PINK MYNAH PARADE CANCELLED
The LGBT street parade that was set to take place on Saturday in Pietermaritzburg has been cancelled. The parade was one of the events in the fifth Pink Mynah Festival, hosted by the Gay & Lesbian Network, which is currently underway in the city. According the network, the procession was cancelled following a request by […]
SPORTS STARS BACK GAY RIGHTS
Tennis legend Martina Navratilova and former National Basketball Association (NBA) player Jason Collins on Tuesday spoke out against homophobic violence and discrimination. The two openly gay American sports stars spoke to journalists at the UN Headquarters in New York before attending a special event for Human Rights Day, ‘Sport comes out against homophobia.’ “Gays and […]
AUSSIE GAY MARRIAGES INVALID
The law legalising same-sex marriage in an Australian territory has been struck down, effectively annulling the country’s first gay marriages. On Thursday, the High Court ruled that a marriage equality law passed in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) was in conflict with federal law that defines marriage as only being between a man and a woman. In […]
HIV “CURE” FAILS
In disappointing news, HIV has returned in two men who it was hoped had been cleared of HIV through bone marrow transplants. In July, researchers from the Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston revealed that the transplants to treat cancer in the two HIV-positive men had apparently also resulted in the […]
DUDUZILE SUSPECT REQUESTS BAIL
The man accused of murdering and raping lesbian Duduzile Zozo in June has surprised activists by applying for bail. On Tuesday, 22-year-old Lekgoa Lesley Motleleng made his second appearance in the Palm Ridge Magistrates’ Court in Katlehong, east of Johannesburg. At his first court appearance following his arrest in October he declined to apply for […]
GAY FLAG OF SA HONOURS MADIBA
The creators of the Gay Flag of South Africa have honoured Nelson Mandela’s role in securing LGBT equality. On Saturday, Eugene Brockman and Henry Bantjez, along with American-based activist Melanie Nathan, visited Nelson Mandela Square and placed small gay flags amongst the tributes laid out in honour of the late human rights icon. They caught […]
UGANDA GOV. SPLIT OVER GAY CLINICS
In a surprise move, Uganda’s health ministry has announced that it will open specialised HIV clinics for most at-risk populations (MARPs), including men who have sex with men (MSM). In July last year, Uganda’s health ministry criticised the launch by activists of the country’s first clinic for LGBT people in Kampala, saying that it was […]
SHOCK: INDIA RESTORES GAY BAN
India’s LGBT community is in shock after the country’s highest court overturned a previous ruling that had ended the country’s criminalisation of homosexuality. In 2009, the Delhi High Court decriminalised gay sex, saying that Section 377 of India’s penal code banning “sex against the order of nature” was discriminatory. Muslim and Christian religious groups took […]
GAY BOND STAR TO PLAY MERCURY
Recently out British actor Ben Whishaw has been confirmed to play the late Queen frontman Freddie Mercury. Deadline.com reported on Monday that Whishaw, who is best known for portraying Q in the Bond movie Skyfall, has scooped the coveted role in the upcoming film about the iconic rock band. The biopic will be directed by Dexter […]
GAYS IN OBAMA MANDELA SPEECH
US President Barack Obama included a mention of the oppression of lesbian and gay people in his speech honouring Nelson Mandela on Tuesday. Obama delivered a powerful address at the memorial event at the FNB Stadium in Soweto, Johannesburg. He described Mandela as “a giant of history, who moved a nation toward justice, and in the process moved […]