{"id":78846,"date":"2019-02-16T10:25:38","date_gmt":"2019-02-16T15:25:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/lgbtq-world-news-digest-13-international-stories-you-need-to-know-about\/"},"modified":"2019-02-16T10:25:38","modified_gmt":"2019-02-16T15:25:38","slug":"lgbtq-world-news-digest-13-international-stories-you-need-to-know-about","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/lgbtq-world-news-digest-13-international-stories-you-need-to-know-about\/","title":{"rendered":"LGBTQ World News Digest: 13 International Stories You Need to Know About"},"content":{"rendered":"

LGBTQ World News Digest: 13 International Stories You Need to Know About<\/b><\/p>\n

Leave to Remain<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We\u2019ve rounded up the most important LGBTQ news items from around the globe. This digest features news from Australia, United Kingdom, Israel, Tunisia, Germany, Japan, New Zealand, Indonesia, Switzerland, India, Russia, and Greece.<\/p>\n

ENGLAND<\/strong>. Two new stage productions explore gay parenting<\/a>: \u2018On the London stage, you are still much more likely to see a show about the AIDS epidemic (\u201cAngels in America<\/a>\u201d) or its legacy (Matthew Lopez\u2019s \u201cThe Inheritance<\/a>\u201d) than you are to see one dealing with same-sex<\/a> marriage or parenting. But this month, there are inventive new productions about both: \u201cLeave to Remain<\/a>,\u201d about two men<\/a> who tie the knot, and \u201cNo Kids<\/a>,\u201d about a gay<\/a> couple<\/a> adopting a baby.\u2019<\/p>\n

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Leave to Remain<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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No Kids<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

SWITZERLAND<\/strong>. Same-sex marriage is not legal there yet (shockingly) but it could be soon<\/a>: \u201cThursday was a big day for romance in Switzerland. But as couples<\/a> showered each other with flowers and chocolate (what else?), big moves were also afoot in Bern, as a parliamentary committee thrashed out options for a new draft law on same-sex<\/a> marriage. Late in the day, the committee announced in a statement it had finished off its talks and was now launching a consultation process.\u201d<\/p>\n

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#DieSchweizWartet<\/a> noch immer, aber hoffentlich nicht mehr so lange: Die Rechtskommission bringt die #Ehef\u00fcrAlle<\/a> heute einen Schritt vorw\u00e4rts und schickt eine Variante f\u00fcr die Ehe\u00f6ffnung mit k\u00fcnstlicher Befruchtung in die Vernehmlassung. Wir blieben dran. pic.twitter.com\/5kBjxK4pad<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Ruedi Schneider (@Ruedi_Schneider) February 14, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

GREECE<\/strong>. Lacta chocolate Valentine\u2019s ads go viral, and the photographer gets attacked online<\/a>: \u201cPeople were tweeting pictures of my face, saying, \u2018This is the photographer who did this.\u2019 Personally I love both men<\/a> and women<\/a>. I thought that nothing would make me happier than to have these pictures all over Athens so that all these homophobic people are forced to look at them \u2026 It\u2019s been the number one subject in Greece.\u201d<\/p>\n

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#Lacta<\/a> Negative advertisement?
There’s not such a thing! pic.twitter.com\/9oCfNynpcG<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Dimos \u00ae (@Dimos_3) February 8, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

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Breaking stereotypes isn’t a new #advertising<\/a> #strategy<\/a> but doing it in #Greece<\/a> is still bold. Hope #Cyprus<\/a> gets this brave soon & kudos to Lacta #chocolate<\/a> for still owning #ValentinesDay<\/a> #LikeABoss<\/a> #ActForLove<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/VDCpqgPSR2<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 kristyeliades (@kristyeliades) February 9, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

INDONESIA<\/strong>. Gay comic strip vanishes from Instagram after government threatens to block entire Platform over it<\/a>: \u2018The Instagram account, @Alpantuni, first appeared in January with the tagline \u201cGay Muslim comics for people who are able to think.\u201d Its Indonesian-language comics addressed gay<\/a> identity and religious bigotry, and depicted men<\/a> with their shirts off and in bed together, though never fully nude<\/a>. The account prompted a flurry of criticism on social media in the country, with some accusing the artist of pornography or blasphemy.\u2019<\/p>\n

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RUSSIA<\/strong>. Town shrugs at murder of elderly gay couple<\/a>: \u201cOn January 10, neighbors reluctantly checked in on 70-year-old Vladimir Dubentsov and 64-year-old Nikolai Galdin and discovered their bodies. People in Ilsky repeatedly asked Novaya Gazeta correspondent Elena Kostyuchenko not to name them in her story \u2014 not because they were ashamed of how these two men<\/a> were harassed or even murdered, but because they were embarrassed that a gay<\/a> couple<\/a> lived in their town at all.\u201d<\/p>\n

INDIA<\/strong>. Netflix India was applauded for this gorgeous Valentine\u2019s Day clip<\/a>: \u201cThe two men<\/a> meet on the Mumbai metro and it\u2019s love at first sight. They meet on dates at cute restaurants, attend a costume party dressed as Mike and Eleven from Stranger Things, exchange a kiss, dance in fur coats, steal noodles out of each other\u2019s bowls and all sorts of adorable things you\u2019d expect.\u201d<\/p>\n

