HAVANA -- Cuba's gay community celebrated unprecedented openness -- and high-ranking political alliances -- with a government-backed campaign against homophobia on Saturday.

"This is a very important moment for us, the men and women of Cuba, because for the first time we can gather in this way and speak profoundly and with scientific basis about these topics," said Castro, director of Cuba's Center for Sexual Education.

Mariela Castro joined government leaders and hundreds of activists at the one-day conference for the International Day Against Homophobia that featured shows, lectures, panel discussions and book presentations. A station also offered blood-tests for sexually transmitted diseases.

Cuban state television gave prime-time play Friday to the U.S. film "Brokeback Mountain," which tells the story of two cowboys who conceal their homosexual affair.

Prejudice against homosexuals remains deeply rooted in Cuban society, but the government has steadily moved away from the Puritanism of the 1960s and 1970s, when homosexuals hid their sexuality for fear of being ridiculed, fired from work or even imprisoned.

Now Cuba's parliament is studying proposals to legalize same-sex unions and give gay couples the benefits that people in traditional marriages enjoy.

PESHAWAR, Pakistan -- Taliban militants on Saturday released Pakistan's ambassador to Afghanistan, three months after the envoy was seized in the tribal lands near the Afghan border.

The release of Tariq Azizuddin was the latest sign of a growing rapprochement between the Pakistani government and militants in the tribal areas. In recent days, the two sides have carried out prisoner swaps and the Pakistani military has been thinning out its troops in the border zone.

The Bush administration and NATO have expressed concern at the prospect of an accord between the new government and the militants, saying such a truce could lead to an upsurge in attacks against Western troops in Afghanistan. In the past, militants have used peace accords to regroup and rearm.

The diplomat, whose release was confirmed by Pakistan's Foreign Ministry, was reported to be in good health. The ministry gave no further details.

BEIRUT, Lebanon -- Lebanon's ruling coalition demanded Saturday that talks to end the country's 18-month-old political crisis tackle the issue of Hezbollah's weapons, a demand the militant group rejected.

Hezbollah insisted the group's arsenal remain untouched, saying it was necessary for fighting Israel, Lebanese media reported on the first day of the negotiations in Qatar on forming a unity government and electing a president after the country's worst violence since the 1975-1990 civil war.

The two sides flew to Qatar's capital, Doha, following a deal mediated by the Arab League that brought an end to a week of violence. The deal included an agreement that the talks would lead to the election of compromise candidate Army chief Gen. Michel Suleiman as president.

President Bush said the country had reached a "defining moment."

The weapons demand was seen as an attempt by Prime Minister Fuad Saniora's side to guarantee that Hezbollah won't take to the streets again as it did when it overran Sunni Muslim West Beirut in clashes left 67 people dead and wounded more than 200.

"This is a defining moment," Bush said after a meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Egypt. "It is a moment that requires us to stand strongly with the Saniora government and to support the Saniora government."

KUWAIT CITY -- Kuwaitis voted Saturday for a parliament that could include women for the first time and which many hope will end two years of political wrangling that has created widespread disgust with politics.

New electoral rules to reduce corruption and vote-buying and greater political opportunities for women could result in a markedly different legislature for this tiny, oil-rich Gulf nation and U.S. ally.

Voters said that recent political squabbling has diverted too much attention away from using booming oil revenues for economic development.

Results were expected Sunday.