UK to give cash and support to Russian gays – New Zealand has unanimously passed a motion to support the LGBTI community in Russia and all athletes competing at the Olympic Games. Culture Secretary and Equalities Minister Maria Miller said it was important to use the opportunity of the Winter Olympic Games to underline the importance of treating people fairly.
Vladimir Putin and David Silvester seem not to understand what a gay person is – so here’s a handy guide. Putin’s winter Olympic comments and Silvester’s flood warnings remind us that one can get remarkably far in life while being utterly confused about gay people. THe Guardian explains in its occasional series “Can you explain..? I confused!”
Stand Up for Gay Rights in Nigeria: Oppose the Anti-Gay Marriage Law – Homophobic politicians in Nigeria have since 2006 have been scheming to tighten laws against homosexuality in the country. They sponsored anti same sex marriage bills, incited Nigerians against sexual minorities and politicized homosexual issues.
Cameroon: Gay man who was jailed for sending affectionate text message dies at 34 – A gay man in Cameroon who was jailed for sending a text message to another man, saying “I’m very much in love with you,” has died.Roger Jean-Claude Mbede, 34, passed away on Friday roughly one month after his family removed him from the hospital where he had been seeking treatment for a hernia. Mr Mbede was arrested in March 2011 in connection with the text message and received a three-year sentence.
Namibian political leader stands up for gay rights – Leader of the Democratic Turnhalle Alliance in Namibia says ‘Africans must stop hiding the reality’ of LGBTI citizens. The leader of one of Namibia’s political parties has spoken out for gay rights and gone head-to-head with his opponents who claim homosexuality is un-African.
Australia high court overturns ACT gay marriage law – Australia’s High Court has overturned legislation allowing gay marriage in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). The ACT parliament passed a bill in October making the territory the first part of Australia to legalise same-sex weddings.
India bans gay sex in Supreme Court shock ruling – India’s highest court has upheld a colonial-era law which criminalises gay sex, in what activists have described as a “black day” for gay rights.
Let’s Cheer Our Own! A World First – Two Openly Gay Men Will Lead A Country. For the first time in history, a country will have an openly gay man as both its prime minister and its vice prime minister.Xavier Bettel was sworn in yesterday as Luxembourg’s prime minister, making the former talk show host Europe’s first openly gay prime minister. (Bettel is Europe’s third openly gay head of state, Iceland has had a gay premier in the past, Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir, and Belgium’s current premier, Elio Di Rupo, is gay.)
History Resource: The Radical Activist who Took on AIDS (BBC World Service) Peter Staley was one of the ACT UP activists whose campaigns helped to turn AIDS from a death sentence into a manageable condition. Their story is told in the Oscar-nominated documentary How To Survive A Plague.
Bangladesh officially recognizes hijra as separate gender – A third gender will recognize hijra, often seen as similar to trans or intersex people, in all official government documents.
