THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

—Charges dropped: In Uganda, the courts dropped all charges against David Cecil, the 34-year-old theater producer who had faced prison time for staging the gay play The River and the Mountain, according to an Advocate.com item. Little evidence was produced against the defendant, but more than 2,500 people, including celebrities, signed a petition to drop the charges.

—Wedding day: Israel celebrated its first public transgender wedding. Celebrities and the couple's friends and family cheered as Chen Arizona married her husband, whose identity was not revealed.

—Drama in Russia: Russia passed an anti-gay propaganda law, prompting massive protests around the world. ( The law imposes fines or jail time to citizens who disseminate information that may cause a "distorted understanding" that LGBT and heterosexual relationships are "socially equivalent." ) The controversy has made its way to the 2014 Winter Olympics that will take place in February in Sochi, Russia.

—Of note: Handwritten letters between the late Indian leader Mahatma Gandhi and close friend Hermann Kallenbach, a South African bodybuilder, went on display in India's National Archives. Some people have speculated about the closeness of the twosome, stirring a huge controversy in India, where many people deny the possibility Gandhi could have been gay.

—Pope and glory: After Pope Benedict XVI unexpectedly resigned, Pope Francis—the former cardinal archbishop of Buenos Aires, Argentina, Jorge Mario Bergoglio—led the world's Catholics. The new pontiff won some fans in the LGBT community, particularly in July, when he told journalists that gay people should not be marginalized or judged. Both Time magazine and the LGBT publication The Advocate named him as their person of the year.

—Wed-letter day: Uruguay's Senate passed marriage-equality legislation, making the country become the 15th nation in the world—and the fourth in Latin America—where same-sex couples can marry. The law took effect in August.

—Iron age: Margaret Thatcher, the first woman to become British prime minister, died at the age of 87. Thatcher served from 1979 to 1990 as leader of the Conservative Party, CNN.com reported. She was called the "Iron Lady" for her personal and political toughness. Regarding gay rights, Thatcher regressed in the eyes of some.

—French kiss: French President Francois Hollande made marriage equality an issue on his platform in 2012, and he followed through in 2013. The French Parliament approved same-sex marriage this year by a vote of 321-225 despite public protests, some of them massive.

—New law: New Zealand also approved marriage equality, passing the Marriage ( Definition of Marriage ) Amendment Bill. The final reading took place April 17, passing 77-44; marriage took effect in August.

—Hard Knox: In her autobiography, Amanda Knox says she endured relentless sexual harassment at the hands of senior prison guard Raffaele Argiro and fellow female inmates while in prison in Italy. Knox also says that one female inmate repeatedly offered to start a lesbian affair with the young American, and that officials wrongly told Knox that she was HIV-positive.

—Castro banned: Philadelphia LGBT group Equality Forum claimed that the U.S. government has refused to allow Mariela Castro, an LGBT activist and daughter of Cuba's president Raul Castro, to enter the United States to participate in its annual event. Eventually, she was allowed to attend.

—Anti-gay: Nigeria passed the "Jail All the Gays" law, punishing not only gay sex but gay people as well. It bans same-sex marriage, outlaws anyone from forming organizations supporting gay rights, and sets up prison terms of up to 14 years. The U.S. and the U.K. governments had threatened to cut aid to the African country if it passed the bill.

—Games on: Paris, the capital and most populous city of France, was awarded the rights to host Gay Games X in 2018. The announcement was made live by Cleveland Mayor Frank G. Jackson during ceremonies held Oct. 7 at the Renaissance Hotel in Cleveland, host city of Gay Games 9 next August.

—Ban overboard: Canada lifted its strict lifetime ban on gay men giving blood, although restrictions will still be in place. While there isl no longer be a lifetime ban, men who have not had sex with other men in the last five years will be allowed to donate blood.

—A prince of a guy: England's Prince Harry defended one of his soldiers from an anti-gay attack in 2008. Lance Corporal James Wharton reveals in his 2013 memoir, Out in the Army, that the young prince was quick to deal with bullies after they reportedly threatened Wharton's life. Wharton—who served under Harry during a four-month training period in Canada—describes how he bragged about how he had "scored the night before" with another officer to several other members of the infantry, leading six soldiers to approach him angrily. After talking with Harry, the prince confronted the group.

—Flag day: In what is believed to be a first in Canada, a rainbow pride flag was raised at an Alberta military base during a ceremony attended by senior officers and civilian members of the LGBT community. Master Warrant Officer John McDougall made the request for the flag-raising a few weeks ago through the military chain of command at Canadian Forces Base Edmonton.

—Ruling: The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the government cannot force private health organizations to denounce prostitution as a condition to get taxpayer money to fight AIDS around the world. Four organizations working in Africa, Asia and South America challenged the provision in the law, arguing their work has nothing to do with prostitution.

—App time: An all-gay team of developers launched China's first gay-targeted "social networking" app. The app, Zank, is the second project on creator Lin Jueding's plate; Jueding previously launched China's first gay social networking site, Feizan.com .

—Cancer battle: In Ireland, openly gay onetime presidential hopeful David Norris revealed that he's dealing with cancer. He said the cancer is related to viral hepatitis he contracted from tainted drinking water in Eastern Europe in 1994.

