A Vatican official joined Maltese LGBTQ+ Catholics and allies to celebrate 20 years of inclusive ministry in the country, per New Ways Ministry. Archbishop Charles Scicluna of Malta joined Drachma LGBTI+ for Mass in mid-September, telling attendees, ”We accept each other as siblings; and we welcome each other as a precious gift.” Scicluna, who is also an adjunct secretary at the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, preached about the centrality of reconciliation—with God, with oneself, and with others. He ended by stating that God’s mercy “can radically change us and give us the power to reach that maturity in the relationships between us and in our lives that we pass from infatuation to love; that instead of exploitation there is true friendship.”
In Bangladesh, three men have been charged with murdering gay kindergarten teacher Sujan Ali last month in the midst of an argument about homosexuality, according to Erasing 76 Crimes. Ali and the three alleged killers got into the argument in a nursery school room in the Jibon Nagar district, Meherpur, near the India border. During the argument, they struck him on the head with an iron rod, resulting in his death; they later buried the body. JusticeMakers Bangladesh in France (JMBF) issued a statement condemning the killing, saying, “This heinous act of violence—carried out by individuals who deceived Sujan into a confrontation under false pretenses—ended his life mercilessly and unforgivably. It underscores the urgent need for greater protection, understanding and legal safeguarding for LGBTQI+ individuals in Bangladesh and beyond.”
In Romania, an LGBTQ+-rights activist is making history as the first openly queer person to run for parliament in upcoming elections set for Dec. 1, per The Los Angeles Blade. Florin Buhuceanu is running for the liberal Renewing Romania’s European Project Party (REPER), which splintered from the Save Romania Union two years ago and currently holds 10 seats in the 330-seat lower house. Among other accomplishments, Buhuceanu helped organize Romania’s first Pride festival and has led Accept, the country’s leading LGBTQ+ advocacy group.
Ugandan opposition leader Kizza Besigye was arrested in Kenya and taken across the border to a Ugandan military jail, Erasing 76 Crimes noted. Besige is the husband of Winnie Byanyima, the executive director of the U.N. program for HIV and AIDS—and Byanyima and Besige have criticized Uganda’s ongoing repression of LGBTQ+ people, although only Byanyima has spoken forcefully in favor of LGBTQ+ rights. Besigye has said that prosecuting queer people is a waste of government resources; Byanyima has said that anti-LGBTQ+ measures impede the fight against HIV. According to BBC News, Besigye was told he would remain in custody until Dec. 2.
In schools across Northern Ireland, students are finding it more challenging to reveal their Christian faith than their sexual orientation, according to The Christian Post. The information came from testimony provided during an ongoing inquiry into Relationship and Sexuality Education (RSE) at Stormont. David Smyth, a representative of the Evangelical Alliance Northern Ireland, told the Education Committee that some young people find it “much more difficult now to come out as an Evangelical Christian in school than it is to come out as LGBT,” per the BBC.
FIFA announced support for the organization that oversees tournaments for LGBTQ+-inclusive soccer clubs from around the world, including financial assistance, Outsports noted. The International Gay and Lesbian Football Association (IGLFA) has welcomed the backing of the sport’s global governing body, which has been confirmed following the conclusion of its world championship in Buenos Aires. Stonewall FC won the tournament, known as the “Gay World Cup,” for the 10th time in the London club’s history. In an article on its website, FIFA said it has “signed a seed funding agreement with the IGLFA. Running from October 2024 to December 2026, the agreement underpins FIFA’s commitment to the tournament and the LGBTQ+ football community.”
Alisher Qodirov, leader of Uzbekistan’s Milliy Tiklanish (National Revival) party, said that a draft law banning the discussion of LGBTQ+ topics is being prepared in Uzbekistan, The Times of Central Asia noted. Qodirov shared this news on his Telegram channel, where he also referenced a social-media post by Ivanka Trump, who highlighted U.S. President-Elect Donald Trump’s plan to cut federal funding for schools promoting “inappropriate sexual content” and “transgender ideology.” Qodirov commented, “The change in the center of the disease is very good,” suggesting his support for similar measures in Uzbekistan.
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled that Switzerland cannot deport a gay Iranian refugee claimant (identified solely as “M.I.”), finding that the state’s argument that he’d be safe as long as he’s discreet is not reasonable, The Los Angeles Blade noted. The Swiss government acknowledged that tM.I. was a gay man and that gay men face persecution from state and non-state actors in Iran. However, Switzerland had denied M.I.’s asylum claim, arguing that he could avoid persecution by using discretion and restraint in expressing his sexuality and that it was unlikely his sexual orientation would become known to Iranian authorities otherwise. ECHR’s decision applies to all 46 members of the European Convention on Human Rights.
Talking with fellow actor Penn Badgley on the Podcrushed podcast, British actor Eddie Redmayne reflected on some of his more controversial roles, including in the musical Cabaret and drama The Danish Girl (for which he was nominated for an Oscar), per The Independent. The Danish Girl was criticized for casting Redmayne, a cisgender man, as Lili Elbe—one of the first known trans people to have gender-affirming surgery—and he has said that he “wouldn’t take it” if offered the role today. Regarding playing Emcee in Cabaret, Redmayne said that he understood the debate about him taking an “iconically queer role,” adding, “I also think that that character is descriptionless and deserves any form of interpretation.” Redmayne also said that Emcee isn’t necessarily a queer role but has been portrayed that way in the past.
