Bisexual model/porn actor Luka Rocco Magnotta, 29, was arrested in Berlin in connection with a case involving the mailing of a victim’s body parts to Canada’s two top political parties. Police found a man’s torso in a suitcase in a heap of garbage behind an apartment building where Magnotta lived, and a blood-stained mattress was found in his apartment. Magnotta is also known by the names Eric Clinton Newman and Vladimir Romanov. The victim has been identified as Lin Jun, a 33-year-old male Chinese student who was in a relationship with Magnotta, Advocate.com reported.
Swedish soccer player Anton Hysen—who came out as gay last year—won the Swedish TV show Let’s Dance (that country’s version of Dancing With the Stars), according to Outsports.com. On Twitter he posted, “We did it !!! LETS DANCE 2012 WINNERS !!!” Hysen (and partner Sigrid Bernson) prevailed over actress Molly Nutley. Hysen appeared naked on the May cover of the Swedish magazine QX; inside, he talked about everything from homophobia to his own body.
By a vote of 430-105, the European Parliament has adopted a resolution condemning anti-gay laws, Pink News reported. The legislative body specifically called on Russia, Moldova, Latvia, Lithuania and Ukraine to address existing measures and draft legislation that would “demonstrate, and ensure respect for, the principle of non-discrimination.” The resolution added that EU member states should be “exemplary in the application and protection of fundamental rights in Europe.”
The world’s first gay married couple have created an art installation that’s a lifelike waxwork of former Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi imagined as a dead figure, according to Pink News. The work, called “‘Il Sogno degli Italiani” (“The Dream of the Italians”), is the creation of Antonio Garullo and Mario Ottocento, who were the first gay couple to tie the knot in Amsterdam, back in 2002. The artwork—whose title is a reference to what Berlusconi is thought to have called himself to a young girlfriend—shows the ex-political official lying dead in a glass coffin.
In Nigeria, gay lecturer Dr. Gambo Abdul has been arrested for allegedly harassing male student Abubakar Abdulkareem at the Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, AllAfrica.com reported. Officials said Abdulkareem rejected Abdul’s advances, and that the teacher threatened to fail the student if he didn’t comply. Abdulkareen said the ordeal started more than two years ago.
Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe said that homosexuality doesn’t belong anywhere in his country, ABC News reported. Mugabe, 88, said during a conference on HIV/AIDS and gender rights that what he called the “gay world” goes against nature. Mugabe, who has repeatedly described same-sex couples as “lower than dogs and pigs,” is determined not to allow gay rights to be included in a new constitution that is being drafted.
In England, transgender teen Jackie Green fell short in her quest to reach the finals of the Miss England pageant, according to Yahoo! Green, 18, was born Jackie but has lived as a girl the past eight years; two years ago, she underwent gender-reassignment surgery in Thailand. She didn’t get past the semifinal, which involved a boot camp, interview process, fashion show and eco round.
Nick Herbert, England’s government minister in charge of police and criminal justice, said that opposing same-sex marriage is “not acceptable,” according to The Christian Institute. However, his comments put him at odds with some of his government colleagues. For example, the secretary of state for Northern Ireland and some other ministers won’t support marriage equality. Herbert, a member of the Conservative Party, is in a civil partnership.