Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel could be among the first to benefit from new marriage-equality laws after he announced he and his long-term partner will tie the knot, according to Wort.lu. Bettel, 41, told the L.A. Times of partner Gauthier Destenay, "He asked me and I said 'yes.'" Bettel, who has lived with his Belgian architect partner since 2010 in a civil partnership, did not reveal the wedding date.
Patricia Yurena Rodriguez, the 23-year-old winner of Miss Spain in both 2008 and 2013, came out as a lesbian through an Instagram post, SheWired.com reported. The picture, captioned "Romeo and Juliet," shows Rodriguez in an intimate moment with girlfriend Vanesa Klein, a Spanish DJ and singer. An actress and model, Rodriguez represented Spain in the Miss Universe competition.
Berlin's openly gay mayor, Klaus Wowereit, plans to step down Dec. 11 amid an ongoing situation over the city's new airport, BBC News reported. As mayor of the German capital since 2001, he was credited with giving it a "poor, but sexy" brand internationally. Wowereit, 60, was widely popular; however, his reputation was tarnished by the debacle over the opening of Berlin-Brandenburg Airport, which was to be inaugurated in late 2011 but is still not open. Worereit still has two years left in his term.
In Ireland, the new Rose of Tralee, Maria Walsh, has revealed that she is lesbian, according to The Belfast Telegraph. Walsh, 27, said, "To me, being gay is normal. I told my parents and they were supportive, as I knew they would be." The Boston native and 56th winner of the Rose of Tralee has said that she started a relationship with a woman some years back which lasted for two years, but she is now single. The Rose of Tralee International Festival is one of Ireland's largest and longest-running festivals.
Iranian Muslim women Sahar Mosleh and Maryam Iranfar married in Stockholm during the city's annual LGBTI pride festival—and are perhaps the first Iranian women to marry each other in a religious ceremony in the world, Gay Star News noted. The wedding happened just days before the couple expected the birth of their first child together. ( Mosleh has a rare brittle-bone condition that requires her to use an electric wheelchair so Iranfar carried their child. ) South Africa-based Imam Ludovic-Mohamed Zahed performed the ceremony.
One of the most popular singer-actors in the Philippines, Aiza Seguerra, has opened up about being a transgender man, according to Advocate.com . "Finally I discovered … I'm not a lesbian," he told Aquino & Abunda Tonight host Kris Aquino. He also explained the difference between sexual orientation and gender identity, pointing out that because he is solely attracted to women, he no longer identifies as a gay woman. It's a distinction some Filipino reporters have struggled with, still commonly referring to Seguerra with female pronouns.
A charity providing support to LGBT victims of domestic abuse has thanked the UK government for planning to amend the law, Gay Star News reported. Home Secretary Theresa May is considering introducing a new criminal offense of domestic abuse to include emotional and psychological harm inflicted by a partner within a relationship; the government is looking to strengthen the law by explicitly stating domestic abuse covers coercive and controlling behavior.
dotHIV—a new initiative that combines the Internet with the concept and spirit of the AIDS ribbon—has begun, according to a press release. The Berlin-based organization will provide web addresses with the ending .hiv to companies and non-profits in an effort to raise awareness and funds for projects around the world working to prevent the transmission of HIV and end AIDS. Every time a user clicks on a .hiv website, dotHIV donates 0.1ïż˝ and, thus, releases funds to help support HIV projects across the globe. These micro-donations do not come at further expense to the user or the website owner. The website for the initiative is click4life.hiv.
A gay man has spoken out after being attacked for holding hands with his boyfriend in London, Gay Star News reported. Timothy Rumney, 29, was walking along Old Street in Shoreditch with his partner after a night out at gay club East Block when they overheard a man with his girlfriend refer to them as "batty men." Rumney allegedly challenged the man, and then the man asked why they were holding hands; minutes later, the same man approached the pair and hit Rumney around the face.
In Australia, Dave Tollner has resigned as the Northern Territory's deputy chief minister following pressure over gay slurs he said, according to The Australian. Chief Minister Adam Giles announced the resignation after Tollner allegedly told a gay staff member that a statement expressing support for same-sex parenting was pushing the agenda of "pillow-biters'' and "shirt-lifters." Tollner will also resign as a minister and move to the backbench, with Giles assuming his friend's ministerial responsibilities.
Thailand's young people are facing a new rise in HIV infections, according to Voice of America. UNICEF says in a report that 70 percent of all sexually transmitted HIV infection cases in Thailand are occurring among people between the ages of 15 and 24. The report says despite a gradual drop in the overall prevalence of HIV in the country during the past two decades, new infections are now rising—especially among young people involved in the sex trade, those injecting drugs and young men having unprotected sex with men.
The controversial World Congress of Families conservative Christian conference was in chaos only days before its scheduled start in Australia after four Melbourne venues backed out of hosting the event, the UK Guardian reported. High-profile people slated to speak at the congress Aug. 28 included the anti-abortion campaigner and Victorian Upper House Liberal member Bernie Finn, and the federal government social services minister, Kevin Andrews. The line-up of anti-euthanasia, anti-divorce and anti-gay speakers from around the world has drawn condemnation from civil-rights groups.
A controversial advertising campaign for a gay bar in the former Soviet republic of Kazakhstan is causing controversy despite winning a regional advertising award, Gay Star News reported. Posters for Almaty gay bar Studio 69 show Russian poet Alexander Pushkin and Kazakh composer Kurmangazy Sagyrbayuly kissing passionately and have been the subject of official complaints—although homosexuality has not been illegal in the country since 1998. The poster campaign won a bronze award at the Red Jolbors Fest advertising competition for the Central Asian region in the Outdoor Advertising category.
Two lesbians have been freed from jail in Cameroon after spending nine months in prison awaiting trial and then potentially facing two years in prison, Gay Star News reported. "Liliane" and "Nicole" were arrested in the agricultural center of Ebolowa, capital of Cameroon's south region, in November 2013 on charges of sexual behavior involving another woman. Following the women's sentencing of two years, attorney Michel Togué was able to have their sentence converted into a three-year suspended sentence, allowing the women to go free.
