A new attempt to prevent the recognition of and equal rights for LGBTQ+ people in Kenya through a constitutional amendment has been introduced in Parliament, The Washington Blade reported. The move was in response to this month's ruling from Kenya's highest court affirming its February decision that allowed the National Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission to register as a non-governmental organization. Anti-LGBTQ+ MP Peter Kaluma is the sponsor of the new initiative.
French-speaking pro-LGBTQ+ advocates will meet in Ivory Coast in November to coordinate and strengthen efforts on behalf of LGBTQ+ rights throughout French-speaking Africa, according to Erasing 76 Crimes. Fierte Afrique Francophone is inviting all defenders of sexual- and gender-minority rights in French-speaking Africa to come to Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire, for a two-day meeting. Fierte Afrique Francophone's Joseph Messinga-Nkonga said, "During [the COVID pandemic], English-speaking African activists launched 'Pride Afrique,' so for our part, we stopped being inhibited and launched Fierte Afrique Francophone in West Africa in order to be visible and show that we exist."
New cases of HIV in Amsterdam have dropped to almost zero because of an investment scheme involving the preventative drug PrEP, according to PinkNews. According to the Dutch AIDS Fund, there were only nine new cases of the virus in Amsterdam in 2022—down from 66 people diagnosed in 2021. With a goal to reach zero new HIV transmissions in the city by 2026, Amsterdam reportedly provided an extra budget in 2019 to make PrEP more widely accessible, including to people like sex workers, who may have a higher risk of infection.
Fashion designer Donatella Versace criticized Italy's move to remove the names of non-gestational lesbian mothers from their children's birth certificates, PinkNews noted. At the CNMI Sustainable Fashion Awards, during Milan Fashion Week, Versace used her speech to condemn the right-wing government and show her support for the trans community. Accepting a humanitarian award, Versace said, "At a time when transgender people still suffer terrible violence, at a time when children of same-sex couples are not considered their children, at a time when minority voices are being attacked by new laws … we still have a lot to do," per The Hollywood Reporter.
Through Sept. 30, Canada's National Arts Centre is running "The Queen in Me" at Azrieli Studio in Ottawa, per the venue's website. Created and performed by Teiya Kasahara, the hour-long production explores discrimination against trans, non-binary, female-identifying, queer and racialized people. "The Queen in Me" features a range of arias from some of the world's most well-loved operas: Puccini's La Boheme, Madama Butterfly, Turandot and Manon Lescaut; Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor; Verdi's Macbeth and Rigoletto; R. Strauss' Salome; and Mozart's The Magic Flute. See nac-cna.ca/en/event/33677 .
An assembly member of Tokyo's Taito Ward was criticized for his remark on school education on the subject of LGBTQ+ people for saying, "Biased teaching materials and biased instructions may lead (students) to homosexuality," The Mainichi Shimbun reported. Tomonari Matsumura, of the Liberal Democratic Party, made the remarks at a ward assembly meeting on Sept. 20. Yuichi Kamiya, secretary-general of the Japan Alliance for LGBT Legislation, responded, "This is a factual misconception. Discrimination spreads under the influence of public figures who make scientifically incorrect statements. The remark should be corrected." However, Matsumura said he doesn't intend to correct it.
British Home Secretary Suella Braverman declared in Washington that fear of discrimination should no longer be sufficient grounds for granting asylum, according to Politico. Braverman—on the right of the U.K.'s governing Conservatives and seen as a leading candidate for the party's next leader—told the American Enterprise Institute think tank that the 1951 United Nations Refugee Convention "was an incredible achievement of its age," but that "we now live in a completely different time." Sonya Sceats, chief executive of the NGO Freedom from Torture, criticized Braverman, saying, "LGBTQI+ people are tortured in many countries for who they are and who they love, and their pain is no less than other survivors we treat in our therapy rooms." Sir Elton John has accused Braverman of comments that risk "legitimizing hate and violence" as he and Sir Ian McKellen led a fierce backlash against her controversial remarks about gay asylum seekers, per The Independent.
Human-rights activists are urging a nationally distributed newspaper in Bangladesh to end its continuous anti-gay statements, per Erasing 76 Crimes. The advocacy group JusticeMakers Bangladesh and its France-based affiliate have called on the Daily Sangram newspaper to apologize to the LGBTQ+ community and to stop spreading misinformation about homosexuality. The newspaper—backed by the conservative Islamist political party Jamaat E Islami Bangladesh—has claimed that students throughout Bangladesh are developing "homosexual inclinations," that some nations are at risk of destruction because of homosexuality, and that homosexuals have mental disorders and spread incurable diseases.
Sarah Ashton-Cirillo—the transgender American working as spokeswoman for the Ukrainian military—was suspended over comments she made in a video that were seen as threatening violence against Russians and that led to a complaint from Republican U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance, per The Advocate. Ukraine's Territorial Defense Forces stated on X (formerly Twitter) that Ashton-Cirillo's recent comments were not approved by the TDF or the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Ashton-Cirillo has posted a video, saying, in part, "Russia's war criminal propagandists will all be hunted down, and justice will be served as we in Ukraine are led on this mission by faith in God, liberty and complete liberation."
