French police have stopped an anti-marriage-equality march at the Champs-Elysees in Paris from going ahead due to "security concerns," according to Gay Star News. Opponents to the "Marriage for All" bill, which would grant same-sex marriage and allow gay couples to adopt, had hoped to hold a demonstration March 24. On March 14, Paris police said, "In order to ensure freedom of assembly, preserve public order and protect institutions, the police chief … invited the organizers to get in touch with its services to study possible alternative routes, which was not done."
French researchers claim that 14 patients who were treated with antiviral HIV medications within weeks of infection now have now have no disease activities years after stopping medication, according to CBS News. The study's authors warn their findings may not be the norm for all patients with HIV, although they estimated up to 15 percent of patients may be able to keep the disease at bay without medication—which means they are functionally cured. The research comes weeks after news spread that a Mississippi baby who was born with HIV and received immediate treatment was now disease-free at 2 years old.
Covering and defining gay nightlife and culture in Toronto since its Pride weekend premiere issue in 1994, Fab is folding after 19 years, Gay.net reported. "The realities of the print publication world have finally taken their toll on our free glossy," blogged Phil Villeneuve, who became editor of Fab last May. The final issue of Fab will be released April 24 and available through May 7.
The Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) is now denying that there is an official ban in place that would prohibit lesbians from playing for or representing their country, according to a SheWired.com . Nigerian news reports initially reported that Dilichukwu Onyedinma—the chair of the Nigerian Women's Football League, who also serves as a member of the NFF executive committee—said that there was an official ban in place, and that any woman associated with lesbianism would be disqualified from play.
The White House invited Michael Barron—the director of BeLonG To, Ireland's national service and advocacy organization for LGBT young people—for a series of meeting with senior administration officials marking St. Patrick's Day, according to the Irish Voice Reporter. Barron, who was named Person of the Year at the 2013 National Gay and Lesbian Awards, has achieved international prominence for successfully advocating for significant national policy changes in the areas of education, suicide prevention, and drug and alcohol use.
Hamburger Mary's is going international. The burger franchise system known for bringing together gourmet half-pound burgers and drag queens just announced its 13th location will be in Berlin, Germany, according to a press release. Hamburger Mary's Berlin will be on the ground floor of AXEL Hotel Berlin, right in the heart of Berlin's Schoneberg neighborhood. The area has been the center of gay nightlife in Berlin since the 1920s and early 1930s during the Weimer Republic.
A Dutch lesbian couple and their Turkish foster son have gone into hiding after the boy's biological parents said on television in Turkey that they object to the pair taking care of their child, according to LGBTQ Nation. The 9-year-old boy, Yunus, was removed from his biological parents' care (in the Netherlands) while he was still a baby, and eventually placed in the care of the lesbian couple, who live in The Hague, the country's administrative center.
Polish prosecutors say they will not charge former President Lech Walesa with hate crimes for recent remarks that gay people found offensive, LGBTQ Nation reported. Walesa, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, sparked outrage after saying March 1 that gays have no right to a prominent role in politics. The remarks prompted Ryszard Nowak, director of the National Committee for the Defense Against Sects and Violence, to file a complaint. However, Renata Klonowska, head of the regional prosecutor's office in Gdansk, said that investigators found Walesa did not commit a crime under Polish law.
In Canada, religious leaders have joined opposition to Manitoba's proposed anti-bullying law, saying religious schools must not be forced to accommodate groups that promote equality for gays and lesbians, according to the National Post. "Orthodox Judaism believes in the sanctity of the Bible that rejects homosexuality, as do other great religions," reads a letter to Premier Greg Selinger by Rabbi Avrohom Altein of Winnipeg. Bill 18 aims to prevent bullying in schools and promote equality based on gender, race, sexual orientation and other factors.
In London, a proposed bus advertisement from Christian group Core Issues Trust has been rejected, according to the BBC. Transport for London banned the trust's "ex-gay" ad because it could cause "widespread offense." The advert, which was to read "Not Gay! Ex-Gay, Post-Gay and Proud. Get over it!" was also paid for by Christian group Anglican Mainstream.
The founder of an organization that promotes equality among all athletes has talked to Toronto Blue Jays minor leaguers about the damaging effects of anti-gay slurs, according to Yahoo! Sports Canada. Patrick Burke founded You Can Play and spoke at the Blue Jays' camp in Dunedin, Fla. The visit came after former Blue Jays shortstop Yunel Escobar was suspended for three games by the team late last season for wearing eye-black displaying an anti-gay slur written in Spanish.
An estimated 1,000 advocates from AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) and other AIDS and community groups in South Africa hosted an advocacy march on March 15 to criticize recent funding cuts made by President Obama's administration to the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), Business Wire reported. One immediate effect of the cuts in South Africa is that the AIDS clinic (Sini'kithemba clinic) at McCord Hospital in Durban closed. President George W. Bush first proposed PEPFAR in his 2003 State of the Union address.
