English professional soccer player Ashley Cole, who plays for the Arsenal team, is suing two tabloid newspapers for harassment, breach of privacy and libel over publication of articles that did not name him.

The Sun and the News of the World reported that two unnamed bisexual Premiership soccer stars had engaged in what the News called a “gay sex orgy [and] made some very dirty phone calls—using a mobile [phone] as a gay sex toy.” They “were caught on camera cavorting with a pal well-known in the music industry in a homosexual orgy,” the News said.

Cole, who says he is not gay, sued after bloggers and others online reportedly speculated that he was one of the unnamed players in the reports.
Cole’s lawyer, Graham Shear, said: “These newspapers published false and offensive articles designed to tell readers that Ashley had behaved in what the News of the World described as a ‘perverted’ way with other professional footballers. The newspapers knew there was no basis to name Ashley but arranged the articles and pictures in such a way that readers would identify him. ... It is disgraceful that he should be faced with this kind of unpleasant insinuation and innuendo.”

As the story unfolded, it also was reported that Cole’s lawyers are further upset that Google’s bots have linked searches for Cole to the word “gay.” On March 8, typing “Ashley Cole” into a Google search box returned, among other things, a Google offer to “See results for: ashley cole gay.”

Move To Block Same-Sex Marriage In Slovakia
Slovakia’s Christian Democratic Movement party is planning to introduce a bill to ban same-sex marriage, the SITA news agency reported Feb. 27. It would also block extending the rights of marriage to same-sex couples. A party spokes-person said the bill is a response to gay activists’ plans to push for a registered-partnership law.

Leading Gay Group Denounces BBC
Gay people are almost invisible on the British Broadcasting Corporation’s flagship channels, according to new research from Stonewall, the United Kingdom’s top gay lobbying organization.

Monitoring of 168 hours of prime-time programming on BBC One and BBC Two found lesbian and gay lives realistically portrayed for just six minutes, or .06 percent of airtime, the organization said.

Another 32 minutes of programming “featured derogatory or offensive references to gay people,” the group said, citing such programs as The Weakest Link and The Lenny Henry Show. “Gay license-payers receive astonishingly poor value from the BBC,” said Stonewall chief executive Ben Summerskill.
Owners of television sets in the United Kingdom must buy an annual $221 license.

The study, titled “Tuned Out,” was conducted jointly by Stonewall and researchers at the University of Leeds.

Gay Bar Trashed
Five intruders trashed a gay bar in Sheffield, England, Feb. 25, The Star reported.

The report said “a gang of weapon-wielding thugs” smashed windows, liquor dispensers and beer pumps in a one-minute assault on Club Xes.
Three clubgoers who tried to intervene reportedly were injured in the 2:45 a.m. fracas. Police categorized the incident as “homophobic,” The Star said.

Isle Of Man Votes To Repeal Antigay Laws
Members of the House of Keys on the Isle of Man voted to repeal Section 38 of the Sexual Offences Act on March 7. The law is a local version of a United Kingdom law that banned “promotion” of homosexuality by schools and public bodies. Similar laws were repealed in 2000 in Scotland and 2003 in England and Wales. The legislation also equalizes the age of consent for gay and straight sex, at 16. The measure now moves to the island’s Legislative Council. A British crown dependency, the Isle of Man is located in the Irish Sea between Great Britain and Ireland. Its population is 75,049.

Editor Who Outed Official Jailed
The editor of the YaoundĂ©, Cameroon, newspaper L’Anecdote was jailed for four months and fined about $1,833 March 3 for publishing the name of Minister for Parliamentary Affairs GrĂ©goire Owona on a long list of alleged homosexuals.

The judge said that editor Jean-Pierre Amougou Belinga had failed to prove that Owona had engaged in gay sex. The newspaper plans to appeal the conviction.

Two other Cameroon newspapers also have published long lists of public figures alleged to be gay.

400,000 at Sydney Mardi Gras
Around 400,000 people turned out for the 28th Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras in Sydney, Australia, March 4. The famous parade down Oxford Street featured 6,000 participants attached to 130 floats and marching units.

Cowboy costumes were in vogue this year, thanks to Brokeback Mountain. Former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and supermodel Kate Moss were among those lampooned.

ABBA Donates To Polish Gays
The members of the retired Swedish pop group ABBA have signed memorabilia together, for the first time in a decade, to support Poland’s beleaguered gay movement. Agnetha FĂ€ltskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid Lyngstad have contributed autographed posters, photos and a CD to an eBay auction staged by Stockholm Pride. Money raised by the sale will go to Warsaw’s gay-pride organization, Fundacja Rownosci.

“It is impossible for a pride event organizer in a privileged neighboring country not to assist in the situation that is now existing in Poland,” said Stockholm Pride chairwoman Ulrika Westerlund. “These objects are very rare since ABBA doesn’t exist anymore and don’t have that much to do with each other,” she added.

Top Polish politicians—including President Lech Kaczynski, ruling Law and Justice Party leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski and Prime Minister Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz — have made several moves to block the advancement of gay equality.

When he was mayor of Warsaw, President Kaczynski banned gay pride in 2004 and 2005, saying he was “against propagating gay orientation.” He called the planned parade “sexually obscene” and reportedly refused to meet with pride organizers, saying, “I am not willing to meet perverts.”

Some 2,500 GLBTs marched last year anyway. Around 300 antigay protesters hurled eggs and shouted slurs at them. Ten people were arrested and three were injured, including a policeman.

Gay pride also was banned last year in the city of Poznan by Mayor Ryszard Grobelny. An impromptu march took place nonetheless and 75 marchers were arrested. Courts later refused to proceed with criminal proceedings against them.

Assisted by Bill Kelley