Attacks on gays and homophobic speech spiked last year in the run-up to the French parliament's approval of a bill allowing same-sex couples to marry and adopt children, a leading gay rights watchdog said Tuesday. In its annual report, SOS Homophobie said it recorded 1,977 calls on its helpline in 2012, a 27 percent increase over the previous year. The group's head Elisabeth Ronzier said the last few months of 2012 and the start of this year were "intense" with hate speech increasing sharply, especially on the Internet.

By Insiya Syed KARACHI, Pakistan (Reuters) - Even among the colorful cast of mullahs, laborers and idealists standing in Pakistan's elections this Saturday, Bindia Rana stands out. She and a handful of others are the first of Pakistan's transgender "hijra" community - which includes transsexuals, transvestites and others - to register as candidates.

The Japan Pension Service began assigning a set of fixed digits to the basic pension numbers of people with gender identity disorder last year, sources familiar with the matter said Tuesday. The four digits, which the pension service began to assign in October to distinguish individuals who have changed their gender designation, were contained in a pension consultation manual obtained and posted on a website by a third party, sparking criticism from people with GID and their supporters who see it as a violation of privacy.

Vietnam's first gay sitcom has become a YouTube sensation, racking up millions of views as support for legalising same-sex marriage strengthens within the communist government. Homosexuality was once seen as a social evil in Vietnam and the success of "My Best Gay Friends", a low-budget series about three people sharing an apartment in southern Ho Chi Minh City, has taken even its creator by surprise.