The White House has just released a video message from Ambassador Susan Rice—U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations—addressing today's International Day Against Homophobia (as they address it, minus transphobia mentions). See the video and read the transcript below.

This morning, marking International Day Against Homphobia and Transphobia, the largest EU survey of hate crime and discrimination targeting members of the LGBT community in the 27-nation bloc and Croatia showed many live in fear and conceal their sexual identity. Details below.

To promote International Day Against Homophobia in the parts of the world that really need to observe it, the United Nations has released a PSA that would make the United Colors of Benetton proud.

Check out the UN's extremely (and appropriately) diverse International Day Against Homophobia promo after the jump!

After Robbie Rogers came out, soccer has trumped hockeystick ball or whatever as our favorite athletic competition show sport thingymajig. So we were very happy to learn that fans of professional soccer who were attending a recent Portland Timbers match were met with an incredible display of LGBT support ahead of the International Day Against Homophobia on Friday. Go local sports team!

Details follow.

It's a great year for gay cinema, if the iconic Seattle International Film Festival's LGBT lineup is any indication. Featuring some of our most looked-forward to movies of the year (GBF, Kink, Interior. Leather Bar., Pit Stop and more), the SIFF is again the go-to source for gay cinema found at a mainstream festival.

From the most expensive HIV treatment in the world to the most affordable, wonderful news has come out of South Africa, the country with the world's largest HIV positive population.

An 18-year old boy was allegedly stoned to death for being gay in a small Somalian village about an hour outside Mogadishu, according to reports from one of the country's LGBT organizations.

Pongsapat Pongcharoen wants to become the Governor of Bangkok and he's hoping votes from the increasingly accepted trans community will help him get there. In what is believed to be the first video in the world that openly courts trans voters, Pongcharoen makes his inclusion of kathoeys (Thais who transition from male to female) known to the world. Check it out after the jump. 

Californian streets and parks have paid respects but is a major international airport next? Harvey International Airport could be one of the hottest tickets in town if the San Francisco Board of Supervisors has its way. 

We're not sure that the public faces of Exodus International meant their 2012 blooper reel to be hilarious in the ironic way that it actually is, but at least it gets us laughing. Follow the jump to see "ex gay" men getting comfortable before camera and we're sure you'll note just how successful the denounced methodology they base their lives on is during such candid moments!

We have movies on our mind today! While we looked back at the best movies of the year in today's Top 10 countdown, the Palm Springs International Film Festival (kicking off Thursday, January 3) has us looking forward to the movies we'll be buzzing about in 2013. 

Hark the Kiwi angels sing! Glory to the newborn queen?

New Zealand's St. Matthew in Auckland church thinks that it's the perfect time for Jesus to come out (and we're not talking of his birthday birth canal), so it's erected another controversial billboard above the country's largest city.  Details follow.