Spain's Congress of Deputies voted down two gay partnership bills 163-161 March 18, but only after two 161-161 tie votes.

The no votes were cast by MP's from the ruling Partido Popular, the Catalan Party, and, in the final vote, by the two MPs from the Canary Islands' Canarian Party, who missed the earlier votes.

The measures were supported by the Socialists and the United Left--a coalition of communists and other leftists.

Following the measure's defeat, the Partido Popular introduced a bill which passed, creating a commission to study the issue of gay partnerships. The commission will report back on June 30, the day parliament closes for the summer.

The day after the votes, the Socialists and United Left re-introduced their partnership bills. A new vote is expected in a few months.

SWEDEN REJECTS ANTI-HATE MEASURE

Sweden's parliament March 12 rejected a proposal to ban incitement to hatred against homosexuals.

"Neo Nazi agitation against lesbians and gay men is therefore still legal," said correspondent Bjoern Skolander.

Parliament also voted down a bill that would have banned laws that discriminate based on sexual orientation.

BRITS WAIT THREE MONTHS FOR VIRAL LOAD TEST

Londoners are flooding HIV treatment centers demanding viral-load testing--but many wait up to three months for results, reported the magazine Positive Nation.

The new tests determine whether a patient's particular drug combination is shutting down HIV replication.

"People have to wait months for perhaps the most important indicator of their state of health and likely disease progression," said Julian Hows of the UK Coalition of People Living with HIV and AIDS. "People are being put out on a course of therapy without a viral load test."

That is a very bad idea since an inappropriate combination of drugs will allow development of resistance to some or all of those drugs. Appropriate combinations, on the other hand, slow or halt both disease progression and drug resistance.

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Rex Wockner's Weekly World News Wrap-Ups dating back to May 1, 1994, are searchable --by keyword, city, state/province, nation and year at http://gaytoronto.com.wockner/

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