GLYNI – Gay and Lesbian Youth Northern Ireland

From BBC Article:

The worldwide eradication of smallpox may, inadvertently, have helped spread HIV infection, scientists believe.

Experts say the vaccine used to wipe out smallpox offered some protection against the Aids virus and, now it is no longer used, HIV has flourished.

The US investigators said trials indicated the smallpox jab interferes with how well HIV multiplies.

But they say in the journal BMC Immunology it is too early to recommend smallpox vaccine for fighting HIV.

Kill no cure

Lead researcher Dr Raymond Weinstein, from Virginia’s George Mason University, said: “There have been several proposed explanations for the rapid spread of HIV in Africa, including wars, the reuse of unsterilised needles and the contamination of early batches of polio vaccine.

“However, all of these have been either disproved or do not sufficiently explain the behaviour of the HIV pandemic.”

(more…)

Tags: aids, bbc, hiv, immunity, smallpox, vaccine

The Rainbow Project received an anonymous call this afternoon from someone who had met two men at the Union Street Bar on 25 November and went home with them to a house in Lisburn and who was then subjected to homophobic abuse, a serious ongoing physical assault and attempted robbery.

The two men in question are aged around 21 and 35 years old respectively, pretend to be gay (and possibly are gay but not out) and have been seen on the gay scene before. The older man claims to be an ex-soldier and both men have self-harming scars in parallel lines on their lower arms.

Please be on your guard. If you have any information about the incident that took place, please contact The Rainbow Project directly so that it may be passed to the PSNI.

-Posted on behalf of the Police and TRP

Tags: attack, homophobia, police, rainbow

A man in his 20s has been sexually assaulted near Belfast city centre.

The incident happened in the Donegal Street/Frederick Street area at about 0200 GMT on Thursday.

Police say the man’s attacker was wearing a dark jacket, light trousers and had short grey hair.

They have appealed for anyone who witnessed the attack to contact them at York Road police station or to use the Crimestoppers telephone line.

We would say that it’s always best not to be walking around town alone at nights, especially early in the morning as in this case. Stay safe! You can always get taxis, after all, saving a few pounds isn’t worth your safety! There are also rape alarms available, and given the frequency of cases in Belfast recently, it doesn’t matter if you are male or female, they might keep you safe.

Read the original BBC article using the link http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/7739838.stm

Tags: attack, cathedral quarter, police