(CNN) — France’s top court ruled Friday that a bill permitting same-sex marriage and allowing gay couples to adopt children adheres to the constitution.

President Francois Hollande is expected to sign the bill into law on Saturday.

After the lower house of Parliament, dominated by Hollande’s governing Socialist Party, passed the bill last month, conservative and centrist senators filed a legal challenge with the court, the Constitutional Council.

The legislation admits France to a small but growing club.

Lawmakers in New Zealand this year made it the first country in the Asia-Pacific region to legalize same-sex marriage. The law is set to be enacted later this year.

Its move came a week after Uruguayan lawmakers approved a measure allowing same-sex marriage. The measure awaits the signature of Uruguay’s president, who has indicated he supports it.

If and when the laws in New Zealand, Uruguay and France are enacted as expected, the count of nations allowing same-sex marriage will rise to 14.

France would be the ninth country in Europe to allow same sex marriage.

The first same-sex couples walked down the aisle in the Netherlands in 2001, with others following suit in Canada, South Africa, Belgium and Spain. Argentina was the first Latin American nation to legalize such marriages, in 2010. Other countries on the list are Denmark, Iceland, Norway, Portugal and Sweden.

Many countries remain split over the issue. A Brazilian court this week issued a directive removing a barrier that had limited same-sex marriage, but no bill has made it through Congress.

Legislators in the United Kingdom are also weighing proposals to legalize same-sex marriage. Lawmakers in Australia voted against a bill to legalize same-sex marriage last September. A poll for the advocacy group Australian Marriage Equality indicated that 64% of those surveyed “support marriage equality.”

In the United States, the question went before the Supreme Court and justices are now deliberating over the matter.

Twelve U.S. states and the District of Columbia have legalized same-sex marriages. On the other side, many states have specific laws blocking same-sex couples from legally marrying.

In a sign of just how difficult the nascent gay rights movement is in the relatively new, relatively democratic country of Georgia, protesters, led by leaders of the Orthodox Christian Church derailed a gay pride parade shortly after it was scheduled to get under way. Thousands of anti-gay protestors, some with signs reading “We don’t need Sodom and Gomorrah!” threatened to lash the participants with stinging nettles.

A similar rally in the capital of Tbilisi was also cut short last year when police, clearly outnumbered and overwhelmed, were forced to escort members of the LGBT community out of the square where they were set to march.

The reaction from the church was unsurprisingly pointed. Father David, a priest who was one of the organizers of Friday’s anti-gay rally, said the parade “insults people’s traditions and national sentiments.” His views, however, continue to represent the majority in a part of the world that has not nurtured democratic principles for long. President Vladimir Putin of Russia recently stated that he would review his relationship with France regarding adoptions after the nation recently legalized same-sex marriage. He argued that France must respect the “cultural norms” of his country.

These views are not just limited to the country’s elders whom one might expect to hold more traditional, more conservative views. Young people are equally aghast at homosexuality. According to a report on Ames, Iowa’s Channel 5, 21-year-old student Nikolai Kiladze said, “We are against the propaganda of homosexuality. If we need to allow parades like this in order to become a member of the European Union or other Western organizations and blocs, then I’m against joining these organizations.”

Georgia’s authorities had given the green light for the gay parade to take place, saying that all Georgian citizens, irrespective of their sexuality, are entitled to voice their views in public.

Shanghai Pride

June 14 the LGBT community in Shanghai will come together to celebrate its fifth anniversary. The eight-day event will be host to the usual assorted revelry, shirtlessness and tight Lycra short shorts. But amid the festivities, a note of seriousness will underscore what many see as an accomplishment in and of itself. “A week-long string of events has been planned to boost the LGBT’s community position in China and raise awareness around LGBT themes including marriage equality, sexual health and societal acceptance,” note event organizers.

While miniscule by Western standards, the 800 or so people that showed up for both last year’s opening and closing day festivities, demonstrated to the Chinese that a voice was emerging in a country where approval of same-sex marriage now hovers around 30 percent.

“We’re very optimistic that this year will be the biggest and most fun Pride yet, but more importantly it will be the most significant in terms of content,” said Dylan Chen, one of the event organizers. “With a greater focus on equality, advocacy and sexual health we hope that we can bring together people in a more meaningful way than we have done in the past. It’s time to stop being afraid of confronting the issues that seemed daunting to us before, it’s time for us to come together as a community and share our experiences and knowledge for the benefit of our society.”

This year’s Pride plans on showcasing independent queer cinema, too. The goal, event organizers state, is to make the Shanghai Gay and Lesbian Film Festival the largest of its kind in China in several years. This year’s Pride will also feature art and theatre performances.

It’s estimated that there are nearly 30 million gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people in China many of whom are forced into cooperative marriages (xinghun) because of the intense social pressure to get married. But with each passing year, the growth of Pride events across China shows that change, however slow, will free thousands of young people to live their lives openly.

Last year, a court in Moscow ruled that the Pride celebrations cannot take place for the next 100 years. This means that organizing a Pride event in the city can first be realized in 2112.

Now Stockholm Pride wants to  invites all Russians to instead # GOWEST and celebrate Pride in Stockholm, the capital of Sweden. They have devised a campaign that allows you to compose a Tweet-invite that’s automatically translated into Russian. In addition, your location for this particular Tweet will be changed to a location in Russia.

In a statement, Stockholm Pride said, “To celebrate that love, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity and gender identity is a democratic right, we have taken this opportunity to, with humor and love, direct a special invitation to all of Russia to celebrate Pride with us. Twitter is one of the fastest tools for advocacy worldwide. The goal of the campaign is to create a trending topic on Twitter with # GOWESTand thus reach out to both the people of Russia and the rest of the world.”

Visit Sweden have announced that their movie Glorious Stockholm, promoting Stockholm as a gay-friendly city has won a total of seven awards, one jury’s choice awards and received one nomination.

The awards are as follows:- Berlin Toura d’Or (2nd place)- Peoples Telly Awards on YouTube (2nd place)- Riga Tour Film (2nd place)- New York Festival – World TV & Films (nominated)- Tourism Film Festival Bulgaria (Jurys award)- Telly Awards (3 categories: Tourism, Music, Non Commercial Marketing Film)- Warsaw FilmArt & Tourism Festival “FilmAT” (3rd place for tourism)

Watch the video!

(CNN) — The Brazilian National Council of Justice, which oversees the nation’s judiciary, passed a resolution Tuesday that denies notaries the right to refuse to perform same-sex marriages.

In Brazil, notaries officiate marriages and civil unions.

Recently, 12 Brazilian states began allowing same-sex couples to marry or convert their civil unions into marriages. However, since the Supreme Court does not carry legislative powers, it was up to each notary to officiate at their discretion, and many refused, citing the lack of law.

Joaquim Barbosa

Joaquim Barbosa, president of the Council of Justice, said in the decision that notaries cannot continue to refuse to “perform a civil wedding or the conversion of a stable civil union into a marriage between persons of the same sex.”

Barbosa, who also presides over the Supreme Court, says the resolution merely follows the transformation of society.

“Our society goes through many changes, and the National Council of Justice cannot be indifferent to them,” he said.

Civil unions between same-sex couples have been recognized in Brazil since 2011, after the Supreme Court ruled that the same rights and rules that apply to “stable unions” of heterosexual couples would apply to same-sex couples, including the right to joint declaration of income tax, pension, inheritance and property sharing. People in same-sex unions are also allowed to extend health benefits to their partners, following the same rules applied to heterosexual couples.

Brazilian lawmakers have debated same-sex marriage, but in most cases, the bills introduced have not progressed through Congress.

Brazilian neighbors Uruguay and Argentina are the only other two countries in Latin America that have laws allowing same-sex couples to marry.

Since the enactment of anti-gay ‘propaganda’ laws that have overwhelmingly passed in some of Russia’s largest cities, the LGBT community is seeing a discernible rise in violent crimes. Recently, a young gay man, Vladislav Tornovoi,

Vladislav Tornovoi

was brutally attacked then killed after he admitted to his drinking buddies that he was gay. In Volgograd, the 23-year-old man was beaten, had a beer bottle forcefully inserted in his anus, was set on fire and then, for good measure, had a stone dropped on his head killing him at once.

With the brutality of his death comes the painful realization that Russian society is on the brink of an all-out war against the LGBT community. Adding fuel to the fire is President Vladimir Putin’s call to allow the ultra-conservative Orthodox Church a larger voice in the moral direction of the country. With passage of a decree to that effect all but certain, gay activists, like Nikolai Alexeyev, worry that it will translate into a license to act. “It essentially gives these people carte blanche to commit such crimes,” Alexeyev warned. “Such crimes are committed around Russia every day. As a rule, all these crimes are categorized as something ordinary – they argued over a bottle of vodka, or there was ‘personal animosity’. The real motive of hate is not mentioned.”

Hate crime statistics are hard to come by in Russia where the concept is fairly new (and tenuous). For example, there were only three attacks reported in 2011 but 12 in 2012.

Gay activists say the government’s conservative policies offer “unspoken support” for violence. This, they say, could even have made the suspects in the Volgograd murder describe their victim as gay to win some sympathy.

That, coupled with Russia’s declining population together with rising HIV rates, make gays easy targets. On a recent trip to the Netherlands, faced with very vocal opposition, Putin clearly made his position, however tortured, known. ““It is imperative to protect the rights of sexual minorities, but let’s agree that same-sex marriage does not produce children,” Putin said.

The outlook for the near future is grim and while activists continue to combat the rising tide of intolerance, Putin, along with the state-sanctioned church make one thing all but certain: crimes against the LGBT community, if reported, will remain far under the radar screen.

(CNN) — A transsexual woman has won on appeal the right to marry her boyfriend, a decision poised to rewrite Hong Kong’s marriage law.

The appellant — known only by the initial “W” — is a post-operative male-to-female transsexual who was refused the right to marry because she did not quality as a “woman” under Hong Kong law.

The Court of Final Appeal ruled 4-1 Monday that the restriction was unconstitutional. The 37-year-old woman — who had a government-subsidized sex change operation — had twice lost her case at lower courts.

“I may have born a man but after transgender surgery at a government hospital more than five years ago, I’ve lived my life as a woman and been treated as a woman in all respects except as regards my right to marry,” W said in a statement to local reporters through her attorney, Michael Vidler, according to the South China Morning Press.

