Judge strikes Hong Kong gay-sex bans
Hong Kong High Court Judge Michael Hartmann struck down the Chinese region's bans on gay sex Aug. 24, calling them discriminatory and unconstitutional.
One of the laws punishes male sodomy with life in prison when one or both of the partners are under age 21.
Another bans gross indecency between males when one or both are under age 21. The corresponding law for heterosexual sex is pegged to age 16.
The case was brought by a 20-year-old gay man, William Roy Leung, who said the laws discriminated against him.
Judge Hartmann called the statutes a 'grave and arbitrary interference with the right of gay men to self-autonomy in the most intimate aspects of their private lives.'
Hong Kong has charged people under the laws at least 65 times in the past five years, activists said.
Aruba must recognize gay marriage
The Caribbean island of Aruba must recognize and register a marriage between a local woman and a Dutch woman, the island's Superior Court ruled Aug. 23.
'Since Aruba is part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, it must comply with demands of the Kingdom,' the court declared.
The Aruban government said it will appeal the ruling, taking it to the Netherlands' Supreme Court, local media reported. A spokesman for Aruban Prime Minister Nelson Oduber said he considers it a moral issue.
Kingdom law mandates that Aruba, the Netherlands and the Netherlands Antilles recognize each other's legal documents. But it also grants Aruba self-rule.
Charlene and Esther Oduber-Lamers got married in the Netherlands in 2001, shortly after it became the first nation in the world to legalize same-sex marriage. They then settled on Aruba.
In 2004, facing harassment after they sued for recognition of their union, they moved to the Netherlands.
The couple also was faced with Aruban immigration rules that prohibited Esther, the Dutch partner, from spending more than half of each year on the island. And Charlene's government employer had refused to grant Esther spousal health coverage.
Aruba has a population of 71,566.
Argentine bishop resigns after gay-sex tape surfaces
The 64-year-old Roman Catholic bishop of Santiago del Estero, Argentina, resigned Aug. 19 after a videotape circulated showing him having gay sex with a 23-year-old.
Diocesan authorities claimed Juan Carlos Maccarone stepped down for health reasons, but the resignation came just two days before the prominent daily newspaper Clarín publicized the tape.
Santiago del Estero is 600 miles northwest of Buenos Aires.