SL, the Stockholm local transport authority, has been asked by the Swedish discrimination ombudsman (DO) to provide adequate compensation to a gay man after he was instructed to leave a bus by a local driver. Read the full story

Finland will not follow the lead of neighbouring Sweden and instead will continue to forbid blood donations by gay men, says the Finnish Red Cross Blood Service. Read the full story

A new Russian film which tells the story of a troupe of drag queens is swarming with stereotypes, according to Finnish actor Ville Haapasalo. Read the full story

Finland’s Catholic Bishop, Teemu Sippo, has warned of an impending rift between the Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Church and Finland’s Catholic Church over the issue of gay marriage. Read the full story

Sweden is edging closer towards officially approving gay marriage now that three of the four parties in the ruling government coalition have joined forces and tabled a motion to legalise the controversial unions by 1 May. Of the four parties in the Alliance government, only the Christian Democrats are holding out. The Local newspaper reports that they are opposed to using the term “marriage” when referring to gay unions. Read the full story

If a new law that’s currently on the table gets passed by Sweden’s government, homosexuals will be allowed to legally get married in the Church of Sweden beginning as early as May 2009. Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt confirmed to Swedish Radio that: “Sweden could have a gender neutral marriage law by May 1, 2009.” Read the full story

In the first known gay marriage at India’s legendary tribute to love, the Taj Mahal, two young Swedish women tied the knot following traditional Hindu rituals conducted by a priest at the Mahadeva Shiva temple in Agra. The two women, aged 18 and 19, were initially refused by the priest, Dharm Das. But after promising to be lifelong disciples of the priest and giving offerings to the temple, he changed his mind. Read the full story

The Alma Media newspaper group made its own news last week when it fired one of its recently-hired chief editors after learning she was a lesbian. Johanna Korhonen’s dismissal as editor-in-chief of the newspaper Lapin Kansa sparked demonstrations outside the Tampere headquarters of the Read the full story

Braving relentless rain, nearly a half million people poured onto the streets of Stockholm to enjoy the festivities of this year’s EuroPride parade. Sweden is hosting the week-long event this year, which came off without a hitch, AFP reports.

Rainbow flags and frivolous decorations adorned the buildings and buses of Stockholm for over a week as Europe’s gay pride parade took over the capital of Sweden.

The lousy weather didn’t damper the spirits of the 45,000 flamboyant participants who turned out for the grand finale downtown parade. Not did it deter some 450,000 spectators from enjoying the scene, according to EuroPride spokeswoman Anna Soederstroem.

More than 150 groups representing all walks of life marched in the parade, which had not been held in Stockholm since 1977. Flamboyant cross-dressers in glittering thongs, Marie Antoinette look-alikes and other marvels walked side by side with groups from the Swedish Lutheran Church, the Stockholm police department and other civic organisations.

The downtown march marked the end of the nine day EuroPride festival, which is hosted by a different city in Europe each year. Leila Hammouda, a 39 year-old from Stockholm whose father is Algerian, said “I’ve never seen it before. I’m sure they would never permit this in Algeria.”

EuroPride chairman Jonah Nylund told reporters that a main objective for this year’s event was to call attention to Eastern Europe’s problem with prejudice. “There are constant attacks or bans on gay pride arrangements,” he said.

From seminars on Belarus to serenades over Danish sandwiches, and with photography from Berlin and a massive flag waving parade thrown in as well, it must surely mean Reykjavik is celebrating Gay Pride once again.

Reykjavik seems to be gaining colour by the hour, as more and more shops, bars and restaurants put out the rainbow flags for Reykjavik Gay Pride – by the weekend, the whole town will pretty much resemble one big rainbow.

With several events lined up for Wednesday, including a drag contest and various talks and seminars, Reykjavik Gay Pride fever will already be in the air by the time the official opening party kicks off on Thursday evening at Reykjavik’s University Cinema.

Saturday’s parade through the city will bring much of the city to a standstill, as tens of thousands of spectators line the streets to watch the vibrant parade that is the focal point of the whole Gay Pride weekend.

The parade is a huge public event where people of all ages and persuasions come together to support gay rights and human rights in general. But with such an exciting and colourful parade, followed by a massive free outdoor concert, doing so is hardly a chore…

Reykjavik gay Pride organisers dub the event “the biggest little pride in the world”. And with around 70,000 attendees, it is indeed small compared to Los Angeles or Europride; but in a country of just 310,000 people, Reykjavik Gay Pride is Iceland’s second biggest annual event.

In 2008, Reykjavik Gay Pride looks set to be the biggest party yet, largely because this year is the 30th anniversary of the Icelandic LGBT organisation, Samtokin 78.

Since 1999 Reykjavik has held a gay pride event in celebration of Iceland’s ‘gay revolution’. In just 30 years since the formation of Samtokin 78, Iceland’s LGBT community has gone from being a persecuted and almost invisible group to having some of the most progressive social and legal rights in the world.

For more information on Reykjavik Gay Pride 2008 and other future events in Reykjavik, visit www.visitreykjavik.is