“This decision rights that wrong, and I’m very happy the Court of [Final] Appeal now recognizes my desire to marry my boyfriend one day, and that desire is no different to that of any other woman who seeks the same here in Hong Kong.”

The court decision will not come into effect for 12 months to give the Hong Kong legislature the opportunity to address the portion of the law deemed unconstitutional. “We should make it clear that nothing in this judgment is intended to address the question of same sex marriage,” Chief Justice Geoffrey Ma Tao-li and Judge Robert Ribeiro wrote in their majority decision.

The majority found the idea that a “woman” is a biological criteria fixed at birth “is particularly hard to justify in the light of significant medical advances in the treatment of transsexualism and important changes in the understanding of and social attitudes towards transsexual persons which have occurred over the last 40 odd years.”

The only dissenting judge — Patrick Chan Siu-Oi — argued “it is difficult and unrealistic to consider marriage to be entirely unconnected with procreation.

“There is no evidence that social attitudes in Hong Kong on the institution of marriage have changed to the extent that this concept of marriage has been abandoned or generally and substantially weakened,” Judge Chan wrote.

In a move that are some are calling straight out of the Dark Ages, Illiza Sa’aduddin Djama, deputy mayor of Indonesia’s most western province Banda Aceh, has called for the criminalization of homosexuality and a punishment of 100 public lashing for anyone found guilty of engaging in its conduct, reports England’s Pink News. Calling homosexuality “a social disease that should be eradicated,” Djama’s wish is to align public behavior with Shari’ah law, the code by which many devout Muslims live by.

“There is no law that could be used to charge them,” she lamented. “The existing [regulations] only stipulate about khalwat [being in close proximity] for intimate relations between unmarried males and females.” Furthermore, like in many repressive societies, intimate relations are often carried on in private, far beyond the prying eyes of the morality police.

Hartoyo, a well-known and widely respected gay rights activists in Indonesia, calls the need for such a measure ‘backwards’ and adds that Islam, like all religions, is open to interpretation. ““We’re living in 2013, not in the Middle Ages,” said the secretary-general of Our Voice, an LGBT advocacy group. “It’s sad to have a deputy mayor who could think that way… other countries have started to allow homosexual marriage, why coming up with such idea to punish the LGBT [community]?”

But in a sign that Djama may be an outlier, in March, a judge in Indonesia’s constitutional court issued an apology after making a statement against equal marriage during proceedings at the House of Representatives.

Hartoyo, however, remains undaunted. ““I will probably send her a warning letter [saying] that what she did only publicly showed how stupid she is,” he said. “She’s intellectual and has access to the Internet and other resources. To come up with that way of thinking is embarrassing.”

Nitzan Horowitz

With elections less than five months away, suggestions that Tel Aviv may elect its first openly gay mayor have started to surface. Reporting from 972Mag.com, journalist Noam Sheizaf is reporting that second-term Member of Knesset (Israeli Parliament) and former journalist for Channel 10 News Nitzan Horowitz has launched a serious bid to challenge the current occupant Ron Huldai. Huldai, who has served as the city’s mayor since 1998 is currently expected to win but there are issues that could make a Horowitz within the scope of possibility.

“Horowitz’s challenge will be in the south, where locals are frustrated by what they see as the city’s indifference to pressures the asylum seekers’ presence has put on the municipal infrastructure and the local population. I don’t think that Horowitz can win those votes, but if the south doesn’t break in Huldai’s favor, the elections could be closer than people think,” reports Sheizaf.

In 2008, Huldai faced a challenge from candidate Dov Khenin of the Hadash party who mounted a strong grassroots campaign and walked away with 33% of the vote. But Horowitz is far more mainstream – the Hadash party, which formed in 1977, has its roots in the Jewish communist community – and is expected to run a very different campaign. Moreover, there are no assurances that the same people who voted for Khenin in 2008 would break for Horowitz.

What will be interesting, observes Sheizaf, is how the LGBT community responds to Horowitz’s candidacy. “It will also be interesting to see who receives the support of the Tel Aviv gay community’s leaders, who in the past have been Huldai’s political allies.”

Tel Aviv is one of the most liberal cities in the Middle East and a popular vacation destination for many of the world’s gay travelers so the prospect of having an openly gay mayor is a non-issue. But what may aid Horowitz is a decision by Khenin to pursue larger political ambitions which would all but guarantee a Horowitz victory.

As of now, however, Khenin has given all indications that he plans to lead Tel Aviv well into the new decade.

(CNN) — Zambian police re-arrested two men this week on charges of engaging in homosexual acts “against the order of nature,” a rights group said.

James Mwansa and Philip Mubiana, both 21, were arrested after neighbors reported them to the police, according to Amnesty International.

Authorities subjected them to anal examinations without their consent and forced them to confess, the human rights group said.

“Anal examinations conducted to ‘prove’ same-sex conduct are scientifically invalid, and if they were conducted without the men’s consent, contravene the absolute prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment under international law,” said Simeon Mawanza, an Amnesty researcher in Zambia.

It was the second detention for the two men in recent days, the group said. Last month, authorities arrested them, and later released them on bail on May 2.

They were arrested again Monday and have been denied bail, according to Amnesty. Both have pleaded not guilty, and are being held at a jail in Kapiri Mposhi until their trial starts May 22.

“The arrest of the two men solely for their real or perceived sexual orientation amounts to discrimination and it is in violation of their rights to freedom of conscience, expression and privacy,” Mawanza said.

Zambian officials were not immediately available for comment.

Homosexuality is illegal in Zambia and most African countries based on remnants of sodomy laws introduced during the British colonial era and perpetuated by cultural beliefs.

Punishments across the continent range from fines to years in prison.

Last year, a Cameroon appeals court upheld a three-year sentence against a man convicted of homosexuality for texting his male friend to say, “I’m very much in love with you.”

South Africa — one of the more progressive nations in the continent on the issue — was the first African country to impose a constitutional ban on discrimination based on sexual orientation.

But sexual violence against lesbians has become so common in South Africa, the nation has coined the term “corrective rape” to describe it.

A handful of other nations issue a death penalty for consensual same-sex relations, including Saudi Arabia and Iran, according to the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association.

Nigel Evans

(CNN) — The deputy speaker of Britain’s House of Commons said Sunday the allegations of rape and sexual assault leveled against him are false.

Nigel Evans also said the incident has left him with “a sense of incredulity” because he considered the two accusers his friends.

“Yesterday I was interviewed by the police concerning two complaints – one of which dates back four years, made by two people who are well-known to each other, and who until yesterday I regarded as friends,” he said in a statement.

“The complaints are completely false and I cannot understand why they have been made, especially as I have continued to socialise with one as recently as last week.”

Evans was arrested Saturday in northwest England.

Lancashire police did not confirm the identity of the man, but they said they had released a 55-year-old man on bail after questioning him Saturday over offenses alleged by two men in their 20s.

One man alleged he was raped and, in a separate incident, another other man alleged he was sexually assaulted, a police spokesperson told CNN by telephone.

The offenses are alleged “to have been committed in Pendleton between July 2009 and March 2013,” according to a statement released by police.

The man was ordered to appear at the police station on June 19, according to the police spokesperson.

British Prime Minister David Cameron has been made aware of the arrest, said another source, who also spoke on condition of anonymity.

Evans, who is 55, has been a conservative member of parliament since 1992. He served as vice chairman of the Tory Party between 1999 and 2001.

He was elected deputy speaker of the House of Commons in 2010.

Evans came out as gay during a newspaper interview in late 2010, and has since made a name for himself as a prominent gay rights activist in England.

In his statement Sunday, Evans said he appreciated the way “the police have handled this in such a sensitive manner.”

He then thanked those who have expressed their support and “like me, a sense of incredulity at these events.”

VIETNAM — What started as a low-budget effort on YouTube about the travails of three perpetually broke 20-something friends living in Ho Chi Minh City, My Best Gay Friends has quickly evolved into one of the most popular shows in Vietnam. Shot on a shoestring budget with three unknown actors – all friends in real life – the comedy, complete with a laugh track and theme music, stands out not for its situational comedy but the fact that all the main characters are gay, lesbian or transsexual.
“I thought it would only interest Vietnam’s gay community – but we’re hearing that parents, grandparents, whole families watch and love the shows and long for new episodes,” noted Huynh Nguyen Dang Khoa, the series’ creator who also stars in the show.
My Best Gay Friends recently got a boost with the appearance of Cindy Thai Tai, a well-known transgender singer who was one of the first Vietnamese celebrities to have sex reassignment surgery.
Khoa created the show after hearing about the extraordinary events that kept on happening to a close friend of his who had recently moved to the bustling metropolis of Ho Chi Minh City and the idea for the show was born. “I wanted to show people that homosexuals have ordinary lives, full of emotion, friends, family – very normal lives.”
And the show could not have come at a more opportune time. While same-sex marriage is explicitly banned in culturally conservative Vietnam, shifts in public attitudes toward gay people coupled with a number of political statements – same-sex couples who engage in wedding ceremonies will no longer be fined – have helped fueled a belief that Vietnam is on the verge of endorsing same-sex marriage. (The Minister of Health recently released a statement supporting marriage equality observing that “everyone has a right to love.”)
But whether the show is a product of a fast changing culture or the leading engine of it is hard to discern. Sociologist Le Quang Binh told the press that social attitudes toward the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community were changing rapidly in Vietnam at the moment but it was hard to know how much My Best Gay Friends had helped.
Currently, there are no plans by Vietnam’s commercial networks to pick up the show which regularly garners almost one million views per episode.

In what is certainly a first for this nation-state, a group of dedicated gay activists are using the crowd funding site Indiegogo.com to raise funds to overturn the country’s anti-sodomy law. Singapore, which currently has an anti-sodomy law on the books which bans “acts of gross indecency” with another male, has made in clear in both its courts and its parliament that there is no appetite for changing the current law.

But the men and women behind the Indiegogo campaign see it differently.  In the short time they have been online, the project –which aims to raise funds for a legal challenge to what is universally known in Singapore as 377A – has raised more than USD 84K, a whopping 50 percent increase from only a few days ago when they had already raised USD 54K. Moreover, the original goal of USD 50K was met within one day of coming online.

