The World Bank is trying to reach a compromise with Uganda concerning conflicting stances about same-sex relationships, Business Insider Africa noted. In 2023, Uganda imposed a strict anti-gay bill that allows harsh punishments to be met to anyone identifying as part of the community; in response, the World Bank halted its loans to the country, alongside sanction from Western States. Recently, the global financial lender said it is working with Uganda to ensure that funding to the country resumes—but not until Uganda eases the anti-gay laws. LGBTQ+ groups demanded that the Washington-based global lender continue with the embargo for as long as the anti-gay law was in effect.
Georgia President Salome Zourabichvili refused to sign an anti-LGBTQ+ measure, weeks after the country’s parliament passed the controversial measure, The Guardian noted. Last month, Georgia’s parliament was severely criticized after it approved the legislation, which bans same-sex marriages and adoptions, curbs gender-affirming treatments, outlaws Pride events, and censor depictions of LGBTQ+ people in film and books. “President Zourabichvili refused to sign the bill and returned to parliament without vetoing it,” her spokesperson told AFP. The bill is instead expected to be signed into law by the parliament’s speaker. Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze reacted angrily, accusing Zourabichvili of failing families and minors, according to AlJazeera, citing Georgian media.
In Hungary, Gergő Bese—an influential priest who relays the government’s anti-LGBTQ+ propaganda extensively in the media—was suspended from his duties after it was revealed that he participated in gay sex parties, Le Monde reported. Earlier this year, Bese criticized the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics in the government magazine Mandiner, calling it “Pride 2.0” with its “scandalous outfits” and “provocative behavior.” He also warned Hungarians that, in his eyes, “gay marriage,” banned in the country, is the “first step toward the irreversible destruction of society.”
In the UK, the Manchester City Council approved plans for an LGBTQ+-focused housing project, PinkNews noted. In January, Great Places Housing Group launched a public consultation on its proposals to create the UK’s first purpose-built and co-produced majority LGBTQ+ Extra Care housing plan, in Whalley Range; conservatives objected but the plan was eventually greenlit. The development is planned on the site of the now-demolished Spire Hospital, which has remained vacant since 2019. There will be 80 one- and two-bedroom social rented apartments for people 55 and older. The complex will include shared facilities, lounges, treatment rooms and landscaped gardens.
Also in the UK, gay politician/TV producer Lord Waheed Alli is in the center of an ongoing controversy involving donations to the Labour Party, per PinkNews. The Guardian reported that, since 2020, Alli has donated £500,000 ($667,000) to the party; in addition, he reportedly paid for more than £16,000 ($21,300) worth of clothing for Prime Minister Keir Starmer and £5,000 ($6,600) of free clothes for and the Labour leader’s wife, Victoria—which allegedly have not been declared. Also, Starmer has defended accepting accommodation from Alli during the general election, saying it was important his son had a peaceful place to study, the BBC noted. Alli—said to be one of the very few LGBTQ+ Muslim politicians in the world—became Baron Alli when Tony Blair was prime minister and, at the time, was the youngest—and first openly gay—member of the upper chamber.
Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is facing growing pressure from the LGBTQ+ community and courts to do more to protect sexual minorities, including legalizing same-sex marriage—but most candidates for the post have remained low-key on the issue, Kyodo News reported. Ishiba said he will approach the issue by taking into consideration relevant court rulings. Japan remains the only Group of Seven major industrialized country that has not legalized same-sex marriage or civil unions, despite growing pressure from the queer community and its supporters.
Out ran a piece by Luckybamero, a queer digital artist from Iran. In part, Luckybamero said that digital painting “liberates me from the constraints of traditional art forms.” The artist—who graduated with a degree in architecture in 2017—also stated that they “took the bold step of sharing my art online, driven by a need to connect with a broader audience in a country where open expression of queer identity is stifled.” While the artist said the core of the works “is a deep empathy for the community, especially gay men in Iran,” challenges that transgender individuals face in Iran are also addressed.
India’s National Medical Commission introduced an undergraduate curriculum that does not include protections for transgender individuals and people with disabilities, The Washington Blade reported. The curriculum sparked controversy by introducing “sodomy and lesbianism” as unnatural sexual offenses in undergraduate programs, prompting two international organizations to threaten to seek the suspension of the National Medical Commission over the issue. The International Council for Disability Inclusion in Medical Education and the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) have called for global authorities to temporarily suspend the commission’s recognition by global authorities; the two organizations say the new curriculum violates existing laws that protect the rights of people with disabilities and LGBTQ+ individuals.
