MUGABE ‘GAY INSULT’ CHARGES DROPPED
Charges against a former Zimbabwean MP, who allegedly claimed that President Robert Mugabe had gay sex, have been dropped. Lynette Karenyi, of the Movement for Democratic Change, was arrested in December 2011 after she allegedly “insulted” the notoriously homophobic president at a rally at the Nhedziwa football grounds in Chimanimani. Prosecutors claimed that she said that “Robert […]
YEMEN GAY MURDERS CONTINUE
There’s been a report from Yemen of another man being gunned down, in a drive-by shooting, because he was suspected of being gay. According to YemenOnline, a security official said that 25-year-old Waleed Saleh Awedan was shot dead near his home in the south of the country by a man on a motorbike, thought to be […]
UTAH STRIPS GAY COUPLE RIGHTS
LGBT rights groups have reacted with anger after Utah Governor Gary Herbert’s office suspended the state’s recognition of the marriages of same-sex couples who tied the knot in December and January. The around 1,000 couples got married after a federal judge overturned the state’s ban on same-sex marriage on 20 December. The ban was reinstated […]
GERMAN FOOTBALL STAR COMES OUT
Thomas Hitzlsperger, the recently retired German footballer, has revealed that he is gay. In an interview with German magazine Die Ziet, the 31-year-old former midfielder said that coming to grips with his sexuality was “a long and difficult process”. He explained that “only in recent years has it dawned on me that I would prefer […]
POPULAR ACTIVIST LAID TO REST
Muntuza Masombuka, the much-loved LGBTI activist and personality on Gauteng’s gay scene, was laid to rest on Saturday. Many will remember the 29-year-old Masombuka thanks his colourful outfits and exuberance during Pride marches in Johannesburg and across the province over the years. Masombuka, who assisted with communication and marketing for the Ekurhuleni Pride Organising Committee (Epoc), […]
AUSSIE TEAM BACKS GAY GROUP
A gay rights campaign has become an official sponsor of the men’s and women’s Australian bobsled teams at the Sochi Winter Games. Named after the principle opposing discrimination in the Olympic Charter, Principle 6 is a campaign advocating for an end to Russia’s anti-gay laws. The campaign, launched by Athlete Ally and All Out, has […]
LGBTI FUND CALLS FOR PROPOSALS
UPDATE: Both the grant and peer reviewer application deadlines have been extended to Monday 10 February 2014. An exciting new Southern African LGBTI funding programme – planning to distribute almost R4 million this year- has launched its first request for proposals. The creation of the Other Foundation was announced in September 2012 after Atlantic Philanthropies (AP) – the massive […]
VATICAN GUARD HARASSED FOR SEX
A former Vatican Swiss Guard has come forward with claims that he was regularly propositioned by members of the clergy for sex. The unnamed man told the Swiss newspaper Schweiz am Sonntag that he received up to 25 “unambiguous requests” for sex from cardinals, bishops, priests and other Vatican officials, including one close to Pope […]
PM: DON’T JAIL ‘MONGOL’ GAYS
Uganda’s Prime Minister, Amama Mbabazi, has compared gay people to “mongols” who should be treated with pity rather than being jailed. “I think in our traditions, and this is what I believe, homosexuality is treated as an abnormality,” said Mbabazi at a Foreign Affairs Ministry meeting on Monday, filmed by NTV Uganda. “Given that as […]
COURT HALTS UTAH GAY MARRIAGES
Hundreds of gay and lesbian married couples in Utah are in legal limbo after the US Supreme Court allowed the state to stop issuing same-sex marriage licenses. Utah has opposed a 20 December district court judge’s decision to overturn the state’s ban on gay marriage. Monday’s ruling temporarily reinstates that ban, at least until the state’s […]