Approximately 50 refugees seeking asylum in Europe died last year when this rickety boat capsized during their northward journey across the Mediterranean Sea, Erasing 76 Crimes revealed. They were a few of an estimated 25,000 to 32,000 such deaths and disappearances during refugee crossings since 2014 (per The International Organization for Migration)—with many seeking asylum because they feel persecuted because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. On March 17, 2025, in Sfax, Tunisia, Ali (the pseudonym used for this LGBTQ+ individual) and 55 other migrants set sail aboard a dinghy; however, rescuers only reached 10 survivors—with 39 others, including Ali, having disappeared.
The International LGBTQ+ Travel Association (IGLTA) announced a strategic two-year organizational partnership with the African Travel & Tourism Association (ATTA®), strengthening connections between African tourism and the global LGBTQ+ travel community, a press release noted. This pact will provide ATTA® with official membership to IGLTA, alongside significant advertising and marketing opportunities across IGLTA’s global network; in return, IGLTA will receive ATTA® membership as well as promotional opportunities through ATTA®’s official platforms. IGLTA currently has members in 12 African countries, including South Africa, Kenya, Namibia, Tanzania, Mauritius, Uganda, Madagascar, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Seychelles, Botswana and Rwanda.
During a White House appearance with El Salvador’s self-declared “world’s coolest dictator,” President Nayib Bukele, he and U.S. President Donald Trump exhibited transphobia, The Advocate noted. Trump abruptly pivoted from immigration to attacking transgender women in sports, asking Bukele, “Do you allow men to play in women’s sports? Do you allow men to box your women and box? Because I know you have a lot of boxers.” Smiling, Bukele replied, “That’s violence.” Trump then repeated long-debunked claims about trans women dominating women’s sports. GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis told The Advocate the exchange showed how disconnected Trump’s rhetoric is from the reality of most Americans.
Karina Ødegård—the Green Party candidate and district spokesperson vying to become first out trans member of Norway’s parliament—told the media outlet Aftenposten that they would like to extend asylum to transgender folks in the U.S. fleeing the anti-transgender policies of the Trump administration, The Advocate noted. Ødegård said she empathizes with the transgender community in the United States, saying public affirmation and “recognition” is key to living a full and happy life as a trans person, adding, “When we see developments in the United States, where rights are being withdrawn through pure legal and political persecution, I believe it should provide grounds for asylum.”
The White Lotus actress Aimee Lou Wood defended trans rights after the UK Supreme Court ruled that the legal definition of a woman excludes trans women, saying she feels “pure rage” for the trans/non-binary community, PinkNews noted. In addition, activist and Outrage author Ellen Jones posted, “Imagine if that was a different group of people—there would be [an] uproar. This ruling sets an alarmingly dangerous precedent. It puts the UK back at least 20 years in terms of protections. … Trans people will die as a result of this judgement. But that’s the point: Trans people’s lives are considered completely disposable.”
British artist/filmmaker Sir Isaac Julien’s first-ever exhibition at a U.S. museum is “I Dream a World,” which opened April 12 at San Francisco’s de Young Museum, per Queerty. Titled after Langston Hughes’ famous poem, the exhibition features 10 major video installations from 1990 to 2022, including Looking For Langston, a black-and-white meditation on the Harlem Renaissance and Black queer desire; and This Is Not an AIDS Advertisement, a response to the HIV/AIDS crisis of the 1980s. A website description reads, “The works’ themes range from global migration to the collection and appropriation of African artists and art by Western museums to the celebration of cultural figures who overcame racial oppression. Shot across Europe, Africa, the Caribbean, the Americas, and Asia, Julien’s works untangle the complex web of post-colonial conditions that has shaped the lives of individuals and societies across the globe.”
In Australia, the state of New South Wales (NSW) has begun criminalizing LGBTQ+ conversion practices under the Conversion Practices Ban Act 2024, per the Australiasian Lawyer. The Act, which took effect on April 4, criminalizes conversion therapy, suppression practices and other dangerous and damaging LGBTQ+ conversion practices. It also establishes a mechanism for Anti-Discrimination NSW to handle civil complaints alleging such practices. “So-called ‘conversion therapy’ inflicts real and significant harm on members of the LGBTQ+ community,” said NSW Attorney General Michael Daley in a press release. “There is nothing ‘wrong’ with LGBTQ+ people. They do not need ‘fixing’ or to be ‘saved.’”
Conservative millionaire Daniel Noboa was elected president of Ecuador, the AP reported. As of April 13, data released by Ecuador’s National Electoral Council show Noboa received 55.8% of the vote with more than 90% of ballots counted, while relatively leftist lawyer Luisa González garnered 44%. Last month, Noboa signed a public commitment with the social organization Sociedad y Familia , which brings together representatives from groups including Catholic, Orthodox and Evangelical churches as well as evangelical indigenous leaders, El Comercio noted. According to the national government, the gender ideology-related commitment seeks to “protect children in Ecuador” and “guarantee the right of mothers and fathers to educate their children according to their faith and beliefs , without ideological impositions by the State, in accordance with Article 29 of the Constitution.” González signed a similar agreement.