Unlike, Kickstarter, another popular crowd funding site, Indiegogo allows groups and individuals to raise money for causes. Indiegogo will collect four percent of all funds raised and charge three percent for credit card processing. So, if the activists raise the USD 150K they believe they will need to challenge 377A, Indiegogo will collect USD 10.5K.

But while the money is coming in fast and furious, the reality is that, unlike their neighbors to the East in Vietnam, Thailand and New Zealand (which recently legalized same-sex marriage), Singapore has fought back against any relaxation of anti-sodomy laws. After an appeal of the law, the courts returned the matter to the Singaporean Parliament which determined that by taking the law off the books, a byproduct of the colonial error, they would risk upsetting culturally conservative Singaporeans.

Robert Haye

LONDON — In what some are calling the first of its kind, a Lewisham, England science teacher was summarily fired for telling a class of 15- and 16- year-olds that the homosexual lifestyle was “disgusting.” Robert Haye, 43 and a Seventh-day Adventist, appealed the decision but the High Court struck it down calling their decision “undoubtedly proportionate,” reports the East London Lines.

Haye, who also taught personal, social, health and economic education (PSHE) was also reported to have told a class of 14- and 15-year-olds that those who worship on Sundays are “basically worshipping the devil.” (Seventh-day Adventists worship on Saturdays.)

But after a teaching assistant overheard the “disgusting” comment and complained, Haye, who was reputedly a good educator, was sacked. Robert Ogilvy, representing Haye in court, said that no students had been distressed or offended by his comments and he had been responding to their questions, rather than propagating his Bible beliefs.

Haye was stunned by the High Court’s decision. “Christians are now being persecuted in this country for believing in the Bible. That cannot be. We have a right to believe and express what we believe, but people are now afraid of being punished for not being politically correct. This country is a free and democratic society, but is it? Is it really?”

Ogilvy said the prohibition order would in reality amount to a life ban from teaching because Haye was not prepared to “denounce or renounce” Bible teachings.

Mr. Justice King, who ruled against the appeal, noted rightly that the Deptford Green school where Haye taught had a strict policy barring any language that in any way violates the dignity of its students. ““This case is not about the right of a teacher to hold sincerely-held beliefs based on the Bible in relation to homosexuality or attendance at church on Sundays. It has been about how those beliefs and views are manifested in the context of teaching in schools with young people with diverse sexuality, backgrounds and beliefs. Deptford Green had a policy which made it clear that teachers were expected to present positive information on lesbians, gays and bisexuals to enable students to challenge derogatory stereotypes and prejudice.”

Robert Haye, who is now unemployed and facing almost $6,500 in legal fees, can contest the ban in two years.

NEW ZEALAND — Pakuranga Member of Parliament (MP) Maurice Williamson has parliamentarians roaring in their seats during the recent third marriage equality bill reading in New Zealand.

(CNN) — The French Senate approved a controversial bill Friday that would give same-sex couples the rights to marry and adopt.

The lower house has already approved the legislation.

The bill, to which 10 amendments were made in the Senate, must still go through a second reading in the National Assembly and a final reading in the upper house.

The date for those readings has not yet been set.

Minister for the Family Dominique Berinotti told CNN affiliate BFM-TV that the Senate vote was a “beautiful victory.”

Extending the rights to marry and adopt to same-sex couples in France was one of President Francois Hollande’s electoral pledges in campaigning last year.

The left, which includes Hollande’s governing Socialist Party, dominates the National Assembly, where the bill passed by a large majority in February. The party has only a slim majority in the Senate.

The plan faced stiff opposition from the Roman Catholic Church, other religious groups and social conservatives, with huge numbers turning out for protests in recent weeks.

It won wide backing from gay rights advocates.

The new law would mark the biggest step forward for French gay rights advocates in more than a decade.

A law legalizing civil unions was introduced in 1999 in France under a previous Socialist government.

Known in France as the PACS (pacte civil de solidarite), the civil union agreement can be entered into by same-sex or straight couples and confers many but not all of the rights of marriage.

VELDEN. Austria – From Aug. 29 to Sept 1, the international LGBT community and their friends will again be visiting the beautiful Lake Woerthersee in Austria for the 6^th annual Pink Lake Festival.

The official hotel partner, and heart of the festival this year, is the historic and beautiful Villa Bulfon, situated directly on Lake Woerthersee and centrally located in the charming city of Velden.

“We are excitedly preparing for this event. For the first time, we will also include Villa Bulfon’s spacious ballroom premises within the Pink Lake Festival as a unique after-hours party location,” said Falk Mahnke, director of Villa Bulfon.
2013 program
“The campy and exciting Almdudler costume party Thursday Aug. 29 is the big kick-off for the Pink Lake festival,” according to Roland Sint, CEO of Wörthersee Tourismus GmbH. “The team from the Villa Bulfon promises a dazzling party this year as an unforgettable party highlight.”
Guests will meet again the following evening at the Casino Club Night, in the chic and hip Casineum, which also has a spectacular lakeside setting. To get everyone in the right groove, this evening will offer a sensational DJ line-up and a surprise guest star,promises Hannes Markowitz, marketing and sales manager of the Casino.

Pink Lake Festival 2012

The Troika Boat Cruise Party, a highlight of the festival, happens Saturday evening. Two ships will literally pass each other in the night complete with DJs, fully stocked bars and a lot of dancing revelers.

For those who want to keep the party going an after-hours party will take place in the Pink Villa Bulfon.

“The Beach Club in the spacious beach area of ​​the Villa Bulfon, is located directly on Lake Woerthersee on the Boardwalk of Velden. Pink Lake attendees may bask here in the sun, with each day offering a new and diversified program. Preparations are in full swing and we are looking forward to a brilliant festival with the LGBT community again in Velden,” says Sint.

For further information about the Pink Lake Festival and tickets visit pinklake.at

Lydia Foy

DUBLIN — In what the Irish government is calling a work ‘in progress,’ transgendered nationals are still banned from changing their birth certificate to reflect their new identities while those from other nations are not reports the Irish Times. “The General Registrar Office in Ireland will accept a birth certificate amended by another state where gender reassignment is recognized in support of notification of intention to marry or to enter into a civil partnership, from a person born outside of Ireland.”

While the reasons remain unclear, the person at the center of a lawsuit to undo the discriminatory practice, Lydia Foy, is moving ahead to change the policy. “I see everything flows from your identity. Being accepted for who I am is the most important thing. I would like to see this wrong put right as quickly and with as much dignity as possible,” she told the Times.

Loy is something of homegrown national heroine to the Irish transgender community where her landmark 2007 victory against the state resulted in allowing others who have completed gender reassignment surgery to have their new identities recognized on driver’s licenses and passports. (The state had planned on appealing the case to the nation’s Supreme Court but withdrew after discovering it was in violation of the European Convention on Human Rights, of which Ireland is a signatory member).

Michael Farrell, who is representing Ms. Loy in her legal battle, issued a statement, declaring that, “But it highlights how out of touch our law is compared with the rest of Europe and other countries. We are already in breach of the European Convention on Human Rights in Lydia Foy’s case. The law needs to be changed urgently or we may have a situation where European or American transgender persons can marry or have a civil partnership in this state but ‘no Irish need apply’.”

Asmara Songsang (Abnormal Desire)

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – Malaysia can now add musicals to the growing list of state-sponsored efforts to help curb the spread of homosexuality in this largely Muslim country. The Guardian is reporting that Asmara Songsang (Abnormal Desire), written and directed by Rahman Adam, 73, aims to teach younger members of the LGBT community about the evils of their homosexual lifestyles.

The play centers on three young people all of whom are gay. Those that repent from their loud music-playing, drug-taking, casual-sex having ways are saved and those that don’t are killed in a lightning storm. “Children need to recognize that men are for women, and women are for men. They [LGBT] are all out to have homosexual and lesbian sex, and although right now it is not so serious [in Malaysia], we need to act, to do something, to say something, to say that this is bad and not to follow it,” warned the artist.

“We are extremely concerned that such damaging messages and misrepresentation will increase violence toward the community, [as] the LGBT community is already subject to multiple forms of violence and persecution by the state,” counters S. Thilaga of Seksualiti Merdeka, an annual festival that promotes LGBT rights in Malaysia.

This is not the first time that the country has found itself at the center of controversy over LGBT matters. In 2011, the country set up camps to correct effeminate behavior in boys and last year the Ministry of Education issued free guidelines for its schools on how to spot homosexuality in school children (which included the much-lampooned v-neck T-shirt).

The production, which stars the biggest names in Malaysian television, debuted this month at the National Theater in Kuala Lumpur and is now touring universities, schools and teacher-training colleges, all with complimentary tickets.

When accused of inciting hate, Adam blithely responded, “”My job is to write a story and direct a play. That is all. If anyone said I tried to create hateful feelings, then I say no, I didn’t do that at all. I always do good things.”

Clearly not.

ACCRINGTON, England – A transgender primary school teacher – who was subject of a ‘shock’ story about her transition in British tabloid newspaper the Daily Mail – has been found dead.

Some commentators are claiming the death was a suicide, although this has not yet been verified.

Gay Star News reported that the death of Lucy Meadows, 32, was announced to pupils and staff at St Mary Magdalen’s School, in Accrington, Lancashire, North West England where she taught.

In a statement made to Gay Star News, a Lancashire Police spokesman said: ‘At 4.45pm on Tuesday (19 March) police were called by the ambulance service to a report of a sudden death at an address on Ramsbottom Street in Accrington.

‘On arrival they found the body of a 32-year-old woman. There are no suspicious circumstances and a file will be prepared and passed to the coroner.’

Headteacher Karen Hardman wrote on the school’s Web site, saying: ‘It is with great sadness that I have to inform you of the death of Miss Lucy Meadows.

‘Our staff will be working closely with bereavement teams and are here to offer the children and yourselves any support in any way we can.’

In December 2012, tabloid newspaper the Daily Mail ran a story with the headline ‘Shock at CofE [Church of England] school where Mr. Upton will return after Christmas as Miss Meadows’.

Columnist Richard Littlejohn also wrote an article asking if anyone had thought of the ‘devastating effect’ Meadows was having on children who are ‘not equipped to compute this kind of information’.

‘Pre-pubescent boys and girls haven’t even had the chance to come to terms with the changes in their own bodies,’ he said.

Helen Belcher, director of Trans Media Watch, claimed Meadows had committed suicide. The Gay Star News report stated, however, this has not been independently verified by a coroner.

