A boy and a girl, each 16, were found guilty of murdering a transgender teenager in northwest England earlier this year in a knife attack, per a Yahoo! News item that cited the AP. Brianna Ghey, 16, was stabbed with a hunting knife 28 times in broad daylight after being lured to a park in the town of Warrington on Feb. 11. A jury of seven men and five women convicted the two following a four-week trial at Manchester Crown Court.
French Archbishop Herve Giraud praised Pope Francis' decision to allow blessings for couples in so-called "irregular situations" such as same-sex couples, saying it is a way to take people where they are and help them grow in God's grace, La Croix International noted. Giraud—who was ordained to the episcopate more than 20 years ago—made headlines last year when he met with an association of French Catholic parents who have LGBTQ+ sons and/or daughters. "I myself could give a blessing to a same-sex couple, because I believe it's based on a beautiful idea of blessing, according to the Gospel and the style of Christ," he said.
On a related note, in the Philippines, Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas released guidelines related to the recently published Vatican document allowing priests to bless couples in "irregular situations and same-sex couples," per Rappler. Villegas, president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines during 2013-2017, is the first Filipino bishop to publicly release guidance on the landmark ruling Fiducia supplicans, published on Dec. 18 by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of Faith and approved by Pope Francis. Guidelines released by a Catholic bishop only covers the immediate jurisdiction.
A trial of an experimental HIV vaccine in Uganda, Tanzania and South Africa was stopped early after preliminary data suggested it would not be effective in preventing infection, Reuters noted. The trial for the vaccine—part of a wider initiative called PrEPVacc—began in December 2020 and was due to end in 2024. The news is the latest setback to efforts to find an effective vaccine against a virus that has claimed about 40 million lives globally. Another 39 million are living with HIV—the majority of them in Africa.
However, in the UK, singer Sir Elton John recently addressed lawmakers as the government announced plans to expand an HIV testing program as part of its aim to end new transmissions of the virus in England by 2030, per Reuters. John spoke at a private reception in the Houses of Parliament to honor his work in the fight against HIV/AIDS as part of celebrations ahead of World AIDS Day. The British government said it planned to roll out a screening program to 46 more locations—something initiated by the Elton John AIDS Foundation—under which people having blood tests in some English hospitals are tested for HIV unless they opt out.
The editor-in-chief of the UK LGBTQ+ publication Attitude magazine paid tribute to the late musical superstar George Michael, who passed away on Christmas Day 2016. Cliff Joannou wrote, in part, "I connected with George Michael on so many levels. My older sister was a huge fan; I experienced his early music through her. His father was Greek Cypriot. Snap! I also grew up the son of Greek Cypriot immigrants and had the weight of cultural expectation to work through. Years later, [as] fate would have it, I even ended up on an internship working in the press office at Virgin Records after he released Older, his third solo album. … Then there was the 'gay' thing." Also, he wrote, "[Michael] was pop's first pin-up to come out and made it OK for gay artists to be sex symbols: Olly Alexander and Troye Sivan owe him a huge debt."
In Albania, many women activists are subjected to disturbing levels of online hate, per Balkan Insight. Patriarchal norms, legislative gaps and a climate of impunity mean many social media users in Albania feel free to be extremely misogynistic. According to a study by the Institute for Democracy and Mediation, 83 percent of women human-rights defenders who were interviewed said they had experienced a violation of their digital rights at least once in their career. Women activists cited incidents of sexist language, organized smear campaigns, sexual harassment, and threats of sexual assault, rape or murder. Just over 37 percent of respondents said online hate speech was their biggest worry.
Despite condemnation from the White House, the U.S. nonprofit group Family Watch International has faced persistent accusations of spreading anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment in several African countries, The Advocate reported. The organization has hosted key politicians pushing anti-LGBTQ+ laws, and founder Sharon Slater has addressed or convened multiple "family values" conferences across the African continent, in person and remotely. However, as well as being influenced by U.S. evangelical groups, several African nations' anti-LGBTQ+ laws have their roots in the colonial era, including in Britain's anti-sodomy provisions.
