It turns out that, in July, two students—Hamza Idris-Tofawa and Umar Yusuf-Dungurawa—were killed by fellow students at Government Secondary School Bichi in Nigeria’s Kano State because they were gay, Erasing 76 Crimes reported, citing The Washington Blade. Two other students were also attacked and had to be hospitalized to treat their injuries. Eleven students have been arrested, and an investigation is ongoing.
And in another school-related incident, at Dhaka University of Engineering & Technology (DUET) in Bangladesh, seven students were allegedly detained and tortured in their dormitories on July 19 simply because they were accused of being queer, per Erasing 76 Crimes. The students were subsequently temporarily expelled from their dorms on July 22 and 24 by the university administration. JusticeMakers Bangladesh in France (JMBF) has asked for the immediate withdrawal of the university’s decision; the creation of an environment free from discrimination; and a swift, transparent international investigation leading to exemplary punishment of those responsible.
The IGLTA Foundation convened a leadership think tank in São Paulo, bringing together leaders from Brazil’s business, academic, government, queer organizations and financial sectors to collaborate on strategies to increase LGBTQ+ tourism in the country, a press release noted. Among other things, participants identified six strategic pillars designed to address existing gaps and support a sustainable future for LGBTQ+ tourism in Brazil. The think tank discussion, combined with a national survey, resulted in a new report, LGBTQ+ Travel in Brazil: Data, Insights & Strategies for Inclusive Business.
Austrian theologian and Jesuit priest Father Andreas Batlogg, S.J.—the author of the first German-language biography of Pope Leo XIV—talked with German news outlet Katholisch.de about expectations regarding the new pope, per New Ways Ministry. At one point in the interview, they discussed LGBTQ+ issues, with Batlogg saying, “People are people and don’t choose their sexual orientation for themselves. Whether they are men or women, they don’t want an act of grace or to be tolerated; they want to be accepted. … The aggressiveness, the militancy, the doggedness with which LGBTQ+ issues are sometimes treated in the Church produces new suffering.”
Recently, Bishop Cherry Vann was elected as archbishop of the Church in Wales—becoming the first woman and LGBTQ+ cleric appointed to lead any of Britain’s Anglican churches, NBC News noted. Vann was among the first women ordained as priests in the Church of England in 1994 and later was archdeacon of Rochdale, in northern England, before moving to Wales. The Church in Wales broke away from the Church of England in 1920.
Rightify Ghana has identified areas in the African country that are “hotspots for blackmailers and organized groups targeting gay men,” per Erasing 76 Crimes. The high-risk locations are listed by regions (e.g., Ashanti, Greater Accra, Bono and Volta). Individuals are often lured via various platforms such as Grindr, Adam4Adam and Tinder to locations where they are assaulted, stripped naked and videotaped, and otherwise harmed; sometimes, they are also ransomed.
Archbishop of Madrid Cardinal José Cobo sent a letter of “affectionate greeting” to the Global Network of Rainbow Catholics assembly , saying that “we are opening new doors and new pastoral attitudes that enable understanding and make us all feel like journeyers of hope,” New Ways Ministry noted. Cobo—also the vice president of Spain’s Catholic Bishops Conference—greeted the LGBTQ+ Catholic assembly that was meeting in Madrid for their fifth biennial conference, which was also, in part of the preparation for the LGBTQ+ Pilgrimage for the Jubilee Year that will be happening in Rome on Sept. 5-6.
Zimbabwe’s government has started a legal reform process aimed at recognizing and protecting the rights of intersex people, per The Washington Blade. State media reported that President Emmerson Mnangagwa supports the initiative, which was seen as a crucial step toward identifying existing legal and policy gaps to ensure the full protection of intersex people’s human rights. Alessandrabree Chacha, a transgender woman and queer-rights activist, said the legal reform process is a progressive step toward acknowledging and protecting the LGBTQ+ community.
As the U.S. administration targets DEI programs and large corporations follow suit, some queer tech founders say they’re considering a move to Canada to ensure the success of their businesses—and their ability to live openly, according to BetaKit. Mary Richardson—who co-founded the LGBTQ+ dating app Bindr—said these political changes have “directly impacted” how her companies are doing business, making the US a worse place for her and her founders to build a company.
