Mayor's lover can't succeed her
The same-sex partner of the outgoing mayor of Viseu, Pará, Brazil, cannot succeed her because the constitution prohibits executive posts in local government from passing between family members, the nation's top electoral court ruled unanimously Oct. 1.
Eulina Rabelo had to drop out of the race when the court ruled that she and Mayor Astrid Maria Cunha e Silva are a family, Reuters reported.
It's unclear what else might follow from the decision to treat the couple as married. Only one Brazilian state, Rio Grande do Sul, offers same-sex civil unions, but those unions have been recognized by the federal social-security system.
Viseu, population 52,139, is located some 2,000 miles (3,200 km) north of Rio de Janeiro.
U.N. partner benefits to continue
The United Nations will continue to offer spousal benefits to employees whose home countries have recognized their same-sex unions.
The directive took effect last February but the General Assembly—pressured by the Vatican and numerous Islamic and African nations—insisted that Secretary-General Kofi Annan reconsider it.
A new, revised policy no longer mentions the apparently problematic phrase 'domestic partnership' but reaffirms, 'The practice of the organization when determining the personal status of staff members for the purpose of entitlements ... has been done, and will continue to be done, by reference to the law of nationality of the staff member concerned.'
The U.N. previously recognized only marriages between one man and up to four women. Several U.N. member nations accept polygamy.
Countries that provide some degree of legal recognition of same-sex couples include Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium (full marriage), Brazil, Canada (full marriage in five provinces and one territory), Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Israel, the Netherlands (full marriage), New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States (five states, including full marriage in Massachusetts). The registered-partnership laws in Denmark, Iceland, Finland, Norway and Sweden are largely indistinguishable from marriage.
Britain's Pink Paper shuts down
Britain's 17-year-old gay weekly The Pink Paper shut down Oct. 4 due to financial problems.
The magazine (it used to be a newspaper and did not change its name when it adopted a magazine format) was distributed free around Great Britain in bars, bookstores and elsewhere.
General manager David Bridle said the magazine faced serious competition for advertising dollars from Web sites such as Gay.com and Gaydar.co.uk.
The company will continue to publish its other gay magazine, the weekly Boyz.
While The Pink Paper was news-focused, Boyz is an entertainment and listings publication. Bridle said it is more profitable.
(Rex Wockner was a contributor to The Pink Paper.)
France launches PinkTV
France's first gay TV network, PinkTV, launches Oct. 25 on cable and satellite. It will cost about $11 a month.
The network's sportscaster is a miniskirt-wearing crossdresser, the Wonder Woman series will air every evening, and porn will be presented overnight.
The channel also will offer Japanese manga cartoons, movies, documentaries, music shows, experimental videos, talk shows and Queer As Folk, according to the Associated Press.
Gay skinheads
gather in Berlin
Gay skinheads will gather in Berlin Nov. 5 to 7. Events include 'Stomping Skins' at Scheune Nov. 5. Attendees must wear 'skingear' and have hair no longer than three millimeters. www.blf.de/oi/index-e.htm.