Sweden's justice watchdog has sharply criticized the the way in which a gay Ugandan man was sent home to face possible life imprisonment and even death, even though his case was under review, TheLocal.se noted. The man, who first sought asylum in 2012, was expelled from Sweden three days after a court had ordered his rejected asylum claim to be reconsidered, Sweden's state broadcaster SVT reported. The justice ombudsman—tasked by the country's parliament with overseeing the operations of the Sweden's courts and police—said the case highlighted the poor communication between different agencies.
Scientists announced they had produced baby mice by fusing sperm and a type of cell that is not an egg, AFP reported. The pups that survived were healthy, with normal lifespans and able to procreate the traditional way, researchers from Britain and Germany noted in the journal Nature Communications. This could open the possibility for gay men, older women or infertile couples to have children with both parents' DNA.
The Daily Caller has reported that, despite condemning homosexuality as a sin, Islamic State militants in Afghanistan regularly rape gay men as punishment, according to a former member of the terrorist organization. "During the three months I spent in the ranks of ISIS, I saw the worst things one can imagine on the face of the Earth," Kamandar Bakhtiar, a former member of Islamic State-Khorasan, told the United Arab Emirates' Alaan TV on Sept. 7. "They kill and behead innocent people, plunder the property of regular people, and they do the worst possible things, such as raping homosexuals." Executions of those accused of homosexuality are common in the so-called caliphate's primary territory in Syria and Iraq.
Belgrade's annual LGBT Pride held a moment of silence to remember Hande Kader, a transgender woman brutally murdered in Istanbul, Turkey over the summer, On Top Magazine noted. According to Balkan Insight, a few hundred people took part in the third annual march, which concluded without violence. Anna Brnabic, Serbia's first openly gay minister, was among the numerous politicians and diplomats who took part in the parade. Serbian officials banned the parade for three years amid fears of violence.
In an interview with the UK publication Mail on Sunday, Lord Ivar Mountbatten became the first member of the British royal family to come out gay, according to an On Top Magazine item. Mountbatten, 53, is a cousin of Queen Elizabeth II. He has three daughters with ex-wife Penny and said that he struggled with his sexuality. He said that Penny knew that he was bisexual when they married in 1994. Last year, four years after his divorce, he met his partner, James Coyle, a 54-year-old airline cabin services director.
Australian senator Bridget McKenzie appeared on the live news and commentary show Q&A, where she faced a pre-recorded question from her younger brother, who is gay, NewNowNext noted. "Given the majority of parliamentarians and Australians now support marriage equality, is a $160 million [US $120.7 million] plebiscite necessary?," Alastair McKenzie asked his sister, a member of the right-leaning National Party. Bridget, who has been outspoken in her opposition to marriage equality, said it would be "damaging" if Australians didn't respect each other's views on the subject.
GMHC released a statement in response to Sweden's achievement as the first country to reach the UNAIDS/World Health Organization ( WHO ) 90-90-90 target. CEO Kelsey Louie said, in part, "By diagnosing patients with HIV, linking nearly all of them to care, and maintaining a high viral suppression, Sweden has set the standard of success for countries around the world in the global fight against HIV/AIDS." ( The treatment goals were launched in October 2014, with an objective that, by 2020, 90 percent of people with HIV will be diagnosed, 90 percent of diagnosed people will be in care and 90 percent ) of people receiving care will have durable HIV suppression. )
The first gay church in Nigeria, House of Rainbow, has celebrated its 10th anniversary, NAIJ.com reported. According to the church, congregants celebrated the event, which took place in London "with pride" with about 60 people in attendance. Jide Macaulay, Nigeria's first openly gay pastor, founded House of Rainbow Fellowship on Sept. 2, 2006.
Rome has hosted its first ever same-sex civil union, euronews reported. The ceremony, officiated by newly-elected Mayor Virginia Raggi, comes just under three months after a law came into force formally accepting such unions. Roman Catholic Italy was the last European Union member to legally recognize same-sex unions, and couple Luca de Sario, 30, and Francisco Raffaele Villarusso, 43, had considered tying the knot in Spain, they explained.
At the launch of the Global Fund's Fifth Replenishment, donors pledged more than $12.9 billion for the next three years, demonstrating extraordinary global commitment toward ending the epidemics of AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria for good, a press release stated. Hosted by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who stressed youth engagement as a key to success in global health, the conference welcomed significantly increased pledges from several donors. The Replenishment Conference raised nearly $1 billion more than the previous replenishment conference in 2013, and benefitted from participation by leaders from countries all over the world, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and Bill Gates, Co-Chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
In Saskatchewan, a gay Saskatoon man who was brutally beaten in a bar bathroom has said his attacker believed he was trying to flirt with him, NewNowNext reported. Eugene Grosh, who suffered a concussion and severe bruising and cuts to his head and face in the incident, said he was out dancing with a group of female friends at a bar. When he used the bathroom, Grosh told the Saskatoon StarPhoenix he said "hi" to "a large unfamiliar man with a shaved head." The man reportedly became enraged and yelled "Are you hitting on me?" before punching Grosh several times in the face and then fleeing the bar.
Israeli pop star Ivri Lider is slated to perform in the West Bank next month; however, some religious families in the area are claiming that hosting the gay singer is tantamount to "blasphemy," NewNowNext noted. Signs announcing Lider's appearance at the Face to Face festival in the city of Elkana have been defaced with graffiti calling him a "deviant." An email sent to residents demanded Lider be cut from the roster, claiming "it's not too late to admit that a grave mistake has been made and to fix it."
