Obama Speaks on Africa and Gays

US President Barack Obama has once again defended gay rights across the Africa but now citing Nelson Mandela's plight as inspiration.
Obama said he understood that different religions and cultures adhered to different beliefs and traditions, but that the simple principle of equality should be the guide for states and governments. “I want the African people to just hear what I believe,” Obama said.

Russian Parliament Passes Anti-Gay Bill in 1436-0 Votes

MOSCOW – A bill that stigmatizes gay people and bans giving children any information about homosexuality won overwhelming approval Tuesday in Russia's lower house of parliament.

Hours before the State Duma passed the Kremlin-backed law in a 436-0 vote with one abstention, more than two dozen protesters were attacked by hundreds of anti-gay activists and then detained by police.

The bill banning the "propaganda of nontraditional intimate relations" still needs to be passed by the appointed upper house and signed into law by President Vladimir Putin, but neither step is
in doubt.