US basketball player Jason Collins joins a growing list of athletes to publicly declare their homosexuality but fear and suspicion remain, notably in the "world game" of football, about gay players, despite changing social attitudes and initiatives to combat homophobia. Collins, 34, made the announcement on Monday in an article on Sports Illustrated magazine's website, making him the first active player in the top-flight NBA to reveal that he is gay.

With its gay bars and same-sex couples publicly displaying affection, the Tanjong Pagar district offers a glimpse of a Singapore whose outlook contrasts with its more conservative image. Located in the city's central business area, it is also home to offices and government buildings. Its bars come to life at night, part of a gay scene that continues to evolve.

Gay marriage may have passed with barely hitch in many countries, but it has kicked up a huge storm in France, a country often seen as the champion of secularism and notoriously relaxed on issues pertaining to private life. Smelling blood after a bruising first year for President Francois Hollande, right-wing leaders have mobilised a fierce campaign. But sociologists argue that France's social fabric and identity crisis also helps explain the ferocity of the debate.

By Megha Rajagopalan BEIJING (Reuters) - This week's visit to China by Iceland's prime minister and her same-sex spouse has given rise to tentative hopes among gay Chinese that widespread news coverage could be a first step towards more openness about homosexuality at home. It is not illegal to be gay in China. But it remains a largely taboo subject that baffles many in the world's most populous nation thanks to decades of prudish Communist rule, despite numerous homosexual references in classical Chinese literature.