She said: ‘Reports of Lucy’s suicide are hugely distressing, and our thoughts must be with her family, friends, colleagues and pupils right now.

‘Many trans people have reported problems following unwanted press exposure, something that Lord Justice Leveson identified in his report. Lucy’s national exposure, simply for deciding to be herself, must have amplified those problems.’

Leveson’s report into standards in the British press last year particularly highlighted discriminatory reporting about transgender people. A shake-up of press standards is currently being debated in the UK.

Speaking to Gay Star News, trans activist Jane Fae said: ‘At this moment, we do not know the cause of Lucy’s death. Whatever the reason it’s incredibly sad, that someone who is just beginning to live their life is no longer with us.

‘For now, all that we can do as a community is think of her and of her courage in coming out in an environment that could be perceived as many as a hostile place to do so. Further comment must await.’

U.K. members of SumOfUs.org, enraged by the paper’s callousness, have organized a petition calling on the Daily Mail to sack Richard Littlejohn.

The petition text states, “Sack Richard Littlejohn for his disgusting attack piece against Lucy Meadows, apologize for printing it, and institute an editorial review process to prevent this kind of discrimination from ever ending up in print again.”

A statement released by SumOfUs.org read, ”Richard Littlejohn has a long history of using his perch at the Daily Mail to mock and harass others, including people of color, the LGBT community, and people with cerebral palsy. Littlejohn is a disgrace to journalists, but the Daily Mail is defending him. The paper released a statement that ‘it is regrettable that this tragic death should now be the subject of an orchestrated [attack on us], fanned by individuals… with agendas to pursue.’ Disgustingly, the Daily Mail thinks that it is the victim in this situation.”

The statement continues, “Everyone has the right to say what they think, but mainstream publications like the Daily Mail shouldn’t promote this sort of hate. The Daily Mail needs to ensure that this never happens again — by not only yanking Littlejohn’s column and apologizing for the paper’s decision to run the hateful opinion piece, but also instituting an editorial review policy that prevents discriminatory writing from ending up in its paper again.”

Sign the petition here.

There is also a petition on Change.org

The Vietnamese Ministry of Health has announced that beginning in May, three hospitals will be permitted to perform gender reassignment surgery, announced Nguyen Huy Quang, director of the Department of Legal Affairs for the Ministry. According to an internal document, in 2,000 newborn babies, one has genitals not fit to the chromosome. And 1 in each 11,000 people has gender disability or unclear gender. These defects stem from genetic mutations or defects, not from psychological factors due to social interaction, reports the Vietnam Net Bridge.

“The three hospitals chosen are the Central Pediatrics Hospital and Viet Duc Hospital in Hanoi and the Children’s Hospital 2 in Ho Chi Minh City to prepare facilities, equipment and human resources to perform transgender surgery from May,” Quang added.

The process for gender reassignment surgery has been greatly streamlined and will prove a boon for those Vietnamese who had few if any options up until now. Essentially, those wishing for the procedure need only go down to one of the three hospitals, obtain a medical certificate on gender redefining and then begin the process of changing their names on all legal and state records.

Questions arose, however, on why these three, among the many facilities in Vietnam, were chosen as officially sanctioned locations. Quang explained that only three hospitals had the full range of technologies as well as the human resources support to manage such transitions.

While Vietnam still does not allow same-sex marriage, there is no doubt that today’s news will only add fuel to the same-sex marriage debate and force Vietnam to deal with the issue sooner rather than later.

Justin Welby Photo: CNN

LONDON (CNN) — In a week of change at the top for church leaders, the question of same-sex marriage has jumped to the fore.

Only two days after Pope Francis was officially installed, former oil executive Justin Welby is to be enthroned Thursday as the new head of the Church of England and the 77 million-strong worldwide Anglican Communion.

Ahead of the service at historic Canterbury Cathedral, an interview the new Archbishop of Canterbury gave to the BBC has reignited the debate over the church’s approach to issues of sexuality.

Welby acknowledged the strength of some same-sex partnerships, saying, “You see gay relationships that are just stunning in the quality of the relationship.”

Nonetheless, he reaffirmed his support for the Church of England’s policy of opposition to same-sex marriage.

“The Church of England holds very firmly, and continues to hold, to the view that marriage is a lifelong union of one man to one woman,” he told the British public service broadcaster.

“At the same time, at the heart of our understanding of what it is to be human is the essential dignity of the human being. And so we have to be very clear about homophobia.”

Welby said it was not about “turning a blind eye” to same-sex relationships but rather “loving people as they are and where they are.”

His remarks come a day after it emerged that Pope Francis, now head of the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics, may privately have voiced support for civil unions in his native Argentina while publicly opposing same-sex marriage.

Gay rights activist Marcelo Marquez — a self-described devout Catholic and former theology professor at a Catholic seminary — said the then-archbishop of Buenos Aires had called him after he wrote an angry letter to Catholic leaders.

“He told me … ‘I’m in favor of gay rights and in any case, I also favor civil unions for homosexuals, but I believe that Argentina is not yet ready for a gay marriage law,’” said Marquez.

Argentina approved a law legalizing same-sex marriage nationwide in July 2010.

Welby was named as the successor to Dr. Rowan Williams as Archbishop of Canterbury in November. He was the Bishop of Durham, England, at the time.

Thursday’s service will make him the 105th holder of the most senior position in the Church of England and the titular leader of the world’s 77 million Anglicans.

Prime Minister David Cameron is among those expected to attend the ceremony.

A bill that would legalize same-sex marriage is currently under consideration in the British Parliament. Cameron has incurred the wrath of many in his Conservative Party by backing the legislation.

Educated at Cambridge University, Welby worked for oil companies in Paris and London before training for the ministry. He had only been a bishop for a year before his promotion to the top job was announced.

He is considered an outspoken critic of the excesses of capitalism and a supporter of women bishops, as well as an opponent of same-sex marriage.

In his public appearances so far, he has displayed a wry humor and down-to-earth attitude that may help him negotiate the minefield of conflicting views and interests within the vast Anglican Communion.

Ahead of his inauguration as Archbishop of Canterbury, Welby visited five cities in five days on what he called a “prayer pilgrimage” through southern England, inviting people to pray with him on each stop.

Rituparno Ghosh

In a move that suggests the Indian state is working toward greater acceptance of the LGBT community, Rituparno Ghosh, the director of Chitrangadahas won top honors at the state-sponsored National Film Awards, reports The Indian Express. The film, which took home the Special Jury Prize, concerns a choreographer (Ghosh) who is struggling with gender identity. During the film his character goes through a complete transformation so that he and his lover are able to adopt a baby.

Ghosh, who has also starred in other films that explore gender identity, including Kaushik Ganguly’s Arekti Premer Golpo (‘Just Another Love Story’) and Sanjoy Nag’s Memories in March, took care to note that the award itself was not for him alone. “The award is extremely important because it has been given to his character of a sexual minority rather than him personally.”

India’s National Film Awards, which are given every year for excellence in cinematic achievements for Indian cinema and are comparable to the U.S. Academy Awards, agreed. They stated, in part, that the film won its Special Jury Prize for “for his excellent grasp of the medium of cinema and his multi-faceted versatility.” The film will share the prize with another picture, Kahaani.

Bollywood has long portrayed gay men in much the same way that Hollywood has up until very recently: as limp-wristed queens, tortured souls or criminals. But that is changing, albeit slowly. “This award has been given to non-conventional sexuality. People in India had started accepting it at their individual level but this award to the subject is from the government’s side. So it is a signal that they are accepting it,” observed Ghosh.

Although rare, Chitrangada is far from the first Indian film to take on issues important to the LGBT community. In 2005, the Indian director known simply as Onir wrote, directed and produced My Brother…Nikhil, about a young man dealing with AIDS. The film was widely received as a critical success and took home an acting prize for its leading lady Juhi Chawla.

JAKARTA, Indonesia — In a sign of just how far the struggle for equality has come, an Indonesian constitutional court justice was forced to backtrack and apologize after stating his opposition to same-sex marriage during a fit and proper test before the House Commission III, the country’s legal affairs division. The justice, Arief Hidayat, was asked his opinion and responded, “[I am] against it because it was unconstitutional and against [my] religious values,” reports the Jakarta Globe.

Hartoyo

But Hartoyo, an LGBT activist and secretary general of OutVoice, a Web site devoted to all things gay, took exception to Arief’s statement and wrote a lengthy response deconstructing the talking points the judge used to dismiss same-sex marriage as a viable option (translated from Malay):

“Mr. Arief, if marriage is considered as a kind of Western culture and violation of the constitution of Indonesia, why in the West itself is a question of marriage still a debate until now? For example, in the United States, what is then the [opponents] of sex marriages in the West would say that homosexuality [is a] product [of the] East, South or North?”

Hartoyo goes on to argue many of the same points for universal suffrage that have girded our movement since its inception including the right to live in peace, free from harassment, and the ability, as taxpaying citizens, to fully participate in a civil society.

Arief, humbled by the young man’s reasoning quickly issued an apology on Wednesday stating, in part, “I apologize if my opinion offended the gay community. I will ask for God’s forgiveness.”

The story gained even more traction when David Mills, who before retiring was the only openly gay judge on Massachusetts’ appellate court, weighed in with a letter to Hidayat in which he wrote, in part:

“I wrote it to tell some of my story on how I came to be a judge, and what I lived through growing up gay United States. It was not easy, to say the least. Things are improving for lesbian and gay people here. It is not all perfect. In cities like Boston and New York, it is safe and very good for some of us. In many parts of the country, tragically, we still have violence against lesbian and gay people. That is changing. The judges and the lawyers in the United States have made ​​an enormous difference. It is taken courage and commitment, but it is working.”

QUEBEC CITY — As part of a five-year, seven million dollar campaign, the Quebec government has launched a series of ads to find out just how tolerant its citizens are, reports the Montreal Gazette. The ads, which begin by asking, “How open are you?” and show a series of gender neutral situations, before displaying varying degrees of affection between same-sex couples.

In one scene, innocuous by all measures, two men are sitting on a bench outside. The narration states that, “These two guys even share a common life. Does this bother you?” In the next clip, however, the two men are seen unapologetically kissing each other as the narration then reads, “The two guys even share a common life. What if one of them was your brother?”

The narrator concludes, after each brief vignette, by asking “does this change what you were thinking 20 seconds ago?”