While India awaits the Supreme Court's verdict on legalizing marriage equality, an LGBTQ+ couple's recent wedding has created controversy, the BBC reported. Dimple, 27, and Manisha, 21, married in Bathinda with the blessings of their families. However, what was even more unusual was that their marriage took place in a gurdwara—a Sikh temple—with the bride and groom performing all traditional rituals. Among those criticizing the ceremony was Sikhism's highest priest Giani Raghbir Singh, who declared that "same-sex marriage was unnatural and contrary to Sikh ethics."
An exclusive new trailer revealing more of what's to come when British show Doctor Who returns this November has arrived—and it features Neil Patrick Harris playing "The Toymaker," an all-powerful enemy last seen in 1966, Deadline noted. Doctor Who returns in November with three special episodes featuring David Tennant as the Fourteenth Doctor, all coinciding with the show's 60th anniversary. Out actor Ncuti Gatwa's first episode as the Fifteenth Doctor will air over the period.
Erwin Olaf—a Dutch photographer whose work documented topics ranging from gay nightlife in Amsterdam to portraits of the Dutch royal family—has died at age 64, ABC News noted. His website had a statement saying that Olaf recently underwent a lung transplant. (According to a 2019 New York Times profile, Olaf had been diagnosed with emphysema in 1996 and had been told not to expect to live past 60, per ARTnews.) HIs photos featured lighting often influenced by Dutch master painters Rembrandt van Rijn and Johannes Vermeer, and they were shown in galleries around the world. Olaf is survived by husband Kevin Ray Edwards.
Thai actors and same-sex couple Newyear Kitiwhut and Both Nuttapong announced their engagement recently, marking the culmination of their 11-year love journey, Out noted. Kitiwhut took to Instagram to share the news, posting a series of photos with a caption that read, "From the very first day, say yes 13.9." The couple's chemistry extended beyond their personal lives, as they portrayed a gay couple in the popular Thai drama Top Secret Together.
On the flip side, Ollie King and Dan Harry Glendinning —who won the gay British game show I Kissed a Boy—have broken up, Out noted. King noted on social media, "Folks, it feels weird to be making a 'public' announcement about something so personal. But since many of you have been on the journey and supported us since day one, I want to let you know that Dan and I aren't together anymore. We are still mates and there's no bad blood, we'll still be hanging out, etc." Glendinning has been making news for joining a novel HIV-vaccine trial conducted in Europe.
On Good Morning Britain, Amy Winehouse's ex-husband, Blake Fielder-Civil, admitted he made "mistakes" during their relationship but no longer carries the sole "burden" of her death, according to People. When asked to elaborate on those "mistakes," Fielder-Civil, 41, replied, "I was a twentysomething-year-old drug addict. So I had absolutely no idea how to make myself clean, let alone somebody else who was a big cog in a machine for a record label, and there were vested interests in Amy carrying on performing." The interview took place on what would've been Winehouse's 40th birthday; she died at age 27 in July 2011.
Anthony Rota, the speaker of Canada's parliament, resigned after inviting a Ukrainian Nazi veteran to attend a special session of parliament, and then calling the man a "hero" amid two standing ovations, per The Guardian. The scandal began when lawmakers in Canada's parliament welcomed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy; following a speech by Zelenskiy, Rota singled out 98-year-old Yaroslav Hunka, whom he had invited to sit in the gallery, calling him a "Canadian hero." Later, it emerged that Hunka had been a member of the Waffen-SS "Galicia" Division or the SS 14th Waffen Division—a volunteer unit under the command of the Nazis.
Italian acting icon Sophia Loren, 89, is recovering from emergency surgery for a fractured hip following a fall in her home in Geneva, Switzerland, Variety noted, citing Italian media outlets. Italian national news agency Ansa said news of Loren's hospitalization was announced by a restaurant bearing her name that she was set to launch in the Italian port city of Bari.
Naked Attraction—one of the U.K.'s most infamous dating shows—was quietly added to the Max streaming service, and it's already causing quite a stir, The Hollywood Reporter noted. In each episode, a single "chooser" critiques and eliminates six potential dates standing on a stage by scrutinizing their fully nude bodies, which are gradually revealed one part at a time (faces are revealed last). When only two potential dates remain, the chooser strips out of their own clothes too, giving the remaining two contestants the opportunity to critique them.
Colombian judge Vivian Polania was suspended for making erotic videos on public property, Marca noted. One of them was apparently shot in the Palace of Justice in Cucuta on the day of the celebration of Love and Friendship in Colombia. The Judicial Disciplinary Commission of Norte de Santander imposed a sanction against Polania: She will be suspended from her post for three months, during which time she will not receive a salary. Polania has said that the video was part of a party that was held at the court and that its objective was to reward the best judge; however, she also mentioned that all the judges were drinking during working hours.
David Walliams filed suit against Britain's Got Talent producer Fremantle after he was fired last November for allegedly making sexually explicit comments about a contestant, Variety noted. Walliams was axed from the show last November after transcripts were leaked to The Guardian newspaper in which he reportedly made derogatory comments about contestants. Walliams was reportedly recorded calling one contestant, a senior citizen, a "c—t" and said of another contestant, who is female: "She thinks you want to fuck her, but you don't."
