Lesbian actress Miriam Margoyles has become an Australian citizen—and marked her new life with a stinging attack on Britain, the Daily Mail reported. Margoyles, 71, said, "I don't like class distinction, and there is far too much of that in England." Margolyes, who played Professor Sprout in the Potter films, has been in a relationship with her Australian-born partner, Heather, for more than 40 years.
In the republic of Georgia, prosecutors claim that former military leader Megis Kardava ordered high-level operatives to seduce local gay celebrities and blackmail them into being loyal, according to Queerty.com . Kardava, the exiled head of the military police department of the Defense Ministry, reportedly created "a network of gay agents" to seduce closeted stars. The agents would then allegedly bring the targets back to apartments equipped with surveillance equipment, and use incriminating footage to force allegiance to President Mikhail Saakashvili.
In Taiwan, a gay couple who were suing Taipei's government for not recognizing their marriage have dropped their case, according to Gay Star News. At a press conference, Nelson Chen (Chen Ching-hsueh, one half of the couple) noted that he had "lost his faith in the judiciary." The High Administrative Court in Taipei heard Chen's case in November, but delayed a ruling until last Dec. 20, when the ruling was delayed again.
Thousands of Dutch Catholics are researching how they can leave the church in protest at its opposition to same-sex marriage, according to Reuters UK. Tom Roes, whose website allows people to download the documents needed to leave the church, said traffic on his site soared from about 10 to more than 10,000 daily visits after Pope Benedict's latest condemnation of marriage equality. About 28 percent of the population in the Netherlands is Catholic.
The CETLALIC Summer LGBTQ Social Justice Program will take place June 15-July 5 in Cuernavaca, Mexico. Participants will learn about the current situation of the gay and lesbian community in Mexico through the study of Spanish and cultural exchange; and will participate in the Mexico City Pride Parade. See www.cetlalic.org .mx.
In London, police are urging the harassment victim of the so-called "Muslim Patrol" to come forward and aid their investigation, Gay Star News noted. Footage posted on YouTube from the weekend of Jan. 19-20 showed a group calling a passer-by a "bloody fag" in the east part of the city. The Guardian reported that a self-styled Muslim patrol gang harassed people in a string of incidents.
In Russia, military recruits' tattoos are going to be checked, as the Kremlin believes they could reveal signs of homosexuality, Gay Star News reported. Soldiers will receive thorough physical examinations to look for tattoos in places such as the sexual organs and buttocks. While the Russian military holds traditional views on sexuality, a UN report from 2007 stated homosexuality and male prostitution is common within the army.
In the United Kingdom, the bill that would establish marriage equality has been introduced in Parliament, according to Advocate.com . Debate on the bill and a vote are scheduled for Feb. 5. Although some religious conservatives oppose the measure, it is likely to pass, as it has the backing of Prime Minister David Cameron and other national leaders.
The State Duma, the lower house of Russia's Parliament, approved legislation 388-1 that would ban LGBT events or public discussion of LGBT issues that minors could access, Advocate.com reported. The so-called gay propaganda bill is a national version of one that St. Petersburg has already adopted. Activists for and against the bill demonstrated outside the State Duma's headquarters in Moscow.
In Canada, Kathleen Wynne, 59, has become the first premier of the province of Ontario from the LGBT community, according to Buzzfeed.com . Wynne is married to Jane Rounthwaite, and the party's new leader said she believed her sexual orientation would not be an issue in the race or going forward. Wynne defeated Sandra Pupatello 1,150 to 866 votes on the third ballot at the Ontario Liberal leadership convention Jan. 26.
A gay couple who fled Uganda's anti-gay laws legally married in Sweden, according to Gay Star News. Lawrence Kaala and Jimmy Sswerwadda claim to be the first ever Ugandan gay couple to legally marry. The couple married on Jan. 26—on the two-year anniversary of the murder of David Kato, one of the African country's most famous LGBT activists.
In France, a poll showed that 63 percent of the country's residents back marriage equality, Gay Star News reported. The poll results were revealed after a quarter of a million people marched in favor of same-sex marriage Jan. 27, and before a parliamentary debate Jan. 29 on the bill known as "Marriage for All." Jerome Fourquet, who oversaw the survey, said pollsters realized that recent anti-gay marriage protests did little to change public opinions.
In Ireland, gay couple Robbie Lawlor and Emmett Daly claim they were attacked at a grocery store, Gay Star News noted. At a Spar Ireland late at night, the couple kissed. Then, according to Lawlor's Facebook post, "The security guard then came over to us and told us to 'take it back into the George you faggots.'" After the guard reportedly dragged Daly out of the shop and that two "lads" pinned Daly to the ground and "practically strangled him."
The Hong Kong property tycoon who made headlines when he first offered up to $65 million to the man who could woo his lesbian daughter still hopes to convert her, according to the Huffington Post. Cecil Chao—who claims to have slept with 10,000 women—said that daughter Gigi "is still young and beautiful. She has 70 percent of her life to go." Gigi recently entered a civil partnership with her girlfriend of seven years, Sean Eav, in Paris.