The campaign, which was developed by Cossette Communications in Quebec City over the past year, may seem like an odd investment in a liberal bastion like Quebec. But according to the report, Martine Delgrave, who oversaw the project for the provincial government, stated “We learned in our research that Quebec is viewed as open to sexual diversity — but homophobia still exists and it still exists in Quebec. Our idea for a first campaign was to shed some light, to have some awareness about how open we really are.”

And the responses haven’t been without controversy.  While a recent survey of 800 Quebecers demonstrated that a whopping 90 percent say they are open to sexual diversity, that number dropped by half – to 45 percent – when asked if they were comfortable with transgenders. More dispiriting, only 40 percent of those surveyed said they were comfortable watching two men kiss in public.

Surprisingly, there have been relatively few complaints since the ads went public on March 3. A total of nine complaints have reached the government, observed Paul-Jean Charest, a government spokesman, and they mostly revolved around two men or two women kissing as part of a government ad.

Still, the Gazette went on to observe that some complained, in a rather disjointed critique of the ad campaign, that, “Some Anglo commentators also linked the issue to language, fuming that the government is running a campaign about tolerance while spending public funds on the Office Quebecois de la langue francaise to crack down on English.”

Delgrave cautioned, however, “”We don’t think that a four-week campaign will change everything, but we believe it’ll take Quebec society farther down the path of openness.” The government, therefore, plans to conduct a follow-up survey to measure how perceptions have changed. A second series of ads, revolving around issues like same-sex parenting, is planned for 2014 or 2015.

WELLINGTON, New Zealand – The New Zealand Parliament has approved a bill to legalize same-sex marriage , bringing the bill one vote closer to becoming law. The Jurist.org reported that the bill was approved  by a vote of 77-44, in the second of three votes needed to become law. The second vote is generally the most critical, with the third and final vote viewed as more of a formality.

The vote came after public pressure for the lawmakers to support same-sex marriage. The vote was widely attended by the public, who cheered after the bill was approved. Polls show that approximately two-thirds of the population support same-sex marriage. New Zealand already has civil union laws, which grant legal benefits for same-sex couples. The language of the bill only reflected minor changes from the original version passed by an 80-40 vote.

The third vote may be taken as early as April.

Poster for 28th Torino GLBT Film Festival Artist: Ralf König

TORINO, Italy – The organizers of the 28^th Torino GLBT Film Festival have revealed the official poster promoting the festival.

German cartoonist Ralf König created the image for the festival, taking inspiration from the original 1986 poster by Marco Silombri. One of the most successful German cartoonists, König’s comics are translated and published in many countries. His unique style will be the trademark of the 28th edition of the Torino GLBT Film Festival, Da Sodoma a Hollywood, which will take place April 19-25 in Torino, Italy.

Paolo Giannini, responsible for the Festival’s international communications and social media wrote in an email, “ The Festival has always dedicated great attention to the most sensitive themes involving the GLBT community in Italy and worldwide. This year it will feature a special thematic forum on the legal recognition of same-sex couples and on queer families and adoptions.”

The Festival began as a small film show in 1986, and is now organized under the auspices of Turin’s National Museum of Cinema and its fame has been steadily growing, attracting more than 40,000 spectators every year.

The Festival presents more than 100 titles spread across its different sections, from competition selections to retrospectives, tributes, special events and thematic forums revolving around the GLBT world. Past festivals have hosted artists like Gus Van Sant, John Waters, Kenneth Anger, Gregg Araki, Matthew Bourne, Epstein & Friedman, James Ivory, Claudia Cardinale, Eytan Fox, Derek Jarman and Christophe Honoré.

Queen Elizabeth II Photo: CNN

LONDON (CNN) — Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II will miss a service celebrating the Commonwealth Monday, as she continues to recover from an illness that left her hospitalized last week, Buckingham Palace announced in a statement.

The 86-year-old monarch was admitted to a London hospital on March 3 with symptoms of gastroenteritis, an inflammation of the lining of the stomach and intestines, before being released the following day.

A palace source told CNN the queen’s health problems are “nothing serious” and “nothing to fret about,” despite preventing her attending the Commonwealth Observance service at London’s Westminster Abbey.

The queen will still attend Monday evening’s Commonwealth Reception at Marlborough House, the statement said, where she will sign a new charter calling for equal rights in all Commonwealth nations.

The charter, adopted in December by all 54 countries over which the queen nominally presides, declares: “We are implacably opposed to all forms of discrimination, whether rooted in gender, race, colour, creed, political belief or other grounds.”

While some observers believe the queen’s signing of the Commonwealth Charter signals her implicit support for gay rights and women’s equality, a Buckingham Palace official said the monarch is merely carrying out her official duties.

The official said: “The Queen is apolitical and is signing the document in her capacity as head of the Commonwealth.”

The 16-point charter also embraces democracy, freedom of speech and the rule of law among its provisions.

The charter’s principles could be difficult to implement in many Commonwealth countries, like Nigeria and Uganda, where homosexual acts are currently illegal.

Prince Philip, the queen’s husband, will attend the ceremony at Westminister Abbey, where a recorded message from the queen will be played.

This year’s Commonwealth theme is “Opportunity through enterprise,” and in the message the queen declares: “From climbing the highest mountain, to winning a sporting competition, making a scientific breakthrough, building a successful business or discovering unique artistic talent — these outcomes all begin as a simple goal or idea in one person’s mind.”

“Our shared values of peace, democracy, development, justice and human rights — which are found in our new ‘Commonwealth Charter’ — mean that we place special emphasis on including everyone in this goal, especially those who are vulnerable.”

A Palace official said the queen, who celebrated her 60th year on the throne in 2012, hopes to undertake some of her official engagements planned for the rest of this week.

Puerta Vallarta

NEW YORK – The Puerto Vallarta Tourism Board have announced that they will be an exhibitor at this year’s Original GLBT Expo scheduled to take place in New York’s Jacob K. Javits Convention Center March 9-10.

Puerto Vallarta a preferred LGBT friendly destination in the Americas is an International Gay & Lesbian Travel Association (IGLTA) member and is currently working on an active campaign with the GLAAD Awards, Out Traveler Passport Magazine and XTRA!

Puerto Vallarta is home to an array of LGBT welcoming lodging options ranging from resorts, hotels, lodges, bed and breakfasts and guest houses. Participating hotels in the Puerto Vallarta booth will be the Hotel San Marino and Casa Magna Marriott Puerto Vallarta.

San Marino Hotel is certified by IGLTA and TAG as a friendly property. It features 165 guestrooms including 25 spacious Junior Suites with all the amenities for guest to relax and enjoy in a peaceful ambience.

Nestled between the Sierra Madre Mountains and Banderas Bay, the Casa Magna Marriott Puerto Vallarta Resort & Spa is a 4-Diamond luxury resort that features 433 guestrooms, contemporary bathrooms, new decor with Mexican-inspired colors and patterns, four world-class restaurants, and the Ohtli Spa, the most spacious and luxurious full service resort spa in Puerto Vallarta. Marriott was one of the first hotel companies to offer equal benefits to same-sex couples nationwide, earning top ratings on the Corporate Equality Index from the Human Rights Campaign; the chain is also a member of IGLTA, PFLAG, NGLCC and NCLR.

Cardinal Keith O'Brien

(CNN) — A Scottish cardinal who had earlier challenged allegations of sexual impropriety — claims that once again shined an international spotlight on alleged sexual abuse involving Roman Catholic clergy — reversed course Sunday and apologized.

“I wish to take this opportunity to admit that there have been times that my sexual conduct has fallen below the standards expected of me as a priest, archbishop and cardinal,” Cardinal Keith O’Brien said in a statement.

Until days ago, O’Brien was the archbishop of St. Andrews and Edinburgh.

He has been dogged by allegations he abused four men studying to be priests in the 1980s.

“In recent days certain allegations which have been made against me have become public. Initially, their anonymous and non-specific nature led me to contest them,” O’Brien said.

“To those I have offended, I apologize and ask forgiveness.”

O’Brien, 74, also apologized to “the Catholic Church and people of Scotland.”

He did not explain exactly what “conduct” he was referring to.

O’Brien told Pope Benedict XVI in November that he would resign effective his upcoming birthday, on March 17. But Benedict decided to make the resignation effective immediately in light of the pope’s imminent resignation, the Scottish Catholic Media Office said.

According to his biography on his archdiocese’s website, O’Brien asked to step down in light of his “approaching … 75th birthday (and) health concerns.”

Meanwhile, he had been thrust into the ongoing story about sexual abuse in the church after the British newspaper The Observer reported that three priests and one former priest, as long as 30 years ago, had accused O’Brien. The Observer did not recount the details of the claims or identify the men but said one of the priests alleged “the cardinal developed an inappropriate relationship with him.”

The Scottish Catholic Media Office said then that O’Brien contested the claims and was “taking legal advice.”

The same office released O’Brien’s new statement on Sunday.

Born in Northern Ireland, O’Brien moved to Scotland as a child, graduating in 1959 from the University of Edinburgh. Ordained as a priest six years later at age 29, he later held various positions — including as a math and science teacher, as well as rector and spiritual director — at schools in Scotland, in addition to working as a priest.

He was named archbishop in 1985 and became a cardinal 18 years later.

Cardinal Roger Mahony of Los Angeles, meanwhile, is facing fresh attention over what role he may have played in the cover-up of sexual abuse by priests.

The Vatican has also been plagued by another scandal in recent days, as Benedict was ending his papacy.

Two Italian publications said Benedict, 85, resigned not because of his advanced age but because of a brewing scandal over the blackmail of gay priests by male prostitutes in Rome.

Benedict received a 300-page report in December detailing the possible blackmail, la Repubblica newspaper and the Panorama news weekly reported, citing an unidentified senior Vatican official and dozens of unnamed sources.

The Vatican emphatically denied the allegations, with Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone criticizing a rash of “often unverified, unverifiable or completely false news stories” as the cardinals prepare for their conclave to select a new pope.

SYDNEY – The City of Sydney Council wasted no time installing its “Rainbow Crossing” honoring the gay and lesbian community, after it was approved at Monday night’s Council meeting.

Actup.org reported the crossing was laid down in the early hours of Tuesday, and completed in time for the morning rush hour and a press conference hosted by Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore, which was also attended by Sydney Mardi Gras officials.

