After a 33-year ban, gay men in France will officially be able to donate blood after a law change came into effect, Newsweek reported. The ban on gay people giving blood first came into force in France in 1983, shortly after the discovery of HIV. The last time a patient contracting the HIV virus in France after receiving donated blood was reported 13 years ago. LGBT activists applauded the removal of the ban in France but remain critical of the law, which requires gay and bisexual men to abstain from sex for a year if they wish to give blood, and for four months to donate plasma, the pale yellow liquid component that holds the blood cells.
Britain's Prince Harry took a HIV blood test live on Facebook to show how easy it is be checked—and he tested negative, NBC News reported. Video of the test, which was completed at a London hospital and included an unidentified health worker's explanation, was steamed live on the British royal family's Facebook page.
Speaking of Prince Harry, he and Elton John are set to co-host a panel on HIV at an upcoming conference, PinkNews reported. The pair will be taking part in the 2016 International AIDS Conference in Durban, South Africa. The pair will be joined by Prince Seeiso of Lesotho for the July 21 session, which will address the HIV epidemic among adolescents with a particular emphasis on the impact stigma and discrimination have on youth.
Yahoo! News Australia reported that the man behind the Nice terror attack was a bisexual who used dating sites. Despite claims of being a strict Islamist, Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel's phone paints another side of him, with messages, videos and photographs of both men and women the 31-year-old allegedly dated, along with drug and alcohol snaps, as police try to find a motive behind the attack. Bouhlel was behind the wheel of a truck that ran down a group of people celebrating Bastille Day, killing at least 85 people, and injuring hundreds more.
A casualty of the Nice attack was the cancellation of a pride parade in the French city of Montpellier, Attitude reported. The Montpellier Pride Association took the decision to cancel its annual Pride celebration, leaving the expected 20,000 guests without their annual celebration of LGBT equality—France's second biggest outside of Paris. Montpellier Pride Association President Vincent Boileau-Autin declared he intended to postpone the event over security concerns, and out of respect for the lives lost.
A day after the Anglican Church of Canada narrowly voted not to authorize gay unions, questions about the integrity of the voting process emerged—leading to a reversal of the result and the church approving the measure, CBS News reported. More than 200 delegates attending the six-day General Synod 2016 narrowly rejected the resolution July 11 after hearing from more than 60 speakers, most of them in favor of same-sex marriage. However, on the following day some members stood up to say their ballot had not been recorded during voting, when the resolution failed to pass by a single vote.
Be'er Sheva police diverted the local gay-pride parade from the southern Israeli city's main thoroughfare after learning of serious threats against the event scheduled for July 14, Haaretz reported. The threats came after police agreed to let the marchers go down the city's central artery—but that permission was rescinded.
Pride at Work Executive Director Jerame Davis released a statement reacting to the newly adopted Democratic Party platform and assessing why it stands in strong opposition to the Trans-Pacific Partnership ( TPP ) trade deal. Davis said, in part, "The DNC platform makes it clear that the Trans-Pacific Partnership ( TPP ) trade deal fails to meet the standards and vision outlined and championed by the Democratic Party, including upholding the dignity and respect of LGBT individuals across the world. ... It is impossible to reconcile support for these pro-LGBT ideals with support for the TPP. The inclusion of Brunei and Malaysia in the TPP—two countries where being LGBT is criminalized—are in direct conflict with the ideals laid out in this global LGBT rights plank."
London Mayor Sadiq Khan plans to introduce gender-neutral bathrooms to the city, according to Gay Times Magazine. Khan, who led the march at this year's Pride in London parade, told The Evening Standard, "Identity is an area that is evolving and developing and stuff, so I think you should respect people's right to choose how they want to be identified." Since being appointed mayor of London in May, Khan has shown continuous support for the LGBT community, seemingly making good on his claims that he would be "a mayor for all LGBT+ Londoners."
Approximately 75 people gathered outside the Turkish Embassy in Berlin for a peaceful "kiss protest" to show solidarity with people in Turkey, The Famagusta Gazette reported. The group, all from the LGBT community, openly kissed and embraced at the gates to the mission on the leafy Tiergarten Road; many waved rainbow flags and posed for photos. The protest came after Turkish authorities banned gay-pride events in Turkey last month. On June 26, police disrupted a small gathering in Istanbul, using rubber bullets and tear gas.
In Britain, openly gay MP for Wallasey Angela Eagle has officially launched her campaign for Labour leader, Attitude noted. Speaking to ITV, Eagle ( who came out in 1997 ) laid out her plans to "heal" the Labour Party, which has been dogged by tensions between MPs and members since current leader Jeremy Corbyn's landslide leadership victory in September 2015. Should the 55-year-old's attempt to overthrow Corbyn succeed, she would becomes the Labour party's first female and first openly gay leader.
In Australia, Brisbane has unveiled a rainbow footpath to promote inclusion, diversity and pride, according to PinkNews. The city down under has just unveiled a rainbow footpath that serves as a "symbol of inclusion and diversity" in front of the Sportsman Hotel. The Brisbane LGBTIQ Action Group originally proposed to have rainbow colors painted on the roadway last year. However, road regulations did not permit this plan, so the artwork was installed in its location on Leichardt Street in Spring Hill.
Brazilian telenovela Liberdade Liberdade has become the first in the country to televise a sex scene between two men, Gay Times Magazine noted. The show, called "Freedom Freedom" in English, is set in the 18th century and features a long-standing attraction between characters Andre, played by Caio Blat, and Colonel Tolentino, played by Ricardo Pereira. Responding to backlash the scene has faced from some religious groups, Blat said, "This is a mature telenovela. People realize these are contemporary issues that are being addressed in a historical context."
