Scarlet Lady’s 2,000 passengers told of change as one of those onboard says they will ‘sparkle and spend elsewhere’
An LGBTQ+ cruise ship blocked from Turkish waters this week has been refused entry into Egypt.
The Scarlet Lady’s 2,000 passengers, including the Broadway performer Patti LuPone, woke on Thursday morning to find a note placed under their cabin doors informing them that the ship was urgently looking for alternative ports.
Continue reading...Incidents involving California state senator Scott Wiener and New York congressman Dan Goldman underscore Israel-Palestine conflict’s role in US elections
Two recent incidents involving US congressional candidates on opposite coasts have blown up into major controversies, underscoring how the Israel-Palestine conflict has transformed US elections – and illustrating how aggressive protest tactics can spark backlash that overshadows the issues activists meant to highlight.
Scott Wiener, a gay Jewish state senator and trans rights advocate who is currently the frontrunner in the race to replace the longtime representative Nancy Pelosi in California’s 11th district, said he felt forced to leave last week’s annual trans pride march in San Francisco after a group of people ran up to him at a local park where the event was taking place, surrounded him and screamed at him over his positions on Israel’s war on Gaza.
Continue reading...Fears of resurgence of HIV/Aids amid loss of access to PrEP drugs as at least 40 people arrested in ‘toxic’ climate
A “witch-hunt” is under way in Niger, where dozens of people have been arrested for homosexuality in the west African state following the introduction of a new penal code earlier this year.
Up to 40 people have been arrested and 16 men, including high-ranking military officials, have been imprisoned across the country, according to local media.
Continue reading...In today’s newsletter: With violent crime declining but hate crime increasing, a look at what we can all do to make our shared spaces safer
Good morning. Who is safe on Britain’s streets? Two acts of gross violence – the murder of Henry Nowak in Southampton and the stabbing of Stephen Ogilvie in Belfast – have been ruthlessly exploited by the far-right and now the spaces we all share are contested.
It is an entirely human response to feel unsafe when we watch a clip of an assailant wielding a knife over his victim, or police officers handcuffing a distressed, dying young man. Much as it is when we see ethnic minority families fleeing burning homes in Belfast, or a menacing crowd in Glasgow setting about black people as they pass.
Middle East | The US launched new strikes against targets in Iran for the second consecutive day after Donald Trump promised to “hit them hard again” as a two-month-old ceasefire appears close to collapse.
UK politics | Keir Starmer’s closest aides are “war-gaming” how to win a leadership contest ahead of Andy Burnham’s much-anticipated return to Westminster if he wins the Makerfield byelection, the Guardian understands.
Belfast | Elon Musk’s X will face no action to remove a mass of posts inciting violence in Northern Ireland for at least two months, despite widespread condemnation of the platform and its billionaire owner.
Environment | Temperatures in the Antarctic climbed above 15C this month, shattering the previous winter heat record for the usually frozen region and raising concerns about the speed of climate breakdown.
UK news | One of the government’s key contractors has launched an investigation into allegations of racism, antisemitism, Islamophobia and hate speech among staff working in immigration removal centres, the Guardian has learned.
Continue reading...Draft treaty claims sexual and reproductive health and rights are an existential threat to the African family
An African treaty that rejects longstanding international human rights obligations moved a step closer to becoming policy this week as governments across the continent met in Ghana.
The draft African charter on family, sovereignty and values, seen by the Guardian, asserts that African values and culture are under attack from “foreign ideologies” and urges states to withdraw from any agreements that do not align with the principles of the charter, including the 2003 Maputo protocol, which promotes gender equality and protects the reproductive and health rights of women and girls.
Continue reading...Actor among protesters in central London highlighting laws in 29 countries where same-sex relationships remain illegal
Ian McKellen has joined a march against the criminalisation of LGBTQ+ people in Commonwealth countries, calling it an “appalling situation”.
The Lord of the Rings star and activist joined protesters in central London on Saturday to highlight laws in 29 Commonwealth countries where same-sex relationships remain illegal.
Continue reading...Trans and gender-diverse people experience ‘significant and preventable barriers to their safety and dignity’, report finds
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The sex discrimination commissioner says there has been a concerted disinformation campaign against transgender rights since Australia’s postal survey on same-sex marriage.
The Australian Human Rights Commission released a report on Tuesday – coinciding with international trans day of visibility – finding that trans and gender-diverse people experience “significant and preventable barriers to their safety, dignity and full participation in society” spanning healthcare, housing, education, employment and public life.
Continue reading...Christian Democrat Päivi Räsänen, who was fined €1,800, was supported by conservative US group Alliance Defending Freedom
A Finnish member of parliament has been found guilty by the country’s supreme court of inciting hatred after claiming that homosexuality was a “developmental disorder”, in a conviction that prompted criticism from far-right government ministers.
Päivi Räsänen, of the Christian Democrats, made the claims in a pamphlet first published in 2004 and reproduced on the website of the Luther Foundation Finland and the Finnish Evangelical Mission Diocese in 2007.
Continue reading...The anonymous leaflets display pictures of LGBTIQ+ people along with accusations of crimes such as drug trafficking and paedophilia
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Police in Western Australia are investigating flyers distributed to homes across Perth targeting members of the state’s LGBTIQ+ community.
The flyers, which are anonymous, display photographs of LGBTIQ+ people and falsely accuse them of crimes such as paedophilia.
