Brazilian Justice Minister Flavio Dino announced a plea agreement with one of two police officers accused of assassinating Rio de Janeiro councilwoman Marielle Franco, a Black lesbian and human-rights activist who was killed by gunfire from a passing car in 2018, according to The Advocate. Former police officers Ronnie Less and Elcio de Queiroz have been in custody for the crime since their arrests in 2019. Queiroz reportedly admitted he drove the car used in the assassination but claimed Lessa fired the gun that killed Franco. Dino said the investigation has pointed to a wider conspiracy involving elements of organized crime and paramilitary groups.
Thirteen-year-old trans Australian schoolboy Onyx John was found dead at his mother's home in Beaudesert, Queensland after dying by suicide, PinkNews noted. John's family said the teen took his own life because of the bullying he endured at school after adopting he/him pronouns. His death was announced in a public Facebook group by his sister, Ivy Lambert. "This world was just too cruel and nasty," she wrote.
Reza Tsaghati—an official in charge of enforcing Iran's morality code and hijab requirement for women—was suspended recently after an unconfirmed video released to social media supposedly showed him having sex with a young man, The Advocate noted. The video was first posted by Radio Gilan on its Telegram channel. Government officials have denied any advance knowledge of Tsaghati's alleged sexual activities.
Paolo Ballesteros is returning as the main host and judge of Drag Race Philippines, alongside judges Jiggly Caliente and KaladKaren, Out noted. Guest judges will include Filipino-American beauty influencer Bretman Rock as well as Pangina Heals, Anne Curtis, Gloria Diaz, Tessa Prieto, Maricel Soriano and Kim Molina, among others. The second season of Drag Race Philippines premiered Aug. 2 on WOW Presents Plus.
And Drag Race Germany will premiere Sept. 5, per a press release. It will air on WOW Presents Plus globally as well as on Paramount+ in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Fenton Bailey, Randy Barbato, Tom Campbell and RuPaul Charles executive-produce the series for World of Wonder.
British Rowing will now ban transgender athletes from competing in women's events, according to Reuters, citing The Daily Telegraph. More than 80% of the body's members reportedly had advocated for the change. World Rowing allows transgender athletes to compete in the female category if they reduce their testosterone to a particular level for 12 months. World Athletics, World Aquatics and cycling's governing body UCI are among global federations that have tightened their participation rules over the last couple of years; also, soccer's world governing body FIFA is reviewing its transgender eligibility policies.
In the UK, a man known only as Josh (to protect his identity) expressed shock and dismay after a painter refused to provide service to him based on his sexual orientation, according to Out. After visiting Josh—and despite the UK's 2010 Equality Act explicitly banning discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation—the decorator sent a text message saying that he couldn't proceed with the job due to his Christian beliefs and "recommended guidelines at my church." While Josh and his partner do not plan to pursue legal action, they do intend to report the incident to the local trading standards body.
The Washington Blade interviewed out Polish lawmaker Robert Biedron. "The day I found out that there are people who are like me—who can live with dignity," he said. "This was the day that I knew I'm unstoppable. And nothing will stop me from this fight." Same-sex couples cannot legally marry in Poland; a May ranking by ILGA-Europe placed Poland at the bottom of the EU, and 42nd of the 49 countries in Europe, when it came to LGBTQ+ rights. The full article is at www.washingtonblade.com/2023/07/28/meet-polands-out-gay-lawmaker-fighting-for-lgbtq-rights/ .
Hong Kong public broadcaster RTHK ended the city's first and only LGBTQ+ radio program after 17 years in a move some in the community have called a step backward, The South China Morning Post reported. "We are going to experience a long winter for LGBTQ rights," said Brian Leung Siu-fai, the longtime host of the late night show We Are Family, which aired from midnight to 2 a.m. every Sunday. The broadcaster gave no reasons for ending the show's long run, with a spokesman telling the Post it was cancelled because of "programming strategies."
Chilean Olympic gymnast Tomas Gonzalez has come out as gay in his autobiography, entitled Champion: Lessons, Triumphs and Falls of an Olympic Gymnast, Outsports noted. "I suppose it is no longer an issue, but yes, I am gay," Gonzalez told the website Latercera. "And if it is about making it public, I prefer to do it in this book." Gonzalez competed at the 2012 London, 2016 Rio and 2021 Tokyo Olympics; however, he did not medal, with his best finish being fourth in two events in 2012.
British coffeehouse chain Costa Coffee has been the subject of conservative backlash, per PinkNews. The hashtag #BoycottCostaCoffee has been shared widely on social media after one of its cafes was pictured featuring an illustration of a person with top surgery scars. Anti-trans campaigner Maya Forstater linked the image to "self-harm" despite top surgery being found to improve young trans people's quality of life.
Warner Bros. apologized after its Japanese branch criticized the company's decision to publicly support the Barbenheimer craze on social media, according to Entertainment Weekly. "Warner Brothers regrets its recent insensitive social-media engagement," the company said in a statement to EW. "The studio offers a sincere apology." The remarks come one day after the Barbie Japan Twitter account posted a statement denouncing the online movement that links Greta Gerwig's lighter Barbie with Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer—which chronicles the creation of the atomic bomb that killed at least 225,000 people in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
U.S. director Spike Lee and out gay Spanish counterpart Pedro Almodovar are the first honorees announced for this year's Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) Tribute Awards, Variety noted. Almodovar, who won the Oscar for original screenplay for Talk to Her (2002), will receive the Jeff Skoll Award in Impact Media presented by Participant. Lee, an Academy Award winner for BlacKkKlansman in adapted screenplay and an honorary Oscar recipient in 2016, will receive the TIFF Ebert Director Award.
Prime Video acquired helmer Marco Kreuzpaintner and openly gay film director Roland Emmerich's gladiator series Those About to Die in multiple European territories, Variety noted. The 10-episode first season will debut exclusively on Prime Video in Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, Austria, Switzerland, Ireland, Poland, Turkey, Andorra, Monaco, Luxembourg and Belgium. As previously reported, streaming platform Peacock has secured the U.S. rights.
The International LGBTQ+ Travel Association Foundation announced that Argentina-based Lunfarda Travel is the recipient of the 2023 Impact Award, which honors responsible tourism development, per a press release. The award will be presented at IGLTA's 40th Anniversary Global Convention in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on Oct. 4-7 The founder of Lunfarda, Mariana Radisic Koliren, was a recipient of the 2022 David Martin Small Business Fellowship, an IGLTA Foundation fellowship program.
CNN noted that authorities in the Mexican city of Chihuahua have moved to bar performances of songs that "promote violence against women," mentioning high levels of domestic violence. The city council unanimously approved the measure on July 26, according to Mayor Marco Bonilla; fines would be the equivalent of $40,000-70,000.
UK alt band Yonaka—composed of Theresa Jarvis (vocals), Alex Crosby (bass) and George Werbrouck-Edwards (guitar)—has released the new EP Welcome To My House via LAVA/Republic Records, per a press release. Jarvis said, "Each song represents a memory or emotion inside of me. The experiences I have gone through have all spent time inside my house and consumed me."
