Out British diver Tom Daley has opened up about his devastation over not making the solo dive finals at the Rio Olympics, PinkNews noted. Appearing on Chatty Man with Alan Carr, Daley was asked about his frustration over being unable to follow up his bronze title with a solo medal. Daley said, "I think that was probably my lowest moment of all my diving career." The 22-year-old diver ( who's engaged to U.S. screenwriter Dustin Lance Black ) has won the bronze medal in the synchronized diving event with Dan Goodfellow.
The first boarding school for transgender students in India has opened in Kochi in the southeast part of the subcontinent, according to NewNowNext. The inaugural class at Sahaj International School will have just 10 students, who will study under six trans instructors from the TransIndia Foundation. Activist and artist Kalki Subramaniam spoke at the opening day ceremony. The school's website says, in part, "Our highly qualified team of Special Educators ensure that children with diverse needs are given individual attention."
Outsports has named two boxers as its male and female athletes of the year. Puerto Rican boxer Orlando Cruz had a great 2016, winning his first three bouts and claiming the WBO North American Boxing Organization super featherweight title; in July, he won his title bout against Alejandro Valdez after dedicating the fight to the victims of the Orlando Pulse massacre. The female athlete of the year was British boxer Nicola Adams, who won Olympic gold. Her victory in Rio made her the first female boxer to successfully defend an Olympic title and the first British boxer—man or woman—to defend an Olympic title in 92 years.
Two gay men were attacked and pelted with anti-gay slurs at a Papa John's restaurant in Middlesex, UK—for hugging, Raw Story reported. The employee allegedly told the men to get out of the restaurant as they embraced. The altercation spilled outside, with the employee and what appears to be a colleague kicking and pushing the men toward the door. The men showed the video to the Metropolitan Police, who are reviewing the case.
In the United Kingdom, a Metropolitan Police officer who had sex with a rape victim in a McDonald's toilet and threatened to kill herself has been jailed for 22 months, PinkNews reported. Charlotte Peters, 33, had been assigned to care for the victim as her point of contact with police following her ordeal. Peters, who was called "predatory" by the Southwark Crown Court judge, first kissed the victim at a refuge.
Congressmen of various political parties in Guatemala are preparing an initiative that seeks to reform the Civil Code to legalize same-sex marriage, PanAm Post noted. The proposal was announced by the legislator Sandra Moran, head of the Convergence Block. According to Moran, Guatemala should recognize and guarantee the rights of persons of the same sex who want to form a family, since these citizens lack legal recognition in family-law contexts, including cases of illness, legality and death.
Victoria Beckham, wife of former soccer star David Beckham and a former Spice Girl, was honored by Queen Elizabeth in her New Year's Honors List for her for her fashion empire and charity work with the United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, LGBT Weekly noted. Victoria is a goodwill ambassador for the UN's anti-AIDS program. Victoria broke with protocol by announcing the award ahead of the official notification—and was criticized by Tory MP Peter Bone for doing so.
Irish serial killer Kieran Kelly is believed to have stalked the victims on London Underground tube platforms before pushing them onto the tracks, Metro reported. Others were allegedly mutilated with glass bottles, meaning they bled to death. Geoff Platt ( who wrote London Underground Serial Killer: The Life of Kieran Kelly ), a former acting detective constable who led the 1984 investigation into Kelly, made the claims following years of research. In the book, Platt adds that he believes Kelly, who died behind bars in 2001, was gay; however, he feared that same-sex relationships were a "terrible sin that led to hell fire and damnation"—so he never revealed it.
A PSA entitled "Human Rights: Because without I'm not Equal," produced by the Association for Civil Rights ( ACRI ) in Israel has been banned from Israeli TV because of its backing of same-sex marriage, LGBT Weekly noted. The ad includes appearances by well-known Israeli celebrities like model/actress Galit Gutmann, former Miss Israel Titi Aynow, social activist Daphni Leef and others. The ad was also banned because of the statement, "It is permitted to speak Arabic without fear" made by by Mira Awad, an Israeli Arab singer and actress.
A self-described Russian campaigner for morality in schools has boasted about the dismissal of a teacher he describes as a "lesbian" and "satanist," BBC News noted. "Another school purge of an LGBT teacher," Timur Bulatov wrote on Russia's version of Facebook, called vKontakte. He sent a dossier on music teacher Maria Shestopalova to her school bosses in Krasnoyarsk, Siberia. She said they then forced her to quit.
Authorities are searching for three men who photoshopped an image of the king of Cambodia into a picture from a gay-porn scene, NewNowNext noted. The photo of King Norodom Sihamoni, who is widely respected in the country, was spread around Facebook in Cambodia and Thailand. Sihamoni has no wife or children, and has faced rumors about his sexuality since taking the crown from his father back in 2004.
Tegan and Sara will be among the acts for the 2017 Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Party, GayNewsNetwork.com .au reported. The out and proud identical twins have been firm favourites with the LGBTIQ community ever since they released their first album Under Feet Like Ours almost 20 years ago. However, it wasn't until 2007 that the indie duo found mainstream success with their studio album The Con delivering them international acclaim.
A few WNBA players—including Essence Carson, Chelsea Gray and Jantel Lavender of the Los Angeles Sparks—were next door to the recent deadly shooting in a nightclub in Istanbul, ABC News noted. Sparks coach Brian Agler confirmed to The Associated Press that Carson had texted him to say that the three players were OK. An assailant believed to have been dressed in a Santa Claus costume opened fire at a nightclub in Istanbul during New Year's celebrations, leaving at least 39 people dead in what the province's governor described as a terror attack.
Gay Australian bobsledder Simon Dunn has announced his retirement from the sport, Attitude noted. In a statement announcing his intention to step away from the sport Dunn, who is currently based in Calgary, Canada, said, "The last few years have been a truly amazing experience. I've met some astonishing people and made memories I will cherish forever. For that, I will always be grateful. I've felt a proudness in my own sexuality that I hadn't felt in the 27 years prior. I'm finally comfortable in my own skin as a proud gay man."
Comme Des Garcons teamed with Vetements on a capsule collection of LGBT-themed holiday sweaters, NewNowNext noted. Rei Kawakubo's CDG SHIRT line collaborated with the Paris-based collective for a limited edition series of "gay, lesbian and fetish" knits. The CDG X Vetements line includes a classic rainbow-striped sweater and a purple jumper with a labrys, a double-sided axe that's long been associated with lesbians.