The crossing, painted in the colors of the gay pride flag, was approved when seven of the ten City of Sydney councilors voted in favor of a Lord Mayoral minute recommending it proceed.

The rainbow colors will apparently be removed in a few weeks’ time, with the state government’s Roads and Maritime Services (RMS) authority only allowing it to remain until the end of March.

Ms Moore, who was thrilled it was in place for this Saturday’s Mardi Gras Parade, said: “As well as being beautiful public art, this crossing is a real celebration of our GLBT community.”

Mr Greenwich said: “Lesbians and gay men were beaten and bashed [at the first Mardi Gras] in 1978, and homophobic violence was rife for years. To now have our flag on our street celebrates how far we have come.”

Mr Greenwich slammed the councilors who voted against the Lord Mayoral minute – Liberal Councillors Christine Forster and Edward Mandla, and Living Sydney Councillor Angela Vithoulkas – as “mean-spirited” and claimed they showed “a lack of respect” for the gay community.

But Ms Forster, who is herself in a lesbian relationship, said she voted against it because it would not be a permanent feature, and the $110,000 spent on it could be better used elsewhere.

“I fully supported … the rainbow crossings when they were promised as two permanent installations at a cost of $75,000,” she said.

Ms Vithoulkas bristled at Mr Greenwich’s barbs.

“I voted in favour of the rainbow crossings last year when they were going to be permanent,” she said.

“I have consistently advocated that the former T2 building at Taylor Square become a permanent home for the Mardi Gras Museum.

“I have consistently said Mardi Gras should have a permanent home for their float workshop.

“I am certainly not mean-spirited or anti-gay in any way, and I’m very angry that Mr Greenwich is trying to portray me this way.”

Cardinal Keith O'Brien

ROME, Italy (CNN) — Scotland’s Roman Catholic archbishop, Cardinal Keith O’Brien, has resigned amid allegations that he abused four men studying to be priests in the 1980s.

Pope Benedict XVI accepted his resignation last week, the Vatican said in a statement released Monday.

O’Brien said he submitted his resignation to the pope months ago, citing his upcoming 75th birthday and his health, according to a statement released by the Scottish Catholic Media Office.

The resignation follows a Sunday report by the British newspaper The Observer that three priests and one former priest leveled allegations against O’Brien that date back 30 years.

The Observer did not recount details of the claims or identify any of O’Brien’s accusers, but said one of the priests alleged “that the cardinal developed an inappropriate relationship with him.”

O’Brien did not attend Mass at St. Mary’s Cathedral in Edinburgh on Sunday, but the Scottish Catholic Media Office told CNN that the cardinal “contests these claims and is taking legal advice.”

His accusers took their complaints to the Vatican representative in Britain and demanded O’Brien’s resignation, The Observer reported. At the Vatican, Father Federico Lombardi, a spokesman for the church, told reporters that Benedict has been informed of the allegations.

The Irish-born O’Brien was scheduled to retire on St. Patrick’s Day, his 75th birthday.

As late as last week, he appeared to be making plans to take part in the conclave, when the College of Cardinals gathers in Rome to pick a successor to Benedict.

The pope accepted O’Brien’s resignation ahead of leaving the papacy on Thursday, becoming the first pope to step down since 1415.

“I have valued the opportunity of serving the people of Scotland and overseas in various ways since becoming a priest. Looking back over my years of ministry: For any good I have been able to do, I thank God. For any failures, I apologise to all whom I have offended,” O’Brien said in the statement released by the Scottish Catholic Media Officer.

The accusations against O’Brien follow a buzz in Italian media about claims that gay clergy may have made themselves vulnerable to blackmail by male prostitutes, setting off speculation that a brewing scandal may have triggered Benedict’s resignation.

The Vatican vehemently denied the allegations Saturday, with Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone criticizing a rash of “often unverified, unverifiable or completely false news stories” as the cardinals prepare for their conclave.

Benedict announced his resignation on February 11, saying that at 85, he was too weak to continue his duties.

Charles Scicluna

MALTA – The auxiliary bishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Malta, Charles Scicluna has weighed in to condemn a provocative letter written by a zealous Catholic churchgoer.

Pinknews.com repoted that Joe Zammit, a devoted Catholic from Paola in Malta, wrote a series of letters in the Times of Malta with offensive statements distinguishing between love and lust in same-sex relationships.

In a recent letter, published on Valentine’s Day Zammit stated: “On the spiritual level, homosexual acts are against God’s loving law for us. On the natural level, they go against nature’s intrinsic purpose of all its sexual organs.”

According to the Pinknews report Bishop Scicluna felt compelled to step in and dismissed Mr Zammit’s comments saying his opinion “does not represent the teachings of the Church”.

Bishop Scicluna told the Sunday Times of Malta: “Joe Zammit has managed to do a great disservice to the Catholic ethos by presenting a caricature of the Church’s teaching on gay relationships.”

Bishop Scicluna maintained that “Gay people are not called to marriage which is the permanent union between one man and one woman open to the gift of parenthood,” but then added, “they are indeed called to chaste friendship and chaste friendship is chaste love.”

“To say, as Mr. Zammit keeps harping, that ‘there can never be love but only lust between homosexuals’ is to deny the truth of what the Church teaches.”

TYROL, Austria – Chretien van der Leest and Edwin Veldt are Dutch citizens living in Tyrol, Austria where they run holiday homes. When the Netherlands legalized marriage for same-sex couples in 2001, the couple married. However in Austria, based on a decree by the Austrian minister of the interior van der Leest and Veldt’s marriage is only recognized as a registered partnership effectively downgrading the recognition to a second-class marriage.

With the support of Rechtskomitee LAMBDA (RKL), Austria’s LGBT civil rights organization, the couple has started a lawsuit for recognition of their same-sex marriage in Austria.

European Union citizenship guarantees the couple the ability to reside in any member-state of the Union and to work there, without having to accept disadvantages.

The couple has taken their case to the Austrian Constitutional Court and to the Administrative Supreme Court, asking these courts to refer their case to the Court of Justice of the European Union for a preliminary judgment.

“This married couple is determined to take their case up to the highest European courts,” says Dr. Helmut Graupner, president of Austria’s LGBT civil rights organisation Rechtskomitee LAMBDA (RKL) and counsel for the applicants.

LONDON  (CNN) — In a 400-175 vote Tuesday, British MPs approved the second reading of a bill legalizing same-sex marriage. The bill will be up for further debate in the House of Commons, but Tuesday’s vote indicated a significant majority of members support the measure. In order to become law, the bill has to clear further parliamentary hurdles, including a vote in the House of Lords.

Labour Party leader Ed Milliband released a statement:

This is a proud day and an important step forward in the fight for equality in Britain. The overwhelming majority of Labour MPs supported this change to make sure marriage reflects the value we place on long-term, loving relationships whoever you love. Equal marriage builds on Labour’s successes in government which include the repeal of Section 28, equalising the age of consent, the introduction of civil partnerships and changes to the rules governing adoption.

U.K. gay rights group Stonewall Chief Executive Ben Summerskill said:

‘As the last piece of the legislative jigsaw providing equality for gay people in Britain, this is a truly historic step forward. We’re absolutely delighted that MPs have demonstrated so overwhelmingly that they’re in touch with the twenty-first century.

‘We anticipate, as always, a tough battle in the House of Lords. Happily, the size of the Commons majority seen tonight – much larger than for most normal Government business – will make it very difficult for peers to suggest that the Bill should be rejected.

‘Most people in Britain support equal marriage and will be delighted that we’re now a step closer to it. We’re grateful to the thousands of Stonewall supporters, many of them straight, who played a big part by contacting their MPs in support.’

VIDEO: Margot James, Britain’s first openly lesbian Conservative MP voices support for same-sex marriage

British Houses of Parliament

LONDON (CNN) — UK lawmakers are to vote on a bill to introduce same-sex marriage Tuesday, an issue that has prompted widespread rebellion within Prime Minister David Cameron’s Conservative Party.

Three top party members appealed to Conservative MPs to get behind the controversial legislation in a letter published in the Telegraph newspaper Tuesday.

The letter, signed by Chancellor George Osborne, Foreign Secretary William Hague and Home Secretary Theresa May, says that passing the bill is “the right thing to do at the right time.”

The institution of marriage has evolved over time, the letter says, while “attitudes towards gay people have changed.”

In a direct appeal to fellow party members, the trio adds: “We believe that opening it up to same-sex couples will strengthen, not weaken, the institution. As David Cameron has said, we should support gay marriage not in spite of being Conservatives, but because we are Conservatives.”

Lawmakers have a free vote on the bill, meaning they can vote according to their personal convictions rather than the party line. The legislation must go through several more stages, including approval in the House of Lords, before it can become law.

The legislation, which has its second reading Tuesday, is thought likely to pass the House of Commons with the support of lawmakers from Labour and the Liberal Democrats. The latter are in a coalition government with the Conservatives.

Tuesday’s reading will be the first opportunity for lawmakers in the House of Commons to debate the bill in detail.

As drafted, the bill would enable religious organizations to choose to conduct same-sex marriages if they wish — but includes provisions intended to make sure no religious organization or person is forced to do so.

The Church of England is among the religious bodies opposed to the legislation.

The bill would also allow same-sex couples to convert a civil partnership to a marriage and enable married transsexual people to gain legal recognition in their acquired gender without having to end their marriage.

A law recognizing civil partnerships in England and Wales was passed in 2004.

Tony and Barrie Drewitt-Barlow, who are already same-sex civil partners and have five children together, told CNN that it was important to them to be able to marry in front of their fellow churchgoers.

“We want to be able to go into our local parish church, where we are practicing Christians, and under the eyes of the Lord get married,” said Barrie Drewitt-Barlow.

“I don’t want to go in front of a vicar or priest who doesn’t want to do it; it’s supposed to be the happiest day of my life. I want to be really happy and joyous when I get married to the man that I’ve been together with for 25 years.”

His partner, Tony, said it was a question of equality.

“Marriage is all about the union of two people that love each other and want to bind that love in a relationship that lasts forever. And for me, it’s about having that right for everybody, gay, straight or bisexual,” he said.

“Whatever you are, if you love that person, then you should have the rights to be joined in matrimony with them.”

Cameron has said he is determined to push through legislation allowing same-sex marriage “not only as someone who believes in equality but as someone who believes passionately in marriage.”

