France is lifting its ban on men who have sex with men from donating blood, CNN reported. The change would be introduced gradually, French Health Minister Marisol Touraine said, following extensive work by health authorities, patient associations and LGBT donors. By spring 2016, men who have sex with men in France will be able to donate bloodif they have not had sex with another man for 12 months. Touraine said the 12-month deferral matched restrictions in place in other developed countries such as Australia, the Netherlands and Japan.
Rock star Elton John told CNBC that he could petition Queen Elizabeth to force Commonwealth countries to revoke anti-gay legislation and that he was looking forward to meeting President Vladimir Putin after the Russian leader extended the "olive branch" to him. In addition, John and his husband, David Furnish, unveiled a new partnership with the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief ( PEPFAR ), with the Elton John AIDS Foundation and PEPFAR each contributing $5 million to a fund to increase access to medication for people with HIV/AIDS in anti-LGBT countries.
For the second year in a row, the Amsterdam-based Workplace Pride Foundation has named IBM the most gay-friendly company in the world, BizJournals.com noted. ( BNP Parabas, Shell and Dow rank second, third and fourth, respectively. ) The annual rankings are based on scores from a survey of 21 global companies on their LGBT workplace inclusion policies and practices.
A man who was filmed falling from the balcony of a cruise ship had an altercation with staff over homophobic comments, his lawyer has alleged, according to PinkNews. Bernardo Albaz was seen on video footage falling from the Royal Caribbean ship. Mike Winkleman, Albaz's lawyer, said the man and his husband, Eric, had been involved in an "altercation" in one of the ship's bars. Winkleman has said the couple heard staff say "Hi, lipstick", and that they believed the comment was homophobic.
Slovenian lawmakers have set a referendum on same-sex marriage for Dec. 20 after the bid was pushed through by conservative groups backed by the Catholic Church, the Associated Press reported. The group called "Children Are At Stake" has gathered 40,000 signatures needed to call a popular vote. The group has sought to challenge a law passed earlier this year that defines marriage as a union between two consenting adults.
Irish singer Hozier ( "Take Me to Church" ) has criticized Pope Francis for paying "lip service" to LGBTI rights and not making any real change, Gay Star News noted. Hozier told interviewer Kelly Osbourne that the Catholic Church "provides an excuse for homophobia" during an appearance on Larry King Now. He added that he believes the church "still harbors an irrational aversion to homosexuality, which in my view I think that is why I was driven to write 'Take Me to Church.'"
K Prithika Yashini will soon become India's first transgender police officer in southernmost Tamil Nadu state after a nine-month legal battle, according to Gay Star News. The 25-year-old Chennai resident first applied for the sub-inspector role in February, but she was rejected by the Tamil Nadu Uniformed Services Recruitment Board ( TNUSRB ) because there was no third gender category on the application forms. Yashini then took her case to Madras High Court, which, on Nov. 5, directed the board to hire her and include a third gender category on future applications.
A UK study claims that women are either bisexual or lesbianbut are never heterosexual, The Daily Mail reported. Experts from the University of Essex say that women who class themselves as heterosexual are aroused by naked videos of both attractive men and women, whereas lesbians are far more attracted to the female form. The study, involving 345 women, was led by Dr Gerulf Rieger from the department of psychology.
A Thai-German gay couple who were bullied online after photos of them holding hands went viral have got married in Germany, according to Gay Star News. Noparuj Kaendi, the former creative director of a Thai modeling agency, posted photos of his Oct. 30 wedding to model Thorsten Mid on Instagram. The couple have been together for two years and wore navy suits at their wedding in Aachen, Germany.
The Polish monsignor who came out as gay and was fired by the Vatican just before a meeting of bishops about outreach to gays, divorcees and more traditional Catholic families says that a "special kind of homophobia" exists among priests, because those who are gay are forced to hate themselves, Yahoo! News reported. Krzysztof Charamsa told The Associated Press in an interview that he hopes more priests will come out "to destroy the code of silence in the church."
In Australia, Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras board members have confirmed that there will be no Harbour Party featured in the 2016 festival line-up, The Star Observer reported. The news comes just weeks after Mardi Gras announced a $336,057 loss at the end of a 15-month financial year ending June 30. The board members stated that new collection of events will be announced at the Mardi Gras program launch on Nov. 19.
A transgender woman has been crowned Holland's Next Top Model for the first time ever, having been selected for the title on her own merits alone, Gay Star News noted. Loiza Lamers, 20, did not disclose that she was transgender when she entered the competition and only went public about it at the start of September when she was one of only 13 contestants still left in the competition.
There's a beauty contest for almost everyone in pageant-obsessed Venezuelaincluding the popular Miss Gay Venezuela competition, The Denver Post noted. In this competition, men don elaborate wigs and layers of makeup to show off their skills in what they call "the art of transformation." This year's winner was 24-year-old social-media coordinator Manuel Gonzalez, who represented Carabobo state.
Speaking of pageants, Trixie Maristela from the Philippines was crowned Miss International Queen 2015, according to Gay Star News. The 29-year-old beat 26 other competitors to win the world's largest transgender beauty pageant, which is held annually at the iconic Tiffany's Show caberet in Pattaya, Thailand. Valesca Dominik Ferraz of Brazil and Sopida Siriwattanukoon of Thailand came second and third, respectively.
Gay travel specialist ALandCHUCK.travel has announced the first gay cruise in history to Cuba, according to a press release. This first-ever cruise ( eight day/seven nights ) will be on the 1,200-passenger Celeystal Crystal. The cruise will run three time in winter 2016: Jan. 15, Feb. 26 and April 8. The cruise begins at $799, and categories are available from inside, outside cabins and suites.