An unbaked cake shows Northern Ireland must still improve on gay rights | Andrew Muir

Gay pride in Belfast. ‘Northern Ireland has transformed since I came out in 1996.’ Photograph: Chris Love

When I was elected mayor of North Down in 2013, I pledged to provide courageous civic leadership for everyone. I therefore reached out to people and organisations not previously included in local civic life, and was delighted to welcome to Bangor Castle town hall groups including charities, the Gaelic Athletic Association and, on two occasions, the Orange Order.

On 17 May, the International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia, I was keen to welcome members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community to the mayor’s parlour. After a few informal conversations, an invitation was extended to members of the community collective Queer Space to visit the town hall for tea. Someone from the group kindly agreed to bring a cake.

As everyone arrived on the day, I was told there had been a problem

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UK: Stonewall report shows Scotland ‘lagging behind’ on tackling bullying

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A new report on homophobic bullying in primary and secondary schools indicates that Scottish schools are lagging behind others in Britain.

The figures were collected from a YouGov survey on 2,043 teachers and are contained in the Teachers’ Report 2014, which was released by Stonewall at the Education for All conference on Friday.

11% of primary school teachers in Scotland were more likely to report that pupils experienced homophobic bullying or name-calling

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My Own Rape Shows How Much We Get Wrong About These Attacks

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The lack of black faces in the crowds shows Brazil is no true rainbow nation | Felipe Araujo

Brazil’s Neymar gestures to the crowd after scoring against Cameroon during their World Cup group game. Photograph: Michael Dalder/Reuters

Remember the Where’s Wally books? They consisted of a series of detailed double-page spread illustrations depicting hundreds of people doing a variety of amusing things. Readers were then challenged to find a character named Wally hidden in the crowd.

Covering the World Cup in Brazil as a journalist, I find myself playing a similar game whenever I enter a packed stadium, only this time the question is a bit more serious. Where are all the black folk? I’ve been to five host cities so far and each time the answer was never easy to come by

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LGBT Applicants Less Likely To Be Called Back For Interviews With Federal Contractors, Study Shows

“A new study shows federal contractors are less likely to call back qualified LGBT job applicants than non-LGBT applicants. (Maria Belen Perez Gabilondo/AFP/Getty Images)” /

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US: Study shows men at risk of HIV infection may misjudge their vulnerability

Men underestimate risk of HIV infection Get the latest LGBT headlines in your inbox with our free daily newsletter! Join 0 reader comments

A survey conducted in the US shows many gay, bisexual and transgender men may not be aware of their risk of HIV infection.

The field researchers working on this study, who do HIV testing and research in commercial sex venues and public bath houses in NYC, said the low perception of risk suggest people need to be educated about their risk of infection and how to prevent it.

Dr Demetre Daskalakis, the study’s senior author from Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City, said:

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Ed Miliband: Pride shows Britain at its best

Ed Miliband writes for PinkNews 0 reader comments

Writing exclusively for PinkNews, Ed Miliband discusses why he thinks pride is still important, celebrates what has been done for LGBT rights, and goes on to say there is more to be done in combating discrimination.

I want to send my best wishes to everyone taking part in this year’s Pride in London. I hope you have a fantastic day.

Pride shows Britain at its best, with our capital city coming to a standstill to recognise our LGBT community. It highlights how far we have come on equality and in accepting and celebrating each other’s differences.

Together we have made great progress towards equality: creating an equal age of consent; ending the ban on LGBT people serving in our forces; increasing sentences for hate crimes; outlawing discrimination in goods and services; ending Section 28; civil partnerships and earlier this year we welcomed the first equal marriages.

The Labour Party champions equality because it is the right thing to do. The desire to create a more just society goes to the heart of what it means to be British. That is why we must all speak up against prejudice.

Yet despite progress there is still more to be done, and that is why I join with you in speaking out against homophobic and transphobic bullying. And we must continue to speak out for those across the world without a voice who are facing persecution and prejudice because of their gender or sexuality. This is why under a Labour Government I will continue to support you in this and appoint an envoy on the international agenda of LGBT rights.

Ed Miliband is the leader of the Labour Party.

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Government report shows equalising pensions for gay couples could cost £2.9 billion

A government source told PinkNews that it was likely ministers would issue a response to the report before the end of 2014 Get the latest LGBT headlines in your inbox with our free daily newsletter! Join Topics same sex couplesgay couplesEquality Act 2010pensionsdepartment for work and pensionsTreasuryThe Equality ActThe Equality Act 2010pension schemespensions schemes 0 reader comments

A joint review looking at equalising pension schemes for same-sex couples shows the government will have to

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Belle shows that at last, cinema is catching up with black history | Andrea Stuart

“Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Sarah Gadon in Belle. ‘If the history of Britain were made into a movie, black people would be in virtually every scene.’ Photograph: Allstar/Fox Searchlight/Sportsphoto/Allstar”/

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British public wrongly believe rich pay most in tax, new research shows

Study shows poorest 10% pay eight percentage points more income, prompting calls for more progressive system

Do you know more about tax than the average Briton? Take our quiz Share Tweet this

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