Italy’s constitutional court recently ruled that the non-biological mother in a same-sex union is entitled to paternity leave, NBC News noted. The court found that a 2001 decree on parental leave was unconstitutional because it didn’t recognize that the non-biological mother in a lesbian civil union was also entitled to Italy’s mandatory 10-day paternity leave. In May, the constitutional court ruled that two women can register as parents of a child on a birth certificate.
World of Wonder announced that international drag icon RuPaul will return to WOW Presents Plus this fall for the seventh season of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK, a press release noted. Twelve drag queens are competing to snatch the crown and become The UK’s Next Drag Race Superstar. The new crop of competitors will include Bones, Bonnie Ann Clyde, Viola, Chai T Grande, Elle Vosque, Nyongbella, Paige Three, Sally TM, Pasty, Silllexa Diction, Catrin Feelings and Tayris Mongardi.
And on a related note, World of Wonder announced that Drag Race Down Under vs The World will be coming soon to WOW Presents Plus in the United States and select territories, per a press release. Veteran Drag Race figure Michelle Visage will return to host this inaugural season, with actor/comedian Rhys Nicholson and season four winner Lazy Susan by her side on the judging panel.
Harry Potter author JK Rowling defended her 2022 decision to wear a T-shift bearing the words “Nicola Sturgeon: destroyer of women’s rights,” telling the former UK first minister that “the only way to get through to you is through your vanity,” The Sunday Times noted. Rowling has been a persistent critic of the former SNP leader over her proposals to liberalize gender laws in Scotland. In her new memoir Frankly, Sturgeon said the slogan marked a turning point after which “rational debate” about trans rights became “impossible” and “any hope of finding common ground disappeared.”
U.S. non-binary runner Nikki Hiltz ran down Australia’s Linden Hall in the women’s 1,500-meter contest at the recent Allianz Memorial Van Damme meet in Brussels to earn their first career Diamond League victory in 3:55.94, Let’s Run noted. Hiltz (who is biologically female but identifies as non-binary and uses they/them pronouns) is the first U.S. resident to win a women’s middle-distance/distance event on the Diamond League circuit since Athing Mu-Nikolayev won the 800 meters at the 2023 Prefontaine Classic, and the first to win a 1,500 since Shelby Houlihan accomplished the feat in Lausanne, Switzerland in 2018.
France summoned the U.S. Ambassador Charles Kushner—Ivanka Trump’s father-in-law—after he wrote a letter to French President Emmanuel Macron alleging France had failed to do enough to stem antisemitic violence, USA Today noted. Kushner published the open letter in the Wall Street Journal amid deep rifts between France and the U.S. and Israel. Kushner’s letter followed another sent to Macron by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in which he accused Macron of contributing to antisemitism by calling for international recognition of a Palestinian state.
Kevin Spacey’s first film as director in more than two decades was written by and stars a Russian man wanted by U.S. authorities for being part of an alleged cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme, Variety reported. The Portal of Force (the first of a planned trilogy) is a supernatural action-thriller shot last year in Mexico and in which the two-time Oscar winner stars alongside Dolph Lundgren, Eric Roberts and Tyrese Gibson. The film also involves Vladimir “Lado” Okhotnikov, a Russian national who, in 2023, was charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud; he has denied the allegations.
Efe Cakaral—the CEO of Mubi, the distributor behind such movies as The Substance—addressed growing backlash the company has received for taking on an investor with ties to the Israeli military, Variety noted. Among other things, Cakarel denied accusations that Mubi was “complicit in the events occurring in Gaza” by partnering with Sequoia; he also announced the launch of an Ethical Funding and Investment Policy and an Artists Advisory Council. In May, Mubi secured a $100-million investment from Sequoia Capital; that business was a key investor in the Israeli defense-tech startup Kela, founded by four veterans of Israeli intelligence units in response to the terror attacks of Oct. 7 and more than six months into the invasion of Gaza.
Openly gay DJ/Game of Thrones actor Kristian Nairn was forced to withdraw from the BBC Strictly Come Dancing (rebranded in the United States as Dancing with the Stars) before the new season started because of a medical issue, Deadline noted. In a statement, the 6’10” entertainer said, “With a heavy heart, I have to step back from this season of Strictly Come Dancing due to unexpected medical reasons. I was truly looking forward to the journey, and I’m deeply sorry to disappoint anyone who was looking forward to seeing me on the dance floor.”