A new study on Europe’s most romantic LGBTQ+ cities has named Berlin—which has 14 LGBTQ+ bars listed on TripAdvisor—as the best destination on the continent among 40 cities, euronews noted. The research ranked locations based on factors like the number of LGBTQ+ events and bars, the percentage of singles, as well as the cities’ safety and anti-discrimination score. Amsterdam, Helsinki, London and Brussels completed the top five. Nicosia, Cyprus; Naples, Italy, and Limassol, Cyprus occupied the bottom of the rankings.
Following its North American debut during the sold-out Hit Me Hard And Soft: The Tour, Billie Eilish and Support+Feed will announce the fourth and fifth sessions of Overheated, set to take place in Berlin at the Festsaal Kreuzberg on May 9 as well as London at indigo at The O2 on July 14, per a press release. Overheated will bring together climate activists, music fans and others for two days filled with discussion, community building and resources to help tackle the climate crisis. The events will be streamed globally via Eilish’s Official YouTube Channel.
Swiss singer Vendredi sur Mer shared her new track, “Arrêter le temps,” featuring pianist/composer Sofiane Pamart, per a press release. The song is from her upcoming third album, Malabar Princess, which is set to come out April 25. Vendredi sur Mer announced her 2025 European tour dates in mid-December. A second leg for the European tour was added in Utrecht, Oslo, Copenhagen and Stockholm. In 2021, mygwork listed sur Mer as a French queer artist to watch. After starting her artistic journey in photography, Charline Mignot (her real name) moved to music, creating sur Mer—a persona that led to her debut album, Premiers émois (2019), and the darker Métamorphose (2022).
Out gay gymnast Heath Thorpe is celebrating his big finish at the latest Gymnastics World Cup event, Outsports noted. Thorpe took fifth place in the horizontal bar at the World Cup event in Osijek, Croatia. “A perfect way to cap off a wonderful start to the season,” Thorpe wrote on Instagram. “Pumped to get to Luxembourg this week for one more international competition and then back to Sydney to get in the lab and work on some upgrades for the rest of the year.” In 2024, Thorpe was left off the Australian Gymnastics team for the Paris Summer Olympics after he won the all-around championship in Australia, baffling many fans.
In Northern Ireland, Rainbow Project CEO Scott Cuthbertson said that queer people living outside Belfast should have the same access to healthcare as everyone else, according to the BBC. Cuthbertson added that people could be more at risk of cancer if they are too afraid to access services because of their identity. The Rainbow Project—in conjunction with Macmillan Cancer Support, health trusts and the Public Health Agency—runs the The Cancer Champion Service, which was launched in Belfast last August and has now expanded to Derry and Strabane. Julian Backhouse from Macmillan Cancer Support said, “Together, we will break down unnecessary and unacceptable barriers to inclusion.”
Australian Greens MP Stephen Bates started an OnlyFans in a bid to sway people to vote Green and to advertise the party’s plan to make PrEP free, PInkNews noted. “Sometimes you have to make a splash to make people pay attention to the things that matter,” Bates said, according to Q News. “I’ve got a huge policy announcement that’ll top Labor and the LNP,” Bates’ OnlyFans video stated.
Shaun of the Dead actor Nick Frost disabled comments on a post celebrating his casting in HBO’s Harry Potter series after fans angrily reacted to the news, per PinkNews. HBO announced that the British actor, known for Hot Fuzz and The World’s End, will star as half-giant Rubeus Hagrid in its TV adaptation of JK Rowling’s Harry Potter novels; he’ll be joined by Conclave star John Lithgow as Hogwarts’ gay headmaster Albus Dumbledore, I May Destroy You’s Paapa Essiedu as Severus Snape, and KAOS star Janet McTeer as Minerva McGonagall. While megafans praised the development involving Frost, others have taken aim at Frost and his fellow future Harry Potter stars over their involvement in a series being executive-produced by Rowling, who’s known for her anti-trans stance. Although Frost has signed on to star in Harry Potter, one of his next big projects is reportedly starring alongside trans comic Jordan Gray in her trans-focussed ITV supermarket sitcom, Transaction.
On the UK edition of the show Celebrity Big Brother, Mickey Rourke was kicked off the show by producers after an “unacceptable” run-in with fellow cast member Chris Hughes, The Independent noted. The controversy began when Rourke “ogled” the reality show’s co-host AJ Odudu upon his entrance, which had caused viewers to call for the 9 1/2 Weeks actor to be axed from the series. Earlier in the series, Rourke apologized to queer contestant JoJo Siwa after making homophobic comments. After Rourke’s eviction, former Tory MP Michael Fabricant—another LGBTQ+ contestant, and the first to be eliminated—posted, “He wanted to leave on Day One!” Missing Danny, Jack, Donna, Jo Jo and nearly all of the others. I WANT TO GO BACK IN!!,” according to Yahoo! News.