One of the top warlords and a close advisor to Chechen strongman Ramzan Kadyrov was killed recently in the battle for Antonov Airport, also known as Hostomel Airportan international cargo airport and testing facility northwest of the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, The Washington Blade reported. Magomed Tushayev, head of the "141 motorized regiment" of the Chechnya National Guard, was killed during a skirmish with the Ukrainian military's elite Alpha Group. Tushayevone of three top advisors and military commanders for Kadyrovwas directly involved in the campaign of terrorizing the LGBTQ+ community in Chechnya.
Guatemala's Congress has voted to prohibit same-sex marriage, Yahoo! News noted. The law will also prohibit the teaching of sexual diversity in schools and increase prison sentences for women seeking abortions. In order to come into force, the law still needs to be signed by Guatemala's president, Alejandro Giammattei. The "Life and Family Protection Law" was passed by an overwhelming majority in the conservative-led Congress. Only eight lawmakers out of 160 voted against it.
However, in Chile, the marriage-equality law is now in effect, The Los Angeles Blade noted. Javier Silva and Jaime Nazar, who have been together for seven years, became the first same-sex couple to legally marry in the country. The wed March 10 at the Chilean Civil Registry and Identification Service office in the Providencia neighborhood of the country's capital of Santiago as their two young children watched. Consuelo Morales and Pabla Heuser, a lesbian couple who has been together for 17 years, married in the Civil Registry office less than half an hour later.
Also regarding Chile, pro-LGBTQ+ Chile President Gabriel Boric has been sworn in, The Washington Blade reported. Last December, he defeated Jose Antonio Kast, a far-right former congressman, in the second round of Chile's presidential elections. Education Minister Marco Antonio Avila and Sports Minister Alexandra Benado are openly gay and lesbian, respectively. Boric and his government took office a day after Chile's marriage-equality law took effect. In addition, Emilia Schneider became the first openly transgender woman sworn into the Chilean Congress.
Several orchestras have recently announced changes to their concert programs, removing the gay legendary Russia composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky from their lineups amid the Russian war on Ukraine. For example, according to Newsweek, Wales' Cardiff Philharmonic Orchestra announced it would be removing Tchaikovsky's "1812 Overture" from a March 18 concert. Tchaikovsky, who died in 1893, was a Russian composer of the Romantic Period, best known for his ballets The Nutcracker, Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty as well as several more famous concertos and symphonies, including the 1812 Overture.
LGBTQ+ people have united to give Harry Potter author JK Rowling a simple message: No, "innumerable gay people" do not oppose trans rights, PinkNews reported. On March 12, Rowling tweeted that "innumerable gay people" have been in touch with her expressing the view that trans rights are "undermining" women's rights. However, RuPaul's Drag Race UK figure Divina De Camp posted to Rowling: "What you are doing is a disgrace[;] you harm trans people and LGB+ people with your rhetoric." In conversations with PinkNews as well as in the hashtag "JK Doesn't Speak For Me," queer people around the globe sought to stress that they agree with individuals and organizations that back trans rights.
Amy Lennox will play Sally Bowles and out actor/singer Fra Fee will play the emcee in the London version of Cabaret on March 21-June 25, Broadway World noted. Fee most recently starred as Kazi in the hit Disney+ series Hawkeye, set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe; Lennox received an Olivier nomination for Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Musical for her portrayal of Lauren in the West End production of Kinky Boots. They appeared together in the production The Last Five Years, in Belfast.
Russian protest art collective Pussy Riot's released the single "Laugh It Off," featuring New York-based artist Verite and rapper Latasha, per a press release. "Laugh" is the second track from the upcoming project to be released via Neon Gold Records later this year. Nadya Tolokonnikova elaborated on "Laugh It Off," which was released specifically on International Day of Gender Equality: "Women-identified and LGBTQ+ people don't need to be empowered; we need tools and funds to empower ourselves."
British-American athlete Gus Kenworthy told Attitude he agrees "wholeheartedly" with out British Olympic diver Tom Daley's zero-tolerance policy when it comes to permitting countries that criminalize same-sex sexual relations to compete in the Olympicsand that he would welcome the opportunity to work with Daley on the issue, per out.com . "I saw him in Tokyo just after he and Matty [Lee] won the synchro event and then briefly interviewed him because I was there with NBC," Kenworthy said. "Since then, there hasn't been much overlap, but I would love to work with him."
British actor/comedian Eddie Izzard has found her first starring role as a woman in the new Hammer Films horror movie Doctor Jekyll, out.com noted. The film is the latest in a long line of adaptations of Robert Louis Stevenson's famous 1886 novella The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde. In it, Izzard will play Dr. Nina Jekyll, a reclusive scientist who finds friendship with her newly hired assistant Rob (Scott Chambers) as they have to work together to prevent Hyde from destroying her life. This will be Izzard's first starring role as a woman since she clarified her gender presentation in December 2020.
A Russian gymnast was called out for his "shocking behavior" after wearing a symbol in support of Russia's invasion of Ukraine on a medals podium, USA Today noted. According to The Guardian, Ivan Kuliak sported a "Z" on his leotard (supporting the Russian invasion) while standing next to Ukrainian gymnast Illia Kovtun at the Gymnastics World Cup event in Doha, Qatar. The International Gymnastics Federation said it will ask the Gymnastics Ethics Foundation to open disciplinary proceedings against Kuliak for his behavior at the event.