to Brighton for the first time. (more…)

A Ugandan woman who fears persecution because of her sexual orientation was released from Yarl’s Wood detention centre last night. She has until Friday to produce new evidence to support her asylum claim. (more…)

A lesbian couple in the United States have been told by a judge that they cannot divorce. (more…)

Lesbilicious have teamed up with Little Ms Tees to offer you the chance to win a hoody from their impressive range of lesbian/bi products. (more…)

Following in the footsteps of California neighbor Hollywood, the Castro District of San Francisco will soon be home to a ‘walk of fame’, honouring LGBT icons. (more…)

A right-wing Christian activist has been removed from a government advisory panel because of his homophobic views. The Home Office says that Dr Hans-Christian Raab failed to mention his controversial opinions when interviewed for the role. (more…)

Homophobic hate crimes have almost doubled in Scotland over the last two years, according to new figures. The number of recorded cases has risen from 364 incidences in 2007-08 to 666 incidences in 2009-10. (more…)

Zach Wahls, the 19-year-old son of a lesbian couple from Iowa, has become an internet sensation after speaking in defense of gay marriage. (more…)

Bisexual punk cabaret icon Amanda Palmer has released a new full-length album, her first since 2008. “Amanda Palmer Goes Down Under” is available from just US$0.69 (43p). (more…)

We’re pleased to announce the return of our comedy night in Newcastle upon Tyne.

On Thursday 24th February 2011 Lesbilicious Comedy presents Suzi Payton, Suzi Ruffell and Sarah Adams.

For full details please see Lesbilicious Comedy.

A Mexican company has launched a new, “honey flavoured” beer that has been designed specifically for LGBT consumers. (more…)

An exhibition will be held at The Lowry to celebrate 21 years of Manchester Pride.

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Newly published research points to a link between homophobic abuse and hormonal imbalances in young lesbian, gay and bisexual adults. Individuals who lived in homophobic environments were shown to have higher levels of the stress hormone cortisol. (more…)

An LGBT organisation has been awarded £49,600 to research lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans history in Wales. The grant, which was awarded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, comes as the LGBT Excellence Centre Wales gears up a large number of events that will take place during History Month. (more…)

Conservative Lord Mackay has argued that Christians should be able to bar gays in accordance with their beliefs.

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Up-and-coming lesbian comedian Zoe Lyons is touring the UK from February 2011. (more…)

Anne Marie Carrie, the new chief executive of children’s charity Barnardo’s, has encouraged more gay couples to consider adoption. (more…)

A new study reveals that lesbian, gay and bisexual individuals are more likely to experience mental health problems than heterosexual people. It suggests that high rates of unhappiness, alcohol dependence, drug abuse, anxiety, depression, suicidal thoughts and and self-harm are influenced by homophobic and biphobic discrimination. (more…)