But his commitment to that aim has set him at odds with many in his own party.

A number of local party members wrote to the prime minister Sunday, urging him to reconsider.

“We feel very strongly that the decision to bring this Bill before Parliament has been made without adequate debate or consultation with either the membership of the Conservative Party or with the country at large,” said the letter, published on the Conservative Grassroots website.

“Long-held religious and personal freedoms and the right to free speech will be adversely affected by the passing of this Bill.”

The Church of England also outlined its objections to the bill in a briefing note sent to lawmakers Friday.

It cannot support the legislation “because of its concern for the uncertain and unforeseen consequences for wider society and the common good when marriage is redefined in gender-neutral terms,” it said.

It also argues that civil partnerships “already confer the same rights as marriage,” and that allowing same-sex couples to marry will open the door to “continued legal disputes for years to come.”

The issue of same-sex marriage has also prompted wide disagreement elsewhere.

Lawmakers in France’s lower house of parliament, the National Assembly, on Saturday passed with a wide majority the most important article of a law to legalize same-sex marriage.

Debate will continue for the next week on thousands of proposed amendments to the law, which would also open up adoption to same-sex couples.

The vote by French lawmakers followed big public protests against the bill, which has proved highly divisive in the majority Catholic country.

In the United States, where President Barack Obama has voiced his personal support for same-sex marriage, it has been legalized in nine states and the District of Columbia.

At the same time, 30 states have passed constitutional amendments banning same-sex marriage, according to the Pew Research Center.

Polls show the U.S. public has gradually become more accepting of same-sex marriage, with more Americans in favor in 2013 than opposed, according to Pew.

Argentina, Belgium, Canada, Spain, South Africa and Norway are among nearly a dozen countries that allow same-sex marriages.

According to a report released in May 2011 by the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association, same-sex relations are still criminalized in 76 countries, and in five of those countries, the death penalty can be applied.

Kathleen Wynne

ONTARIO, Canada – Last Saturday at the Ontario Liberal leadership convention Kathleen Wynne beat Sandra Pupatello to be elected to lead the party and become Ontario’s first female premier — and Canada’s first out LGBT premier.

BuzzFeed reported that Wynne, 59, and  married to Jane Rounthwaite, said she believed her sexual orientation would not be an issue in the race or going forward.

“The province has changed, our party has changed,” she said earlier in the balloting. “I do not believe that the people of Ontario … hold that prejudice in their hearts.”

All Out, a new organization building the global movement for LGBT equality, has launched a campaign to get European Union countries to recognize that same-sex families are families, regardless of the country they’re in.

From the All Out campaign:

For thousands of children in the European Union, crossing borders can mean they’re on their own. The reason is simple: when moving between one country to another, their parents are no longer recognised as their real parents – just because they’re the same sex.

…  tell the leaders of the European Union that same-sex families are families, regardless of the country they’re in?

Paris

PARIS – Days before the French government are due to debate a proposal that would allow same-sex couples to marry and adopt children in France, more than 100,000 took to the streets of Paris in support of the measure.

Guillaume Bonnet of All Out, an LGBT rights pressure group, told the Washington Blade from Paris after he marched with his cousin and one of his friends that a lot of straight people took part in the demonstration.
“It was very emotional,” he said. “For them it’s about freedom, equality and family values.”
Last month a similar march in Paris drew more than 150,000 people.
The Washington Blade reported that according to a poll on the Web site Atlantico.fr released on Saturday 63 percent of French people support same-sex marriage, compared to 60 percent who said they backed the issue last month. Forty-nine percent of respondents also support adoption rights for gays and lesbians, compared to 46 percent in December.

European Court of Human Rights

LONDON (CNN) — A British Christian woman suffered religious discrimination when British Airways told her not to wear a visible cross over her uniform, a top European court ruled Tuesday.

However, three other British Christians lost related religious discrimination claims at the European Court of Human Rights.

British Airways violated the article of the European Convention on Human Rights that guarantees freedom of religion when it stopped employee Nadia Eweida from wearing her cross openly, the court said.

Eweida said she experienced discrimination from 2006 to 2007, when she started displaying the cross while working as a member of check-in staff. She was first sent home and then offered another role where she’d have no contact with customers. She refused to take it.

The airline changed its policy on uniforms in 2007 to allow employees to wear religious or charity symbols, at which time Eweida returned to the check-in desk.

In its ruling, the court weighed Eweida’s desire to show her religious belief against the airline’s wish to project a certain corporate image.

“While this aim was undoubtedly legitimate, the domestic courts accorded it too much weight,” it said, referring to British Airways’ position.

However, the court found that three other British Christians who argued they’d been unfairly dismissed from their jobs had not been subjected to religious discrimination.

They are nurse Shirley Chaplin, who also wanted to wear a cross at work, registrar Lilian Ladele, who declined to register gay civil partnerships, and Gary MacFarlane, a relationship counselor who did not want to give sex therapy to same-sex couples.

In the case of Chaplin, the court ruled that the concerns of hospital managers for health and safety outweighed the nurse’s desire to wear a cross visibly in the workplace.

The cases of the registrar and the relationship counselor had been fairly considered in the national courts, the court said.

“In each case the employer was pursuing a policy of nondiscrimination against service-users, and the right not to be discriminated against on grounds of sexual orientation was also protected under the Convention.”

The parties in the cases have three months in which to lodge an appeal.

The Christian Legal Centre, which directly supported Chaplin and MacFarlane, issued a statement saying the ruling “raised questions about the future involvement of Christians in professional and public life.”

Gary McFarlane said he was “amazed” by the court’s decision, and added that there had been no need for him to be dismissed from his job.

“What happened to me was deeply illiberal. I simply wanted to do my job in light of my Christian identity but I was policed and punished for my thoughts, for my beliefs. In a truly tolerant society we make room for one another,” the Christian Legal Centre quoted him as saying.

“Today’s judgment is a worrying sign not just for those who bring their Christian faith to bear on their work but for all those who hold viewpoints that differ from the reigning orthodoxy.”

Rights groups hailed the outcome, however.

Shami Chakrabarti, director of the Liberty human rights group, said the judgment was “an excellent result for equal treatment, religious freedom and common sense.”

The British courts had “lost their way” in considering Eweida’s case, she said.

“Nadia Eweida wasn’t hurting anyone and was perfectly capable of doing her job whilst wearing a small cross. She had just as much a right to express her faith as a Sikh man in a turban or a Muslim woman with a headscarf.”

But, Chakrabarti added, the European court “was also right to uphold judgments in other cases that employers can expect staff not to discriminate in the discharge of duties at work.”

The British Humanist Association also praised the European court for “applying the right principles” to the cases — those of equality and human rights.

The association’s chief executive, Andrew Copson, said the political Christian lobby and socially conservative media had sought to whip up a “victim narrative” around the cases that had no basis in reality.

“What they describe as discrimination and marginalization of Christians is in fact the proper upholding of human rights and equalities law and principles — principles which protect all people against unfair treatment — and we are pleased that the court has recognized this,” he said in a statement.

“All reasonable people will agree that there is scope in a secular democracy for reasonable accommodation of religious beliefs when that accommodation does not affect the rights and freedoms of others.”

The four Christians turned to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France, after losing every round of their battles through the British legal system.

Their claims were filed under European human rights law, focusing on guarantees of freedom of religion and freedom from discrimination at work.

The cases have been closely watched in Europe because they may help to draw a clear boundary in cases where religious views contradict laws against discrimination. The court’s decisions have implications across 47 countries on the continent.

The court ruling will not be binding in Britain, but the country is legally obliged to take it into account.

David Cecil

(CNN) — A British theater producer who was briefly jailed in Uganda because of his play about the challenges facing gay people in the African nation said Wednesday the case against him had been dropped.

Homosexual acts are illegal in Uganda, where most gays and lesbians face physical attacks and are treated as social outcasts.

David Cecil told CNN he was in the Ugandan court when the magistrate dismissed the case.

Speaking by phone from Kampala, he said the magistrate told the court Cecil had complied with the investigation, and was clearly not afraid to face the charges.

However, the magistrate said the prosecution failed to provide evidence to substantiate the charges, Cecil said.

The charges themselves have not been dropped, Cecil added, but if the state wanted to reopen the case, the magistrate made clear it would have to start again from the beginning.

Cecil said he was confident the state would not reopen the case.

He said plans to stay in Uganda, where his family lives.

Cecil was briefly jailed in September after he was arrested on charges of “disobedience of lawful orders” for staging the play without authorization. His lawyer, John Onyango, said then that Cecil could be imprisoned for two years, if convicted.

The play, The River and the Mountain, features an all-Ugandan cast, and tells the story of a gay businessman killed by his employees.

It uses the life of its main character — a young businessman whose friends desert him after his revelation that he’s a homosexual — to highlight the challenges of gays in Uganda. The character’s mother unsuccessfully intervenes to “cure” him of his homosexuality, and his colleagues later kill him.

Late last year, lawmakers in Uganda were mulling a new anti-homosexuality bill that proposes tough jail sentences for consensual same-sex behavior.

Amnesty International, which has urged the Ugandan parliament not to pass the legislation, says it “would have lasting, harmful effects on Ugandans who are thought to breach its far-reaching provisions.”

Parliament is expected to reconvene in February, the rights group said, after which it could decide to table a vote.

Homosexuality is illegal in most countries in Africa, where sodomy laws were introduced during colonialism.

Mexico has become the first country in North America to lift the ban on blood donations from gay and bisexual men, according to the Medical Daily. Instead, the new regulations will ask prospective donors to recount their sexual history rather than their sexual orientation. Men who have sex with men (MSM) will be eligible to donate blood, along with other individuals, as long as they are practicing and have practiced safe sex in the past, do not test positive for HIV or hepatitis, do not work as prostitutes and do not inject drugs. The move went into effect on Christmas day, though it was approved this summer in August.

Mexico’s National Council to Prevent Discrimination (CONAPRED) welcomed the new rules and

in a statement released on its Web site said, “In making these discriminatory distinctions, the [previous] norm explicitly violated the prohibition against discrimination present in the Constitution and the Federal Law to Prevent and Eliminate Discrimination, as well as Article 24 of the American Convention on Human Rights and Article 26 of the International Civil and Political Rights Treaty, among other international instruments of law, which establish that every person is equal before the law regardless of any condition.”