—Oops: Costa Rica accidentally approved same-sex unions. Legislators okayed a measure that changed article 22 of the so-called "Law of Young People." Conservative lawmakers are upset over the mistake in the bill, which President Laura Chinchilla signed.

—Sobering study: A study shows that an astounding 10 percent of lesbians is South Africa are HIV-positive and the likely cause for the rising number of infections is rape,. The study, "Forced Sexual Experiences as Risk Factor for Self-Reported HIV Infection among Southern African Lesbian and Bisexual Women," was conducted in collaboration with community-based organizations in Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe.

—Pasta la vista: LGBT-rights groups around the world slammed the Barilla Group, owners of Barilla Pasta, after Chairman Guido Barilla caused outrage in Italy by saying he would not consider using a gay family to advertise his products. However, Guido later met with Italian LGBT associations, apologizing and proposing pro-gay policies.

—Baryshnikov's bash: Mikhail Baryshnikov, former principal dancer with Russia's Kirov Ballet, criticized his former homeland over its treatment of LGBT people. In a statement the No More Fear Foundation released, the 65-year-old dancer said, "My life has been immensely enriched by gay mentors, colleagues and friends and any discrimination and persecution of gay people is unacceptable."

—Weir science: Out figure skater Johnny Weir decided to not compete in the 2014 Winter Olympics, but will serve as a commentator for NBC instead. However, Weir became embroiled in controversy when, during a talk at Barnard College, he reportedly minized the impact of Russia's anti-gay laws, and disparaged U.S. and Russian activists who are working to overturn those laws. After much criticism, Weir apologized.

—Job loss: Openly gay German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle lost that job after his party failed to win enough of the vote to retain his seat in parliament. Westerwelle's Free Democratic Party received 4.8 percent of the vote—and 5 percent was needed to retain his seat.

—Marriage in the tropics: Brazil guaranteed same-sex couples the right to access assisted fertilization. However, the country also approved same-sex marriage; the National Council of Brazil issued a ruling requiring all civil registers of the country to perform same-sex marriages by a 14-1 vote, thus legalizing marriage equality in the entire country.

—It's a crime: In Britain, a report stated that one in six gay or bisexual people—about 630,000 individuals—has been a victim of an anti-LGB hate crime or incident in the past three years. The poll, commissioned by gay-rights charity Stonewall, found that two-thirds of victims of hate crime did not report the incident to anyone.

—Good Lux: Luxembourg City mayor Xavier Bettel became the world's third openly gay or lesbian national leader after ruling monarch Grand Duke Henri picked him to negotiate the next governing coalition. Bettel said he plans to legalize same-sex marriage as soon as next year and he will be sharing the prime minister's official residence with his partner, Destenay Gauthier.

—Reinstated: India's supreme court upheld a law that criminalizes gay sex in a ruling gay-rights activists criticized. The decision—in which the court said it's up to parliament to legislate on the issue—reverses a landmark 2009 Delhi High Court order that had decriminalized same-sex acts. According to Section 377, a 153-year-old colonial law, a same-sex relationship is an "unnatural offense" that is punishable by a 10-year jail term. Activists around the world responded with a "Global Day of Rage" Dec. 15.

—Taiwan on: Three couples married in a Christian chapel on the grounds of Tunghai University in what are believed to be the first Christian same-sex weddings in Taiwan, Gay Star News reported. The ceremonies were presided over by the Rev. Elias Tseng—the first openly gay Christian pastor in Taiwan. The Taiwan GDi Association, the Taiwan LGBT Pride and various student groups organized the event.

—Bill will: Ugandan lawmakers passed an anti-gay bill that calls for life imprisonment for "aggravated homosexuality," according to LGBTQ Nation. ( "Aggravated homosexuality" is defined as a same-sex act where one of the partners is infected with HIV, is a minor or disabled, as well as repeated sexual offenses among consenting adults. ) When the bill was first introduced in 2009, it was widely criticized for including the death penalty, but that was removed from the revised version that parliament passed.

—Down under: The Australian Capital Territory parliament passed a marriage-equality law, becoming the first area on the continent to do so. However, a court later negated the measure.

—Doubting Thomas: Openly gay MSNBC anchor Thomas Roberts co-hosted the Miss Universe pageant in Moscow after Bravo exec Andy Cohen stepped down—and made his thoughts known on Russia's anti-gay law. On the show's red carpet, Roberts said, "I know the law is very vague and still hard to interpret for many people, but it is discrimination and that's definitive."

—A legend dies: Former South African President Nelson Mandela died Dec. 5 at the age of 95. He spent 27 years in prison after the white minority government convicted him of treason, only to forge a peaceful end to white rule by negotiating with his captors after his release in 1990. Mandela, who campaigned for equal rights for all, was laid to rest Dec. 15.

—Daley double: Nineteen-year-old British diver Tom Daley, who competed in the 2012 Olympics in London, came out in his own YouTube video as being in a relationship with a man. In the video he says, in part, "Right now, I'm dating a gay, and I couldn't be happier. ... It just really does feel right." It was later revealed that the other man was 39-year-old Oscar-winning screenwriter Dustin Lance Black ( Milk ).