Republican U.S. Rep. Tim Walberg, of Michigan, encouraged the Ugandan government to "stand firm" amid the international backlash against the country's Anti-Homosexuality Act, which includes the death penalty in some cases, The Advocate noted. Walberg made the remarks at Uganda's National Prayer Breakfast, which featured anit-LGBTQ+ Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni in the audience. According to reporting by The Young Turks, the trip was paid for by the secretive conservative group The Family, also known as the Fellowship Foundation.
In the Czech Republic, more than 60 large companies called upon Prime Minister Petr Fiala to introduce marriage equality, with a letter saying this is necessary for the economy, according to CNE. Vodafone CEO Petr Dvorak presented the letter to Fiala; in the letter, the companies stress that it is good for the economic and social development of the country if same-sex couples are allowed to marry. Fiala is known for his attempts to get same-sex marriage legalized, per Radio Prague. Dvorak hopes that the change in law will attract more employees from outside the country.
In the UK, the National Education Union (NEU) warned that schools must be involved "properly" in developing new transgender guidance that needs to work alongside their existing safeguarding duties, The Guardian reported. "The guidance promised by [the education secretary] Gillian Keegan has been heralded for months, but is still yet to be seen," an NEU spokesperson said. "When it is finally published, the government has said that it will be non-statutory, in draft form, and out for consultation for nine weeks." Prime Minister Rishi Sunak had initially pledged to deliver the guidance by the end of the summer term but missed his own deadline after months of internal disagreements on the issue.
Wander Luxe, which caters to queer travelers, noted that the gay-friendly remote island of Vieques "is the Caribbean's best-kept secret." Only accessible from mainland Puerto Rico, Vieques is a 20-minute flight by charter plane or a slightly longer ferry ride from Ceiba that terminates in Isabel Segunda. The island has several beaches (including Playa Negra and Playa La Chiva) and visitors can kayak at Mosquito Bay, or go snorkeling or horseback riding.
LGBTQ+ group Outright International announced that "Celebration of Courage," its annual awards gala," will take place Monday, June 3, 2024, at NYC's Pier Sixty, according to its website. The group states, "Celebration of Courage highlights Outright's achievements and elevates and advances activists and our allies leading the charge to gain equal rights for LGBTIQ people in their countries and around the world." Honorees at the 2023 event included the Eastern Caribbean Alliance for Diversity and Equality (ECADE), the queer cast of the Paramount+ Original Series Star Trek: Discovery and the philanthropic site Google.org; drag personality BeBe Zahara Benet was the host.
Bandit, who starred in the second season of Drag Race Thailand in 2019, has passed away at age 38, per Out, citing Entertainment Weekly. Known for being a skilled fashion designer, Bandit ultimately ended up fourth during his run on the show. Drag Race Thailand co-host Pangina Heals told EW the drag community was "completely lost because Bandit has been a light. He has taught me. I would not be the same person I am today without Bandit teaching me about fashion."
COVID cases continue to rise across the U.S. and the newest COVID variant, JN.1, has accounted for more than 44% of the cases, USA Today noted. The CDC estimates that JN.1 is strongest in the northeast U.S. including New Jersey and New York, where it accounts for nearly 57% of cases. First detected in the U.S. in September, JN.1 has been recorded in 12 countries including Canada, China, France, the UK, Singapore, and Sweden. Some of the symptoms include fever or chills, headaches, sore throat, "brain fog," fatigue and breathing difficulties.
Out actor Neil Patrick Harris was a guest star on the British show Doctor, playing the villain The Toymaker—but he had never heard of the show before showrunner Russell T Davies approached him, according to Entertainment Weekly. "He'd never heard of it in his life, bless him," Davies said. "I was lucky enough to work with the great man on a show called It's a Sin—about the AIDS crisis in the 1980s—and working with him was such a joy. The Toymaker—he's kind of the god of games, so he shuffles cards, he does magic tricks and all of that fits Neil Patrick Harris." Harris played the role on the show's final 60th-anniversary special episode, "The Giggle."
U.S. gymnast Simone Biles—who made a stellar comeback after withdrawing from various finals at the 2020 Olympics—was named the AP female athlete of the year for the third time, ESPN noted. Biles' triumphant return included her record eighth U.S. national championship and a sixth world all-around gold. The seven-time Olympic medalist was followed by University of Iowa basketball star Caitlin Clark and Ballon d'Or winner Aitana Bonmatí of the World Cup champion Spanish soccer team.