(CNN) – Lawmakers in Moscow moved Friday to ban Americans from adopting Russian children, passing a bill that imposes a series of sanctions on U.S. interests, state media reported.

Russia is one of the top countries of origin for international adoptions in the United States.

The State Duma, Russia‘s lower house of parliament, adopted the bill on its third reading, the state-run RAPSI news agency reported.

The measure will now move to the Federation Council and, if approved there, will go to President Vladimir Putin to be signed into law, the news agency said.

The legislation could affect hundreds of American families seeking to adopt Russian children.

It also bars any political activities by nongovernmental organizations receiving funding from the United States, if such activities may affect Russian interests, the news agency said, and imposes sanctions against U.S. officials thought to have violated human rights.

The move by Russian politicians is widely seen as retaliation for a law that U.S. President Barack Obama signed December 14. That bill, called the Magnitsky Act, imposes U.S. travel and financial restrictions on human rights abusers in Russia.

“The United States is concerned by measures in the bill passed in the Russian Duma today that, if it becomes law, would halt inter-country adoptions between the United States and Russia and would restrict the ability of Russian civil society organizations to work with American partners,” U.S. State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell said.

The Magnitsky act is named in honor of Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, who uncovered the largest tax fraud in the country’s history in the form of rebates claimed by government officials who stole money from the state. Magnitsky died in 2009 after a year in a Moscow detention center, apparently beaten to death.

Russian leaders have criticized the bill, which also places sanctions on those involved in the tax fraud Magnitsky uncovered and those responsible for his detention, abuse, and death.

The bill passed by the State Duma is named in turn after Dima Yakovlev, a 2-year-old boy who died while in the care of a U.S. adoptive family, RAPSI said.

Its implementation would nullify a recent agreement between the United States and Russia in which the countries agreed to additional safeguards to protect children and parties involved in inter-country adoptions.

“American families have welcomed more than 60,000 Russian children into American homes over the past 20 years,” Ventrell said. “Just last month we implemented a bilateral adoptions agreement with Russia to improve safeguards for adopted children and their families. If Russian officials have concerns about the implementation of this agreement, we stand ready to work with them to improve it and remain committed to supporting inter-country adoptions between our two countries.”

Only China has more adoptions to the United States than Russia.

Backers of the Russian bill said American adoptive parents have been abusive, citing 19 deaths of Russian children by their foster parents since the 1990s, according to local media.

In 2010, an American woman caused outrage after she sent her adopted son back to Russia alone on a one-way flight, saying the boy, then 7, had violent episodes that made the family fear for its safety.

Amnesty International called on Russian lawmakers Thursday to reject their measure, which it said would “have a chilling effect on human rights defenders and civil society” and end adoptions to the United States.

“There is a huge risk that the vaguely worded provisions in this bill will be used to clamp down on government critics and exposers of abuses. Indeed this would appear to be its real purpose,” said John Dalhuisen, Amnesty International’s Europe and Central Asia program director.

“This bill is frankly a childish response to the Magnitsky Act,” he said. “The Duma should be focusing its efforts on how it can strengthen Russian civil society and not weaken it.”

David Bahati

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA – The International Association of LGBTI Pride Organizers (InterPride) has condemned the Ugandan Anti-Homosexuality Bill that the Ugandan government has committed to pass by the end of 2012. The bill will ensure that homosexuality is treated as a serious criminal offense and includes, but is not limited to introducing the death penalty for those accused of being serious offenders, those suspected of ‘aggravated homosexuality’ and those that are HIV-positive.

The co-president of InterPride, Caryl Dolinko, stated, “We are stunned and disappointed that a hate law such as this can be potentially voted into law in the world today. At InterPride, we work for equality, dignity and LGBTI human rights and our member organizations support these rights. We are appalled that Ugandan politicians have taken this antiquated and hateful stance”.

The Anti-Homosexuality Bill was submitted in October 2009 as a private member’s bill by David Bahati, a Ugandan MP, and member of ‘The Family’, (an influential fundamentalist Christian evangelical political organization) and has yet to gain parliamentary approval, but it will.

As reported in San Diego LGBT Weekly, Nov. 8 the speaker of Uganda’s Parliament, Rebecca Kadaga, has promised to speed up the passing of the bill and it is believed that it will be passed by lawmakers before the end of this year.

Laertis Vasiliou

ATHENS, Greece – Following weeks of protests by priests and right-wing groups, including members of Parliament (MP) from the ultra-nationalist Golden Dawn Party, a production of Terrence McNally’s Corpus Christi in Athens was forced to close earlier this month.

Now, actors and the producer and director of the play have been charged with blasphemy.

RTE reports that charges of “insulting religion” and “malicious blasphemy” have been filed after Bishop Seraphim of Piraeus lodged a lawsuit against those involved in the play.

The plays director, Laertis Vasiliou, was stunned that the charges had been brought saying, “What I see is that there are people who have robbed the country blind who are not in jail and the prosecutor turns against art.”

Vasiliou and the other defendants could face several months in prison if found guilty by a Greek court. Anti-fascism groups have condemned the charges. A trial date has not yet been set.

As reported in San Diego LGBT Weekly, Oct. 25, Ilias Panagiotaros, one of 18 far-right Golden Dawn MPs elected in June’s general election was filmed shouting homophobic insults outside the theater during a demonstration against the play.

Second major crisis to hit the BBC within months

LONDON (CNN) – Two British Broadcasting Corporation executives have “stepped aside” pending a review into the BBC‘s handling of allegations of sex abuse surrounding its late TV presenter Jimmy Savile, the media organization said Monday.

The moves by the BBC‘s director and deputy director of news represent fallout over separate sex abuse claims in recent months that have rocked one of the world‘s oldest and most respected media organizations.

They follow the weekend resignation of George Entwistle as director general after the BBC‘s Newsnight report that falsely implicated a former senior political official in a child sex scandal.

News Director Helen Boaden and her deputy, Steve Mitchell, have been asked to “surrender all their responsibilities” pending the outcome of the review, the BBC said in a statement.

“The BBC wants to make it absolutely clear that neither Helen Boaden nor Stephen Mitchell had anything to do with the failed Newsnight investigation into Lord McAlpine,” the former political official, the statement said.

“Whilst recognizing this, the BBC believes there is a lack of clarity in the lines of command and control in BBC News as a result of some of those caught up in the … review being unable to exercise their normal authority.”

The BBC said it expects the two to return to their positions following the conclusion of its independent review.

Nov. 2, BBC‘s Newsnight aired the sex abuse claims against a senior political figure of the 1980s. Days later, the victim admitted he had identified the wrong man.

The BBC aired on apology Friday, but it did little to contain the fallout from the false accusation.

It was the second major crisis to hit the BBC within months.

In late September, the BBC became embroiled in a scandal over its handling of sex-abuse allegations against Savile.

The scandal exploded amid revelations that Newsnight pulled a report into allegations against Savile ahead of a planned tribute to the late TV presenter by the news organization.

Entwistle and others were called in front of lawmakers to answer for the scandal surrounding Savile, who authorities say was suspected of having sexually abused young women and girls, sometimes on BBC premises.

“Consideration is now being given to the extent to which individuals should be asked to account further for their actions and, if appropriate, disciplinary action will be taken,” the BBC said.

Boaden was director of BBC News when the decision was made to pull the Savile report, the BBC reported.

“Ms. Boaden has overall editorial and managerial responsibility for UK-wide and global news and current affairs on radio, television and online,” the BBC said.

The news about Boaden came the same day the BBC announced it was reestablishing a single management team “to address the lack of clarity around the editorial chain of command.”

The announcement followed the findings of a BBC review into the Newsnight broadcast that falsely implicated the political official, said Sonia Cooper, the BBC‘s chief press officer.

A public statement about the findings was expected later Monday, she said.

The moves came as the former director general of the BBC, Mark Thompson, started his first day of work Monday as chief executive of The New York Times.

“Look, like many people I’m very saddened by recent events at the BBC, but I believe the BBC is the world‘s greatest broadcaster and I’ve got no doubt it will once again regain the public’s trust both in the UK and around the world,” he told CNN as he entered the newspaper’s lobby in Midtown Manhattan. “It is a very important institution, and I believe it is full of people with real integrity and talent, and I have no doubt it will get back on its feet really soon.”

Referring to the upheaval, Thompson predicted that “it will not in any way affect my job, which I’m starting right now.”

Rebecca Kadaga

KAMPALA, Uganda – The speaker of the Ugandan Parliament, Rebecca Kadaga, has promised to speed up the debate on the Anti-Homosexuality Bill.

Kadaga made the statement as she addressed religious leaders and journalists at Entebbe International Airport last week. She stated, “They said I should stop the debate on the Anti-Homosexuality Bill but I assured them there is no way I can block a private members bill.”

Kadaga was returning from an Inter-Parliamentary Union meeting in Quebec, Canada where she was involved in an altercation with Canadian foreign affairs minister, John Baird, after he accused Uganda of trampling on human rights.

According to the Ugandan Daily Monitor Kadaga told the minister to stick to the day’s theme and respect Uganda’s sovereignty. “I will not accept to be intimidated or directed by any government in the world on matters of homosexuality,” she said.

A large contingent from various Pentecostal churches, organized by religious leaders, had greeted her at the airport some waving placards with the words, “You are our savior, we want the bill now.”

Pastor Michael Were, who spoke on behalf of the religious leaders, called on other national leaders to follow Kadaga’s footsteps for the sake of the country’s culture and traditions.

Asked whether she was not mindful of Uganda being denied aid and her being denied entry visas to pro-gay countries, Kadaga said such countries were welcome to keep their aid and visas.

LONDON – Londoners experienced the biggest gay bar launch in a decade last week as Manbar opened its doors for the first time.

Gay-owned and run Manbar promises its customers, “a late-night gay bar like no other in Soho.”

Located at 79 Charing Cross Road in Soho the venue has had a major refit with new sound system, air conditioning and new décor and is set to revitalize a location that is part of London’s gay heritage.

Internationally renowned artist Mikesbliss has painstakingly created dozens of images that adorn the interior walls of Manbar over three floors.

The soundtrack to Soho’s newest bar will be mainstream, commercial dance with London’s best DJs doing residencies including Alessandro Londra, Tony English, Brent Nicholls, Rich B, DJ Minx and Pier Morocco.

For more information visit manbarsoho.com