International

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Kosovo MPs reject bid to legalise same-sex unions: ‘Homophobes have no place in parliament’

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Lawmakers have rejected legislation that would have made Kosovo the first Muslim-majority country in the world to legalise same-sex civil unions. Kosovo wants to join the European Union, and the bid to introduce same-sex marriage was part of modernising efforts by prime minister Albin Kurti’s government, which also tried to introduce other rights for minorities and business reforms But after hours of debate, just 28 out of MPs out of 120 voted in favour of the motion with some members of Kurti’s Vetevendosje party voting against it, according to Euractiv. Many against the draft code cited religious beliefs and “family values”. Vetevendosje representative Labinote Demi-Murtezi said […]

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Ukraine’s LGBT+ leaders say fleeing isn’t an option: ‘We have to save our country’

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With Ukraine defending itself from Russia’s brutal war of aggression, the country’s LGBT+ activists have found themselves playing a new role. War is an equaliser, Kyiv Pride director Lenny Ensom tells PinkNews. “The bomb doesn’t ask you what is your identity, the bomb just falls,” he explains. He hasn’t been able to get much sleep since the invasion started, as the sound of shelling is never far away. On Tuesday night (15 March), a building in his district was hit. “It’s like Russian roulette. They just hit and you don’t know where the bomb will land.” As director of Kyiv Pride, he’s dedicated much of his […]

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LGBT+ Russians live in fear of Putin’s next deadly move – but fleeing isn’t so easy

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Putin’s war in Ukraine is part of a mission to turn back the clock to the Soviet era – a prospect that terrifies LGBT+ Russians. Maria, an LGBT+ activist in Russia whose name has been changed to protect her identity, says queer people have been fleeing her country since Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine – which many agree is all part of a terrifying quest to bring Russia back to its former dominance. That vision, she says, does not include LGBT+ people. When Maria speaks to PinkNews over Zoom, she’s quick to describe Russia’s actions in Ukraine as a war. That […]

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LGBT+ Ukrainians fear ‘extermination and concentration camps’ under Russian rule, activist says

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LGBT+ activist Andriy Maymulakhin can hear gunfire in his home, which is located in a village just 50 kilometres from Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine. Life since Russia invaded has been tense for Andriy, who serves as head of LGBT+ rights organisation the Nash Mir Centre, based in Kyiv. He’s separated from his boyfriend of 10 years, who is in western Ukraine. Two of his friends and one of their elderly parents are sheltering at his home. Shortly after Russia launched its invasion, Nash Mir’s offices were raided and its employees assaulted. Those who attacked them were, surprisingly, Ukrainian – the raid points to just how […]

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Namibia Supreme Court grants partial victory to gay couple seeking permanent residency

A married same-sex couple who is seeking permanent residency in Namibia received a partial victory from the country’s Supreme Court last week The Supreme Court on March 7 presided over a permanent residency case involving Guillermo Delgado and the Home Affairs Ministry. Delgado, a gay man from Mexico who married Namibian national Phillip Lühl eight years ago in South Africa, approached the Supreme Court last year after Namibia’s immigration officials ruled that their South African marriage did not qualify Delgado for residency in Namibia since the country does not recognize same-sex marriages. The Home Affairs Ministry also did not consider […]

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British territories appellate court upholds Bermuda marriage equality repeal law

A British territories appellate court on Monday upheld a Bermuda law that rescinded marriage rights for same-sex couples. The 4-1 decision from the Privy Council’s Judicial Committee in London comes more three years after Bermuda’s government appealed a Bermuda Court of Appeals ruling that found the Domestic Partnership Act — which allows same-sex couples to enter into domestic partnerships as opposed to get married — unconstitutional. Supreme Court Justice Charles-Etta Simmons in 2017 issued a ruling that paved the way for gays and lesbians to legally marry in Bermuda. The Domestic Partnership Act that then-Gov. John Rankin signed took effect […]

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Gay Ukrainian couple on holiday when Russia invaded fear they’ll never see their loved ones again

A gay Ukrainian couple went to France on holiday. Overnight, it became their new home. Nazar and Yuriv arrived in France on 11 February for a short holiday. They were staying with a friend in Paris, when they woke up to the horrifying news that Russia had invaded Ukraine. They knew that tensions had been on the rise, but they never thought their home country – the place where they had built a life together – would end up under siege in such a brutal, sudden fashion. “It was like something from a horror movie,” Nazar tells PinkNews. “I see the pictures of everything […]

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All-boys school welcomes ‘brave’ trans student with open arms: ‘We support her fully’

An all-boys school in Adelaide, Australia has given its full-hearted support to a student who came out as trans, and is even designing a special uniform for her. Headmaster of the private Prince Alfred College, Bradley Fenner, said in a letter to parents on Tuesday that the girl’s fellow students were “respectful and supportive”, The Advertiser reported. The headmaster added that the student, named Alice, asked to remain at the all-boys’ school herself, and has received support from both students and professionals. Fenner wrote: “This morning, a student who has been at Prince Alfred College since the Early Learning Centre has told […]

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Chile’s first gay couple weds as same-sex marriage law takes effect

Chile’s Javier Silva and Jaime Nazar became the first two men to tie the knot in the South American country’s history on Thursday after a law allowing same-sex marriage went into effect. In December, Congress approved legislation guaranteeing legal rights for same-sex couples in a milestone for the conservative nation after a decade-long battle by LGBTQ communities and rights groups. “Being the first couple to get married in Chile for us is an honor, something to be proud of,” Silva told reporters after the civil ceremony. “We did it! It’s something we didn’t think could happen.” Get the Evening Rundown […]

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Brave Polish activists helping LGBT+ Ukrainians flee Putin’s barbaric war

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Julia Maciocha is exhausted – she’s been keeping busy making sure trans people in Ukraine can still access medication even as war breaks out across the country. It’s an all-consuming job, but Julia – who serves as chairwoman of Warsaw Pride in Poland – didn’t have to think twice about doing it. Like many other LGBT+ people, she has watched in horror over the last couple of weeks as Russia invaded Ukraine, unleashing war and prompting a mass exodus in the process. So far, two million people have fled Ukraine, with half of those crossing the border into Poland. Julia and the Polish LGBT+ activists she […]

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