In Serbia, the interior ministry banned a gay-pride parade from taking place in the capital of Belgrade, according to Pink News. The ban is the second consecutive one after ultranationalists threatened the march and the Serbian Orthodox Church condemned it. "Based on all security estimates and recommendations, the interior ministry made the decision that it is necessary to ban all gatherings announced for Oct. 6, including the pride march, for the sake of citizens' safety," Prime Minister (and Police Chief) Ivica Dacic said in a statement.
South Africa has become the first country in the world to recognize the rainbow flag as a national symbol, according to Gay Star News. South Africa's department of arts and culture announced the registry of the flag following an application by the South African version of the rainbow flag's designer, Eugene Brockman. South Africa's post-apartheid constitution was the first in the world to ban sexual orientation-based discrimination; in 2006, it became the first African nation to legalize same-sex marriage.
In Uruguay, a transgender woman was killed—the fifth trans-related murder in the country this year, according to Gay Star News. The victim was found in a park in the capital city of Montevideo by a man who thought she was sleeping. The victim's body was mutilated and partially burned. In the past few years, the South American country has advanced gay rights by legalizing same-sex civil unions and adoption of children by same-sex parents; also out gays and lesbians can serve in the military.
Rev. Paul Gibson, 39, has left the Church of Scotland over the issue of gay clergy, Pink News reported. In leaving the church, Gibson—now with Scotland's Free Church—cited the church's "erroneous liberal agenda" and of the "systematic dismantling of the true gospel." He also said many others will probably follow suit.
In Canada, a transgender-support group in Vancouver is mourning the loss of one of its members after she was stabbed to death, according to Pink News. The victim, 26-year-old January Marie Lapuz, volunteered as a performer and social coordinator with Sher Vancouver, a group for LGBT South Asians. Alex Sangha, founder of Sher Vancouver, said Lapuz had a positive effect on almost everyone she met.
In Italy, a symbolic wedding involving a lesbian couple has stirred controversy, Queerty.com noted. Bologna town councilor Sergio Lo Giudice—a former president of the pro-LGBT organization Arcigay—married two women at the Hospice Seragnoli, a hospital for the terminally ill. (Same-sex marriage is illegal in the country.) Despite the marriage having no legal weight, local bishop Giovanni Silvagni called it "a move against nature and against the order." However, Franco Grillini, regional councilor for the Italy of Values party, defended Lo Giudice's move.
Also in Italy, the right wing is criticizing Milan Mayor Giuliano Pisapia for supporting gay rights, including adoption by same-sex couples, according to Gay Star News. Pisapia's new Registro delle Unioni Civili is a sort of civil partnership, valid only locally. The strongest critics of the mayor's move seems to be politicians with the Lega Nord party. At Milan's city council, on the Lega Nord's desk, three dolls appeared; a note read, "This is the symbol of the fact we stand for children, not for gay parents."
In Brazil, the attorney general of the state of Rio de Janeiro annulled an anti-discrimination law protecting LGBT people, Gay Star News reported. The law had been on the books for more than 12 years; however, the attorney general said it had been introduced in an unconstitutional manner. Sergio Cabral, the governor of the state of Rio de Janeiro, has sent a new identical anti-discrimination law for voting in the state's assembly.
Liverpool, England's, gay-culture festival Homotopia has cancelled a two-year international arts project in Russia because of fears of homophobic retaliation from St. Petersburg authorities, according to the Liverpool Daily Post. Artistic director Gary Everett and two colleagues were supposed to fly out to St. Petersburg to launch the project; however, they are afraid of either being fined or imprisoned. Earlier this year, the governor of St. Petersburg changed the city's "administrative offenses" to include the "propaganda of sodomy, lesbianism, bisexuality and transgenderism to minors."
In Britain, same-sex couple Barrie and Tony Drewitt-Barlow were rescued from the roof of their brand new car after they became stranded in a flooded road, according to the Daily Mail. The couple, who have had five children by a surrogate, tried to drive through a road with flowing water five feet deep when they became stuck. It was believed they drove their Range Rover into the water in the dark by mistake.
In Australia, parliamentary Speaker Peter Slipper has resigned after text messages with a gay former staffer revealed sexist and vulgar language, according to Pink News. The messages, revealed as part of court proceedings against Slipper, described female genitalia as looking like "a mussel removed from its shell." The gay individual, James Ashby, is suing Slipper for sexual harassment—a charge Slipper denies.
