According to multiple news reports, The Gambia’s National Assembly has passed legislation that includes nearly identical language to Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Act, which Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni signed into law in February. The Gambian legislation includes life sentences for those who are convicted of “aggravated homosexuality” or are considered “repeat offenders,” among other charges. The legislation…
CHINA — A British diplomat in China has married his same-sex partner, making use of the Chinese government’s non objection to British same-sex nationals being able to wed at the U.K. diplomatic mission, reports GayAsiaNews.com. Brian Davidson, the United Kingdom’s consul-general in Shanghai, married his partner Scott Chang, an American citizen, in Beijing Sept. 6….
ISRAEL — A gay rabbi from England living in Israel was installed as the leader of Adat Shalom Emanuel in Rehovot, the only non-Orthodox synagogue in the city, reports GayAsiaNews.com. Rabbi Mikie Goldstein, a native of Liverpool who has been living in Israel since 1989, belongs to Israel’s Masorti (Conservative) Movement that approved the ordination…
MALAYSIA — Malaysian religious police arrested a lesbian couple after raiding a hotel room in Johor Baru where they were staying, reports GayAsiaNews.com. The two young women had been arrested by officers of the Johor Islamic Religious Department, according to outinperth.com citing a Sinar Harian newspaper report. The newspaper reported nine officers searching the hotel…
Stating that Crimea “does not need [gay] people,” the newly installed government of the illegally established breakaway region of Ukraine, has alarmed Russian LGBT activists and sent shockwaves through the region. Speaking to a public crowd Tuesday, Sergey Aksyonov, the de facto Prime Minister, added that, “If activists try to demonstrate in the region our…
In a reversal that has caught even her closest aides off-guard, Marina Silva, the former environmental minister who shot to the top of the polls after entering Brazil’s presidential contest less than three weeks ago, has declared her opposition to same-sex marriage, reports Fox News Latino. “We were surprised with the change,” the heretofore coordinator…
KAZAKHSTAN — An advertisement for a gay club showing a Kazakh composer kissing one of the greatest Russian poets has won an international award but has sparked outrage for what many consider is a national insult, reports GayAsiaNews.com. The ad created by Havas Worldwide Kazakhstan for the “Studio 69″ gay bar and club in Almaty…
TAIWAN — Taiwan is officially wooing gay tourists in the hope of becoming Asia’s top tourist destination in a region that is often openly hostile toward gay people, reports GayAsiaNews.com. In its bid to raise its presence on the world stage, Taiwan has been pushing hard to increase tourist numbers. Lagging behind rivals Japan and…
More than 8,000 people took to the streets this past weekend to stand in solidarity with the LGBT community during Ireland’s sixth annual March for Marriage. Marchers flooded the streets of Dublin and walked from city hall to the Department of Justice in support of marriage equality. A substantial number of allies marched alongside LGBT…
SYDNEY – Players from around the world took part in a huge training session in Sydney today in the lead-up to the Bingham Cup, the world cup of gay rugby. As a way of showing their support for ending homophobia in sports, players and coaches from Australia’s national team, the Wallabies, and Sydney’s state team,…
