By Christopher Cappiello

Conservative Northern Ireland Pol Quits Party over Masseur Scandal

Paul Berry, a member of the Northern Ireland Assembly from the conservative Democratic Unionist Party, resigned from the party on Feb. 10 following a long-simmering scandal about his alleged meeting with a gay male masseur in a Belfast hotel in July 2005, the BBC reported.

"The past number of months has been a particularly stressful time for my wife, family, and myself, and we want closure on this matter," Berry said in an official statement. "We have come to the conclusion that there is no future for me within the DUP, and on that basis we have decided it is best for me to resign." He will still serve in the Assembly. The DUP now holds 32 seats, with a possible reduction in Cabinet representation and leadership posts.

Berry was suspended from the DUP following last summer's report in the Sunday World, a Northern Ireland tabloid, about his alleged hotel tryst. Berry claims he was seeking massage therapy for a sports injury to his back, according to the BBC. The legislator took legal action against his party, seeking reinstatement. He dropped his suit and resigned from the party when it was made known that a man involved in the alleged meeting was going to make available more than 20 text messages from his mobile phone, according to the Belfast Telegraph. Berry also agreed to pay more than $5,000 in legal fees for the party.

Berry, 29, is a well-known gospel singer who became the youngest elected member of the Northern Ireland Legislature following his first victory in 1998. He has pending legal action against the newspaper for claiming there was a sexual element to the hotel meeting in question.

China Mandates Free Testing and Treatment for HIV

In its first official regulations regarding HIV/AIDS, China released guidelines Feb. 13 requiring testing and treatment and making it criminal to intentionally spread the virus, The Associated Press reports.

The new laws place the burden on local governments to provide free treatment and medication to poor patients. Pregnant women with HIV must also have access to free consultations and treatment.

The guidelines also call for protecting the rights of people living with HIV/AIDS, specifically banning discrimination based on HIV status in marriage, employment, access to medical care and education, according to the official Xinhua News Agency.

"[The new law] is encouraging," said Joel Rehnstrom, UNAIDS' country coordinator for China, to the Agence France Presse. "That might encourage people who suspect they have the disease to come forward and get tested so they will not spread the disease to others." The new rules go into effect March 1.

International health experts have long feared that China has been slow to respond to a growing AIDS epidemic. In 2004, China estimated that approximately 840,000 citizens were living with HIV. In January, the country revised its estimate down to 650,000, according to AP. The World Health Organization has warned that the country may find itself with upwards of 10 million people living with HIV/AIDS by 2010 if prevention programs aren't accelerated. In November, China announced plans to double its government spending on HIV/AIDS in the next two years.

McKellen Bemoans Hollywood Closet at Berlin Fest

While accepting a Golden Bear lifetime achievement award at the prestigious Berlin Film Festival on Feb. 11, Sir Ian McKellen criticized Hollywood for being inhospitable to out gay actors, in spite of this year's spate of gay-themed films receiving many top honors.

"It is very, very, very difficult for an American actor who wants a film career to be open about his sexuality," McKellen said in a post-ceremony news conference, according to Agence France Presse. "And even more difficult for a woman if she's lesbian."

The 66-year-old McKellen discussed the differences between the theater and film worlds. "The film industry is very old-fashioned in California. It's very distressing to me that that should be the case. It's not true of actors on the other side of the American continent, on Broadway, where people are very at ease with being open and honest."

McKellen, who enjoyed success as one of Britain's most acclaimed stage actors before coming out publicly in 1988, has since catapulted to international fame as a major film star, playing Gandolf in the Lord of the Rings trilogy and Magneto in the X-Men series. "My own career in mainstream films really took off once I'd come out and said I was gay," he told the press in Berlin. "And that's the way it should be, because Heath Ledger isn't gay nor am I straight and yet I can play straight parts and he can successfully play gay men. It'll fade away eventually."

Since coming out, McKellen has been a strong voice for gay rights, appearing at many gay pride events worldwide and using the platform of his celebrity to raise awareness.