Japanese electronics maker Panasonic Corp plans to change its company rules to recognize same-sex marriages, joining a growing trend toward acceptance in a country where being openly gay largely remains taboo, Reuters reported. Panasonic said it is reviewing changes to its code of conduct that would ban discrimination based on sexual orientation. It is a rare move for a major Japanese corporation. The changes, if implemented, are set to come into effect in April.
The Dominican Republic's LGBT Chamber of Commerce was inaugurated at a luxury hotel in downtown Santo Domingo—and it is being pushed almost singlehandedly by the United States government and its taxpayers, according to Lifesite. The Embassy of the United States of America, the LGBT Chamber of Commerce of the Dominican Republic ( CCLGBTRD ) and the United States Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce ( NGLCC ), under the auspices of the United States Agency for International Development ( USAID ), were responsible for the new chamber of commerce. The U.S. ambassador to the Dominican Republic, Wally Brewster, is openly gay.
The United States turned to cultural diplomacy to push gay rights at the United Nations by taking 15 U.N. ambassadors—including those from Russia, Gabon and Namibia—to see an award-winning lesbian-themed musical on Broadway, Reuters reported. Samantha Power, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said the production Fun Home "brings home the challenges that LGBTI [people] are facing every day around the world." Last year, Fun Home ( adopted from Alison Bechdel's 2006 graphic memoir of the same name ) won five Tony Awards.
In South Africa, hundreds came out to celebrate Cape Town's gay pride —but not all in attendance were happy, EWN reported. At the march, some remembered victims of hate crimes and to raise awareness about safe sex. But Free Gender's Funeka Soldaat feels the event is not inclusive: "There are other people who have their own issues but are not given a chance to say what's happening in their areas, especially outside Cape Town, lesbians are being harassed."
In Chile, out singer Ricky Martin spoke out in favor of same-sex marriage, The Washington Blade reported. "I want marriage equality for Chile," said Martin in a video that Fundacion Iguales, a Chilean LGBT advocacy group, released. Martin recently met with Fundacion Iguales President Luis Larrain and other Chilean LGBT-rights advocates in the country's capital of Santiago. U.S. Ambassador to Chile Mike Hammer was among those who also attended the meeting.
An openly gay Israeli soldier has spoken out against his country's leaders, Queerty reported. Omer Nahmany, a 25-year-old second lieutenant in the artillery corps, wrote a response on Facebook to his government's failure to pass a batch of LGBTQ legislation, including one bill that would treat the families of fallen gay soldiers the same as those of straight ones. In the post, which GayBuzzer translated, Nahmany says he feels "abandoned" by his country's legislative officials.
Dutch LGBT-rights groups welcomed a vote by lawmakers to give homosexual refugees separate shelters after several received death threats from fellow asylum-seekers, Expatica.com reported. "This is a major breakthrough for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender asylum seekers who are in desperate need of help," said Tanja Ineke of the Amsterdam-based gay rights group COC. The COC had warned that urgent action was needed to prevent serious injury or even death.
Marios Frixou and Fanos Eleftheriades got married in the first public same-sex wedding in Cyprus, Fox News reported. Their hope is to offer other gay couples on the small east Mediterranean island nation the courage to be open about their love for each other. Late last year, lawmakers paved the way for the weddings by passing a civil-union law that, in effect, recognizes same-sex marriage. It was a big step forward for gay rights in Cyprus, which only decriminalized homosexuality 18 years ago.
Police are investigating a British Labour MP for yanking the hair of a female aide after discovering she is a lesbian, Gay Star News reported. Carolyn Harris, a member of parliament for Swansea East, is said to have bullied and assaulted Jenny Lee Clarke. Clarke also claims Harris said she'd embarrass her in the office by saying she wore "dyke shoes" and asked her about her sex life.
A postgraduate student at a British university ( Sheffield University ) has been reportedly expelled after calling gay people an "abomination" on Facebook, Gay Star News noted. Felix Ngole, 38, was told to leave his second year masters course in social work after the university ruled he had "transgressed boundaries which are not deemed appropriate for someone entering the social work profession." He had cited Leviticus to support Kim Davis, the Kentucky clerk who refused to issue marriage certificates for same-sex couples. Ngole is appealing the decision.
Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe has said he doesn't care if he has to turn down aid if that means his country has to accept gay rights, Gay Star News reported. On his 92nd birthday event, which cost nearly $1 million, he gave a speech to oppose LGBTI equality. Zimbabwe has requested $1.6 billion of support; no aid organization has demanded the country pass same-sex marriage.
A member of the Human Rights Commission of the Cameroon Bar Association has said that the repeal of Cameroon's anti-LGBT law is long overdue, 76Crimes.com noted. In fact, said barrister Walter Atoh at a workshop on human rights in Douala, "It is absolutely sickening and ridiculous that in the 21st century a homosexual act gets a person in Cameroon six months to five years imprisonment." In connection with that workshop, Atoh wrote an open letter to Cameroon President Paul Biya in which he argued that the country's anti-gay law violates the nation's international treaty obligations.
A Brazilian governor has fired his official human-rights secretary because the man expressed a belief in curing homosexuality, the Macau Daily Times reported. Ezequiel Teixeira—also an evangelical minister—told the O Globo newspaper that he believed in a "gay cure" comparable to a cure for AIDS or cancer and declared his opposition to same-sex marriage. After the publication of the interview, Rio de Janeiro state Gov. Luiz Fernando Pezao said he was "totally opposed" to Teixeira's comments and replaced him with Paulo Melo, a former president of the state assembly.
Two dads in Toronto have spoken out after they found a photo of them being used by a candidate in Ireland who opposes surrogacy "for men," PinkNews reported. The photo was snapped of partners BJ Barone and Frank Nelson after their son was delivered via a surrogate in Toronto two years ago. Irish Independent candidate for Kerry Mary Fitzgibbon had posted the image to her Facebook page alongside a picture of a mother and baby.
A gay former UKIP member has resigned from the party in protest at the selection of a candidate, who once compared gay-rights campaigners with Nazis, to run in this May's London Assembly election, Get West London reported. Alan Craig—who was also invited to speak at a "gay cure" conference last year—is UKIP's choice to stand in the southwest London constituency. Gay campaigner Richard Hendron, who stood for UKIP in Brentford & Isleworth at the 2015 general election, said Craig's selection meant he "could simply not defend the party anymore."
A Nigerian asylum-seeker who claimed to be gay but then raped a woman in 2014 has been sentenced to serve five years in prison in the Republic of Ireland, according to Gay Star News. Kenneth Udeh entered Ireland in 2009 and applied for asylum, claiming he had been persecuted because of his Christian faith in Nigeria. Justice Patrick McCarthy noted that the victim did not feel Udeh should be allowed to remain in the country but said that was not a matter for his court to decide.
Former ormula One racer Jaime Alguersuari shared a passionate kiss on his Instagram account, Gay Star News noted. The man he's kissing is marketer Isra Garc�a, who also posted the photo and wrote, "I'm gay too, but sometimes I love women." Alguersuari retired at 25 to work as DJ, releasing an album with Blanco y Negro, and is well-regarded in his native Spain. If he is gay, Alguersuari would be the second Formula One driver ever to be out of the closet in the sport.
