In Russia, President Dmitri Medvedev has fired Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov after the mayor questioned the president's fitness to rule, according to the New York Times. Luzhkov, a member of the old guard, was under pressure to resign as Medvedev attempts to make the country's views more modern. Luzhkov had been heavily criticized for his autocratic rule, which incorporated everything from destroying historic buildings to calling homosexuality "satanic" and clashing with gay-rights organizations.
In London, England, gay waiter Vincent Ma is claiming that his former employers sexually harassed him, according to an Advocate.com item. Ma said that " [ o ] n one occasion, my nipples were popped out due to low temperature and one manager said to me it was sexy." Ma also said that a customer tweaked his nipples; when Ma complained to the manager, his employer allegedly asked, "Did you like it?"
In England, marriage-equality advocate Ed Milibrand has been elected the new leader of that country's Labour Party, according to GayNZ.com . Milibrand, 40, actually defeated his own brother, David, for the position. Writing for the Pink News website recently, Ed Milibrand said that civil partnerships were "not good enough," adding, "I know that civil partnerships were a major step forward, but I also hear those who want the genuine equality of gay marriage." Now, the Liberal Democrats and the Labour Party have leaders who favor same-sex marriage.
In Sweden, two transwomen were assaulted at a transgender conference in the city of Malmo, according to Pink News. The women were attending the third European Transgender Council; they received minor injuries in what authorities are calling a transphobic assault. The victims said that men started yelling at them; the abusive group eventually threw eggs at the transwomen.
VisitDenmark has announced the launch of its new LGBT campaign"cOPENhagen: Open For Everyone"which spotlights and celebrates the diversity in Denmark's capital city. VisitDenmark has debuted a new Gay Copenhagen Microsite, Facebook and Twitter page, as well as an LGBT Copenhagen Blog Feed. Last year, Hotel & Resort Insider named Copenhagen one of the world's top seven most gay-friendly destinations.
In Scotland, two men have been charged in the attack of a gay man who was attacked so violently he was beaten unconscious, according to Pink News. The victim, who wished to remain anonymous, said that he was attacked because of his sexual orientation. He added that, although he could not recall much of the attack, his female friend said that four men had yelled anti-gay slurs at him and threatened to stab the victim and his friend.
Tafatul Sembiring, the information minister of Indonesia, has claimed that he did not mean to offend anyone when he tweeted anti-gay statements, according to an Advocate.com item. Sembiring tweeted about parts of the Koran that preached against homosexuality and also posted that AIDS means "Akibat Itunya Dipakai Sembarangan," or "because they were reckless about where they put their genitals." In the past, Sembiring has blamed natural disasters on gays and lesbians.