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JAPAN<\/strong>. Gay couples sue government for the right to marry<\/a>. \u201cThirteen same-sex<\/a> couples<\/a> across Japan are taking legal action on Thursday against the government, demanding the right to get married. They are suing for symbolic damages, arguing that being barred from marriage violates their constitutional rights. Should the courts agree, it would mean same-sex<\/a> unions will have to be permitted in future. While Japan does not allow gay<\/a> marriage, surveys suggest there is strong support for the case.\u201d<\/p>\n

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13 gay<\/a> couples<\/a> just filed Japan’s first lawsuit challenging the country’s rejection of same-sex<\/a> marriage pic.twitter.com\/ZM61AxnQL3<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 TicToc by Bloomberg (@tictoc) February 14, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

GERMANY<\/strong>. Another international city is getting gay traffic lights<\/a>: \u2018Cologne in western Germany plans to temporarily change 20 traffic lights for pedestrians to show images of same-sex<\/a> couples<\/a>, city officials told German media. \u201cSymbols of same-sex<\/a> couples<\/a> are currently being prepared for the period surrounding Christopher Street Day,\u201d spokesman J\u00fcrgen M\u00fcllenberg told the\u00a0K\u00f6lner Stadt-Anzeiger<\/em>. The Cologne Pride parade is one of Europe\u2019s largest Pride festivals and will this year observe 50 years since the Stonewall riots in New York\u2019s Christopher Street. The riots saw lesbian<\/a>, gay<\/a>, bisexual<\/a> and transgender people resist police during a raid on June 28, 1969.\u2019<\/p>\n

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Cologne plans gay<\/a> and lesbian<\/a> traffic lights for Pride festival t.co\/ZOez2H0T3r<\/a> #CSD<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/OlmxoCCWaU<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 DW Culture (@dw_culture) February 15, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

NEW ZEALAND<\/strong>. Gay activist violently attacked at Auckland Pride<\/a>: \u2018The AM Show reporter Aziz Al Sa\u2019afin and his friend were violently attacked walking along Auckland\u2019s Karangahape Road. Al-Sa\u2019afin told The AM Show on Tuesday that three men<\/a> walked up to him and his friend and begun hurling verbal abuse, before the situation quickly turned physical. \u201cBefore I knew it, my friend was on the ground getting decked\u2026 as I was walking towards him I got decked in my left eye.\u201d R\u0101w\u0101 Karetai is an LGBTI+ activist, and told Newshub that ufortunately, gay<\/a> hate crime still happen in New Zealand.\u2019<\/p>\n

UNITED KINGDOM<\/strong>. Mob gathers outside school in Birmingham to protest teacher for LGBT curriculum<\/a>: \u2018Andrew Moffat MBE has been under fire from parents who are protesting his No Outsiders project, which teaches children about LGBTQ equality and challenges homophobia in schools. Now the assistant head, who works at Parkfield Community School in the predominantly Muslim Alum Rock area of Birmingham, says that he has been receiving \u2018nasty messages\u2019, which left him feeling \u2018very threatened\u2019.\u2019<\/p>\n

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TUNISIA<\/strong>. Gay man sentenced to prison after reporting rape and robbery<\/a>: \u2018The man<\/a>, aged 26, set up a rendezvous using Facebook, said the Shams group that defends homosexuals in Tunisia, where gay<\/a> sex<\/a> is illegal. He turned up at the agreed venue only to be confronted by two men<\/a> who raped and robbed him, the man<\/a> told Shams. After reporting the robbery to the police, a magistrate ordered he undergo an anal test to determine if he had homosexual relations in the past. A court in Sfax, eastern Tunisia, sentenced the man<\/a> to serve six months in jail for sodomy and an additional two months for filing false charges, ruling that the man<\/a> had rowed after having had sex<\/a>.\u2019<\/p>\n

AUSTRALIA<\/strong>. Sydney has unveiled a permanent rainbow crosswalk<\/a>. \u201cSan Francisco artist Gilbert Baker\u2019s rainbow flag has been a symbol of those first bloody struggles of the gay<\/a> rights movement. The 78ers in Australia put up with brutal treatment during the first Sydney Mardi Gras, and the rainbow flag has come to represent the LGBTIQ community\u2019s struggles for liberation, survival and equality. The city worked with Roads and Maritime Services to bring the rainbow crossing back to Taylor Square. We believe this may also be the first rainbow crossing in the world that has been painted in a curving rainbow shape.\u201d<\/p>\n

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A new Rainbow #Crosswalk<\/a> applied with Ennis-Flint, Inc. MMA Material in Sydney, Australia! t.co\/JsoPsvJyth<\/a> #infrastructure<\/a> #transportation<\/a> #sharetheroad<\/a> #themarkoftrafficsafety<\/a> #ennisflint<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/r69Gs0lUdt<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Ennis-Flint, Inc. (@EnnisFlint) February 11, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

ISRAEL<\/strong>. Country sees spike in homophobic incidents<\/a>: \u201cAccording to the report, the sixth annual, an incident of harassment or abuse against members of the LGBTQ community occurs an average of every ten hours in Israel, with social media posts expressing\u00a0 hate towards the LGBTQ community going up online every four minutes. There were 821 incidents of harassment or abuse against the LGBTQ community in 2018, representing compared with 533 incidents reported in 2017. Twenty-five percent of the incidents, including violence, hate speech, discrimination and harassment, took place occurred in a public space, according to the report. Some 22 percent were online or in the media, 15 percent were at home or within the family, and 13 percent in the workplace, according to the report.\u201d<\/p>\n

The post LGBTQ World News Digest: 13 International Stories You Need to Know About<\/a> appeared first on Towleroad Gay News<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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LGBTQ World News Digest: 13 International Stories You Need to Know About<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n