International News

International News

Trans woman Robbi Mecus dies after falling 1,000 feet from Alaskan mountain

Robbi Mecus, a 52-year-old trans woman from New York, has died after falling 1,000 feet while ice climbing on an Alaskan mountain. The forest ranger died after she and her climbing partner fell while they ascended Mount Johnson, an 8,400ft peak. The other climber, Melissa Orzechowski, 30, from Calif

By Graham Robson • 1 min read

International News

Celebrate the diversity of LGBTQ+ families with the 13th annual International Family Equality Day on May 5

Celebrate and honour the diversity of LGBTQ+ families across the globe with the 13th annual International Family Equality Day (IFED). On May 5, LGBTQ+ people and their families and friends will get together across the globe to celebrate the 13th annual IFED – an awareness day that highlights family

By Graham Robson • 2 min read

International News

Streets flooded with colour for Tokyo Pride 2024

The streets of Tokyo‘s Shibuya Ward were flooded with colour on April 21 as 15,000 community members and supporters participated in the 30th Tokyo Rainbow Pride parade. Over the last three decades, social attitudes toward sexual minorities in Japan have changed significantly, as evidenced by a landm

By Graham Robson • 1 min read

International News

Foreign Office issues travel warning for LGBTQ+ tourists travelling to Greece

When same-sex marriage was legalised in Greece back in February, LGBTQ+ campaigners celebrated. Now, though, the British Foreign Office has issued new travel advice for queer people travelling to the country. An update, published on the UK government’s foreign travel advice page, has warned that sam

By Graham Robson • 1 min read

International News

Pose star Billy Porter delivers powerful speech at Miami Beach Pride about resilience of LGBTQ+ community, particularly during AIDS epidemic

Post star Billy Porter delivered a powerful speech about the resilience of the LGBTQ+ community, particularly during the height of the AIDS epidemic, at this year’s Miami Beach Pride on April 12. Billy, who was presented with the keys to Miami Beach at the event, said: “I was 16 years old at the beg

By Graham Robson • 2 min read

International News

International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute calls on Ghana’s President Akufo-Addo to repeal “discriminatory LGBTQ+ Bill”

The International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI) is calling on Ghana’s President Akufo-Addo to repeal the “discriminatory” LGBTQ+ Bill passed by Ghana’s Parliament in what is widely seen as further criminalisation of LGBTQ+ communities in the West African country. The IBAHRI regar

By Graham Robson • 3 min read

International News

“Colourful, welcoming and alive”. Visit Greece introduces new section promoting Greece as a prominent LGBTQ+ friendly destination

Visit Greece, the official website of the Greek national tourism organisation (EOT), has introduced a new section promoting Greece as a prominent LGBTQ+ friendly destination. In February 2024, Greece became the first Christian Orthodox-majority country to legalise same-sex marriage. Same-sex couples

By Graham Robson • 1 min read

International News

Ugandan court “turns its back” on human rights by failing to repeal “callous” anti-LGBTQ+ law, Amnesty International says

There has been a wave of violence, arrests, death penalty cases, anal examinations and evictions since the Act was approved

By Graham Robson • 1 min read

International News

LGBTQ+ activists in Thailand celebrate after vote brings marriage equality closer

LGBTQ+ activists in Thailand celebrated another victory on Tuesday, April 2 after a marriage equality bill overwhelmingly passed a first reading in the upper house, a key step bringing the country closer to becoming Asia’s third territory to legalise same-sex unions. “It’s like we’ve been embraced a

By Graham Robson • 1 min read

International News

Two arrested in Russia’s first LGBTQ+ ‘extremism’ criminal case

A Russian court has ordered a bar administrator and its art director to be placed in custody, accusing them of organising an “extremist organisation” under new legislation criminalising the LGBTQ community. They will remain in custody until May 18 and face up to 10 years in prison, according to the

By Graham Robson • 1 min read

International News

Man accused of a deadly shooting at a gay bar during Oslo Pride celebrations pleads not guilty on first day of trial

Zaniar Matapour, the Iranian-born Norwegian man accused of a deadly shooting at a gay bar in Oslo during the city’s annual Pride celebrations in 2022, has declared himself not guilty of committing gross terrorism and murder. Two people died, nine suffered gunshot wounds and 25 others were injured af

By Graham Robson • 1 min read

International News

French Parliament votes to compensate victims of anti-gay laws

The lower house of the French Parliament has passed a bill which will provide recognition and compensation for the estimated 10,000 people – mostly gay men  – convicted of homosexuality between 1942 and 1982. The anti-gay law was originally introduced by the Vichy government during World War Two, wh

By Graham Robson • 1 min read