Organizations throughout Scotland can now sign up to an initiative that boosts inclusivity and the experiences of LGBTQ+ staff, clients and stakeholders, per the HR Director. The LGBT Charter plan, delivered by LGBT Youth Scotland, is a program that has provided hundreds of schools, further education facilities, charities and public sector bodies with the training and tools to challenge prejudice while supporting equality and diversity—and it’s now branching out to the private sector. LGBT Youth Scotland Chief Executive Mr. Mhairi Crawford said, “The LGBT Charter goes beyond mere accreditation; it represents a declaration of support for equality, diversity and the rights of LGBTQ+ individuals.”
An article in the Jurnal Indonesia Sosial Sains showed how researchers aimed to examine the influence of acceptance of LGBT people in Thailand on the development of LGBT social movements in Indonesia, as well as identify the challenges faced by LGBT people in Indonesia. The results show that LGBT acceptance in Thailand, influenced by factors such as cultural values and Buddhism, has created a more inclusive environment for LGBT people—triggering the emergence of social movements supporting LGBT rights in Southeast Asia, including Indonesia. However, in Indonesia, LGBT-rights movements face greater challenges due to the strong cultural and religious traditions of conservative Islam.
Berlin Police Chief Barbara Slowik warned Jewish and gay people that they should hide their identity in parts of the city with large Arab populations, The Telegraph reported. “There are areas of the city, we need to be perfectly honest here, where I would advise people who wear a kippah or are openly gay to be more careful,” Slowik told the Berliner Zeitung newspaper. The Berlin borough of Neukölln, known for its queer nightlife, is the Berlin district with the highest Arab population. The two communities have co-existed for years, although there have been several incidents of same-sex couples being physically assaulted in recent years.
A small Mexican brewery, Minerva, has produced the world’s first “gay beer”—a beverage for the queer population, per Telegrafi. The beer has the taste of honey, and it has started to be sold in Mexico, Colombia and Japan. “We decided to offer beer for gay people on the market, as we think that the big breweries have always ignored them even though they are very serious customers,” said Minerva sales director Rodriguez Wyler. The same beer is sold in two types of packaging and bears two names: Purple Hand and Salamandra.
A movie theater believed to be London’s first LGBTQ+ cinema has been approved, according to the BBC. Called The Arzner, it is named after Dorothy Arzner—a pioneering lesbian filmmaker who was the first woman to direct a Hollywood talkie more than 100 years ago. The Arzner, which Simon Burke and Piers Greenlees plan to open soon, will have one screen with room for up to 50 spectators and a total capacity of 150 people, including the bar.
The Substance director Coralie Fargeat pulled her film—starring Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley—from the 2024 Camerimage Film Festival in Poland in response to what she called “highly misogynistic and offensive” comments from festival CEO Marek Zydowicz, The Hollywood Reporter noted. “We send our support to all involved in the festival and hope this decision will create a much needed change,” film cinematographer Benjamin Fargeat and Kracun jointly stated on X. Zydowicz sparked controversy with his remarks in an editorial about the festival’s lack of female cinematographers in selections for past editions, seemingly stating that greater female representation could result in lesser artistic quality. The Camerimage main competition jury—headed by actress Cate Blanchett—responded, in part, “We wholeheartedly support the necessary shift towards genuine inclusivity, and festivals can be a great forum for engaging in such conversations and championing positive change.”
Queer musician Chappell Roan as well as Khruangbin, Wet Leg and MJ Lenderman have been announced as the first few names slated to perform at the 2025 ØYA Festival, NME noted. The 26th edition of the event is due to take place at Tøyenparken in Oslo, Norway on Aug. 5-9. It will mark one of Roan’s biggest European festival appearances to date, and follows a huge year for her that included picking up nominations in all four major categories for the 2025 Grammys with her debut album, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess.
British Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling continued her anti-trans stance by criticizing talk-show host John Oliver (who’s also British) over his support of trans athletes, Deadline noted. She accused the host of HBO‘s Last Week Tonight of being happy to see women suffer sporting humiliation in support of an “elitist post-modern ideology.” Rowling said she was hesitant to attack Oliver because he gave time to her charity, Lumos, and she “liked him very much” when they met. “Nothing about this feels good,” she added.
Twenty teams with 283 North American players participated in the Canada Cup—a cornerstone LGBTQ+ hockey event played in Toronto at Leaside Memorial Arena and the William P. Wilder ’40 Arena & Sports Complex on the campus of Upper Canada College, the NHL noted. The tournament—alternately hosted by the Toronto Gay Hockey Association and the Montreal Gay Hockey Association—aims to provide a supportive environment for players to compete, showcase their skills and help foster a sense of community. This year attracted teams from New York, Bufalo, Ottawa, Chicago, Boston, Pittsburgh, St. Catharines, Ontario and beyond.
Liam Payne was memorialized at a funeral on Nov. 20 in Britain, with his family and One Direction bandmates in attendance, per USA Today. Payne’s service was held at St. Mary’s Church in Amersham, England, about 30 miles northwest of London. One Direction members Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson were seen arriving at the funeral, as well as Payne’s girlfriend, Kate Cassidy, and friends James Corden, Damian Hurley and “Girls Aloud” singer Kimberley Walsh. Payne, 31—who died Oct. 16 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, after falling from a third-floor hotel balcony—is survived by his 7-year-old child, Bear, whom he shared with British singer Cheryl Cole.
UK singer Morrissey’ recently said at a New Jersey show that he is being prevented from releasing new music due to a war on “free speech,” per NME. “As you know, nobody will release my music anymore,” he said, according to APP. “As you know because I’m a chief exponent of free speech. In England at least, it’s now criminalized. You cannot speak freely in England. If you don’t believe me, go there. Express an opinion, you’ll be sent to prison. It’s very, very difficult.” While he did not explicitly say what the comments were about, it’s possible he was referring to the currently unreleased album Bonfire of the Teenagers; he recorded the album between 2020 and 2021, although it has remained shelved by Capitol Records.