The late Brit Alan Turing—known as the father of the modern computer—was recently named the greatest person of the 20th century during BBC's Two Icons broadcast, according to an Instinct Magazine item that cited Gay Star News. In addition to laying down the groundwork for the computer, Turing ( who was gay ) was also instrumental in cracking the Nazi codes during World War II and as a result shortened the war. Despite being the man who invented the computer in conjunction to being a war hero, Turing lived the later years of his life as a criminal, as homosexuality was illegal in England in the past. Turing tragically committed suicide at 41.
Hugo Mendez—a primary school teacher in San Lorenzo Teotipilco, in the state of Puebla, Mexico—was found murdered in his home, Instinct Magazine noted. The openly gay teacher was found with many stab wounds by his neighbors who called the authorities. The Spanish media outlet Desastre.mx reported that an individual close to Mendez knew him as a very committed and sensitive person who had received numerous threats against him because he was gay.
A decision by distributors not to release Boy Erased—a film about gay conversion therapy that stars Lucas Hedges and Nicole Kidman—has stirred controversy in Brazil and provoked dismay among the country's LGBT activists, OpenlyNews.com reported. Boy Erased, scheduled for release across Brazil between January and February this year, is an adaptation of the eponymous memoir by author Garrard Conley and follows his experience attending a gay conversion-therapy center in the United States.
Activists are calling for the release of a 22-year-old man in Tunisia—after police arrested him under anti-gay laws after he reported rape and robbery to police last month, Gay Star News reported. The young man, known as Anas, has claimed he was gang-raped and robbed by a group of men he met online. Anas' alleged attackers, meanwhile, have reportedly walked free.
Japan opened its first LGBTI safe house in Tokyo, Gay Star News noted. Nijiiro House supports LGBTI people who have fallen into homelessness due to their sexuality or gender identity. It also offers support for mental health issues and employment.
Denying marriage rights to same-sex couples is "simple discrimination" and violates rights guaranteed under the Cayman Islands Constitution, attorney Edward Fitzgerald, QC, claimed as a test case on the issue began in Grand Court, The Cayman Compass reported. Caymanian Chantelle Day and her partner Vickie Bodden Bush are bringing a joint judicial review and constitutional challenge contesting government's decision to refuse their application to marry in April of last year. In his opening argument, Fitzgerald said his clients—who have been in a committed relationship since 2013 and have a 5-year-old daughter, legally adopted in the United Kingdom—had been "beset with problems" because of the Cayman Islands government's refusal to allow them to marry, or at least formalize their partnership through a civil union.
A gay couple has held the first wedding party in Mumbai after India's Supreme Court decriminalized same-sex relations in September, PinkNews reported. Vinodh Philip, 43, and Vincent Illaire, 47, celebrated their marriage with friends and family at a hotel reception on Feb. 1, after tying the knot in Illaire's homeland of France in December. Philip—who founded India's first LGBT+ choir, Rainbow Voices Mumbai ( RVM )—told PinkNews he wanted to organize the party because "Mumbai was the city where I came out as a gay man."
Australian former High Court judge Michael Kirby married his partner of 50 years, Johan van Vloten, on Feb. 10, Gay Star News noted. The pair tied the knot 50 years to the day after they first met at legendary gay venue the Rex Hotel in Sydney in 1969.
In New Zealand, veteran Big Gay Out attendee Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern returned to the Auckland event, saying the day was a chance to celebrate but also a "reminder" of the work to be done for the rainbow community. It was Ardern's first time visiting as prime minister; she had planned to attend last year but the festival was cancelled due to heavy rain. The Ending HIV Big Gay Out is New Zealand's largest Rainbow Community event, attracting annual crowds of more than 10,000 people—and this year marked the event's 20th anniversary.
Also in New Zealand, a gay journalist was beaten up during Pride weekend in a homophobic incident, PinkNews noted. Aziz Al-Sa'afin, a reporter/producer for New Zealand morning talk show The AM Show, said he and a friend were attacked by at least two people while out in Auckland Feb. 9—just as the city was in the middle of celebrating Pride weekend. Al-Sa'afin had a defiant message for the attackers, who have yet to be caught: "I feel sorry for them, for their partners, for their families. You tried to break my spirit but you failed miserably. You made me stronger."
An Irish printing company who refused to print invites to a same-sex wedding because they are "Bible-believing Christians" have been ordered to pay a fine to the gay man who requested them, PinkNews noted. Jonathon Brennan asked the company to make the invitations in 2015, shortly before Ireland's historic same-sex marriage referendum. However, the company refused, saying it doesn't "believe in same-sex civil partnerships and homosexuality."
Jamaica Director of Tourism Donovan White was at pains to reassure a Canada-based reporter that Jamaicans harbored no open hostility toward gay visitors during a press conference at Caribbean Travel Marketplace in Montego Bay, StLuciaNewsOnline.com noted. Michael Pihach, who was on his first trip to Jamaica, had asked White about measures the Government was taking to "curb the perception and reputation" that Jamaica was homophobic. "We pride ourselves in welcoming everybody to Jamaica, and like you said when you started, you have been here for the first time and you have had a great experience," White responded.
After years of rumors, the BBC announced last December that RuPaul's Drag Race U.K. is officially happening—and it turns out that RuPaul's Drag Race judge Michelle Visage is going there as a judge, NewNowNext.com noted. "We've been working tirelessly to bring the magic of RuPaul's Drag Race to my favorite city in the world: London," Michelle told the BBC. Also, Visage just shared the news that she will be undergoing surgery to remove her breast implants, which she believes have been making her sick.
Kylie Minogue announced she's headlining Britain's Brighton & Hove Pride on Aug. 3, according to Gay Star News. Brighton & Hove Pride then tweeted: "In her first ever full UK Pride performance, [kylie minogue] will be bringing us a very special show with some of her biggest hits." Event organizers also announced slots for Jessie J, Grace Jones and Clean Bandit.