Continue reading...The perpetrators were jailed for 15 years for robbery with violence in the east African country, where homophobic attacks are increasing
The sentencing of two people who attacked and robbed two gay men in Kenya has been hailed by LGBTQ+ rights advocates as a breakthrough and a sign of hope for the country’s queer community. “Abel Meli & Another” were sentenced to 15 years in prison for robbery with violence on 3 March at Milimani law courts in Nairobi.
The ruling is a rare example of justice being served for the queer community in Kenya. Njeri Gateru, the executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, an independent human rights institution working towards equality for sexual and gender minorities in Kenya, said: “A lot is going against [the queer community] with the existence of the criminal laws and prevailing homophobic attitudes, but some of us still trust that we can find justice, so this case encourages us.”
Continue reading...State laws had limited sharing of information with parents about gender identity of trans students in public schools
The US supreme court has decided to block a series of California laws that can limit the sharing of information with parents about the gender identity of transgender students in public schools. This ruling marks a victory for parents who challenged these protections on religious and due process grounds.
The emergency request was granted on Monday and the decision was made along party lines, with the three liberal justices dissenting.
Continue reading...Wendy Faith and Alesi Diana Denise were taken into custody under laws that have outraged LGBTQ+ community and rights activists
Two women have been arrested and detained in Uganda after allegedly kissing in public, an act of “same-sex activity” which can lead to a life sentence in the east African country..
Wendy Faith, a 22-year-old musician known as Torrero Bae, and Alesi Diana Denise, 21, were taken into custody after police raided their rented room in Uganda’s north-west Arua City last week.
Continue reading...Performer appeared in closing ceremony of 2000 Sydney Olympic Games and was a mainstay of city’s drag scene
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One of Australia’s best-known and loved drag queens, Sydney’s Maxi Shield, has died after being diagnosed with throat cancer, prompting tributes from around the world.
Kristopher Elliot, who performed drag under the name Maxi Shield, was 51. Shield was a mainstay of the Sydney drag scene and brought Australian drag to the world as contestant in season one of RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under.
Continue reading...Actor allegedly also made remarks to man who dresses in drag, and was seen dancing on Bourbon Street after arrest
The actor Shia LaBeouf allegedly aimed homophobic slurs at two men – one who identifies as queer and the other who dresses in drag – as the Transformers star was arrested for purportedly battering them at a bar early on Tuesday morning in New Orleans, the victims said.
Jeffrey Damnit – who was born with the last name Klein and was listed as one of the victims by New Orleans police – said in an interview on Wednesday that he was wearing mascara, eye shadow and lipstick when LaBeouf tried to beat him up “while screaming, ‘You’re a fucking faggot’”. He also shared a cellphone video showing LaBeouf in the back of a vehicle being examined by first responders, glancing over at Damnit and saying: “Faggot.”
Continue reading...Exclusive: Greens move to call parliamentary inquiry after series of ‘disturbing’ attacks targeting gay and bisexual men lured via dating apps
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The role of “far-right manosphere influencers” in fuelling homophobic attacks where victims were lured through fake dating app profiles before being assaulted is set to be investigated by a Victorian parliamentary inquiry.
Aiv Puglielli, the Greens’ equality spokesperson, will on Wednesday move a motion calling on the upper house’s legal and social issues committee to investigate the scale of such crimes, as well as the state’s current response and support available to victims.
Continue reading...Withdrawal of Blued and Finka raises fears of further crackdowns on LGBT rights amid growing restrictions
Two of China’s most popular gay dating apps have disappeared from app stores in the country, raising fears of a further crackdown on LGBT communities.
As of Tuesday, Blued and Finka were unavailable on Apple’s app store and several Android platforms. Users who had already downloaded the apps appeared to still be able to use them.
Continue reading...More than 150 psychiatrists sign letter condemning contract to host exams in country with well-documented human rights abuses
The Royal College of Psychiatrists is facing a backlash from members over a controversial partnership with Qatar’s state healthcare provider.
The college has signed a contract with the state-owned Hamad Medical Corporation to host international exams in Doha, enabling psychiatrists from across the Middle East and beyond to apply for membership.
Continue reading...Decision by high court’s conservative majority is Trump administration’s latest win on emergency docket
The supreme court on Thursday allowed Donald Trump’s administration to enforce a policy blocking transgender and non-binary people from choosing passport sex markers that align with their gender identity.
The decision by the high court’s conservative majority is Trump’s latest win on the high court’s emergency docket, and it means his administration can enforce the policy while a lawsuit over it plays out. It halts a lower-court order requiring the government to keep letting people choose male, female or X on their passport to line up with their gender identity on new or renewed passports.
Continue reading...Presiding bishop Olav Fykse Tveit says discrimination and harassment should ‘never have happened’
Against a backdrop of red stage curtains at one of Oslo’s most prominent LGBTQ+ spaces, the Church of Norway apologised for the discrimination and harm it had inflicted.
“The church in Norway has caused LGBTQ+ people shame, great harm and pain,” the presiding bishop, Olav Fykse Tveit, said on Thursday. “This should never have happened and that is why I apologise today.”
Continue reading...Pink Pony Club, a song by Chappell Roan inspired by The Abbey gay bar in West Hollywood, was the inspiration for new Oxford Street club
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A Sydney nightclub whose name was inspired by a lesbian artist despite “predominantly” targeting gay men has been forced to change its name after attracting a swift and “passionate” backlash.
Pink Pony was set to open on Oxford Street in Sydney’s LGBTQ+ heartland in early December. Kevin Du-Val, the owner of Palms on Oxford nightclub, and its manager, Michael Lewis, announced via social media their new venture was “unashamedly inspired by its namesake song that resonates so profoundly within our community”.
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