Catholic LGBTQ+ advocates in Latin America participated in an official church gathering about youth ministry this summer, a New Ways Ministry column noted. The Latin American region of the Global Network of Rainbow Catholics (GNRC) participated in July’s XXI Latin American Meeting of National Representatives of Youth Ministry (ELARNPJ, based on the group’s name in Spanish). The event—held in Paraguay and hosted by the Latin American and Caribbean Episcopal Council (CELAM)—featured clergy as well as religious and lay persons meeting to “discuss and advance youth ministry” in the region’s Catholic Church, per GNRC’s website. The GNRC delegation, led by Arturo Retana, engaged in talks and brought visibility to the realities and challenges that young LGTBIQ+ Catholics face in Latin America.
A top Catholic in Belgium appealed to Pope Francis for greater reform in the church, including LGBTQ+ inclusion, on the occasion of a papal visit to the country, according to New Ways Ministry, citing the National Catholic Reporter (NCR). When the pontiff stopped at the Catholic University of Leuven (KU Leuven) ahead of the 600th anniversary of its founding in 2025, university rector Luc Sels advocated for reforms sought by many Belgian Catholics. According to NCR, the pope did not respond directly to Sels’ remarks, although he encouraged theological exploration. In mid-September, the pope greeted a group of four U.S. trans women at an audience in St. Peter’s Square. The women—Martha Marvel, Maureen Rasmussen, Christine Zuba and Lynn Discenza—were accompanied by an Italian priest, Fr. Andrea Conocchia, and a woman religious, Sr. Geneviève Jeanningros, known for their outreach to the trans community in Torvaianica, near Rome.
Sir Elton John’s Farewell Yellow Brick Road: Memories of My Life on Tour offers insight on the nearly five-year-long and 330-concert worldwide musical excursion, The Hollywood Reporter noted. The visual and written diary, authored by the icon himself, was first announced in January 2024 and was officially released on Sept. 24 at major online retailers, including Walmart, Target and Amazon, with a limited-edition copy (including a holographic cover and a collectible Elton John poster) available at Barnes & Noble. Within the 256-page hardcover book, John shares his fondest memories, most unforgettable moments and previously untold stories from the record-breaking Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour.
Letters, a forthcoming book edited by Kate Edgar, contains more than 300 items from the late LGBTQ+ British physician/author Oliver Sacks, according to a listing from Knopf Books. According to the release, the 752-page book that will be out Nov. 5 reveals “Sacks’ passion for life and work, friendship and art, medicine and society, and the richness of his relationships with friends, family, and fellow intellectuals over the decades.” Sacks—who died in 2015 and whose books inspired the current TV series Brilliant Minds, starring Zachary Quinto—wrote many best-selling books, including The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat.
The IGLTA Foundation—the philanthropic arm of the International LGBTQ+ Travel Association—announced the recipients of this year’s 2024 Global Convention fellowships, per a press release. The recipients are Aayam Poudel, co-owner of Queermandu Tours and Travel in Nepal; Megan Licari, founder of Meg Sees the World in the United States; Doina Cracium, an LGBTQ+ tour operator in France; and Syaiful “Rio” Rabindra, of Gay Bali Travel. The fellowship recipients will attend the 2024 IGLTA Global Convention in Osaka, Japan, this month.
French pansexual artist Rahim Redcar (fka Christine and the Queens) announced the release of his new album, Hopecore, and an intimate club tour with special shows in the UK, EU and the US, a press release noted. Hopecore—with songs such as “Red Birdman Emergency,” “Inside of Me” and “Manuela Danse”—follows the 20-track epic opera Paranoïa, Angels, True Love (2023) and Redcar les adorables étoiles (2022). Also, the artist recently performed to 10 million viewers as part of the Paris 2024 Paralympics Opening Ceremony, during which he performed renditions of Édith Piaf’s “Non, je ne regrette rien” and Patrick Hernandez’s “Born to Be Alive.”
Gia Coppola’s film The Last Showgirl—which stars Pamela Anderson, Kiernan Shipka, Brenda Song, Billie Lourd, Dave Bautista and Jamie Lee Curtis—won the Special Jury Prize at the 2024 San Sebastián Film Festival in Spain, Deadline noted. “For the high quality of its acting, packed with truth and nuances, which with great subtlety and restraint, brings us closer to the feelings of a group of people who must confront a disappearing profession, a world that is coming to an end,” the jury’s verdict read. Anderson accepted the award.
The BBC apologized to Amanda Abbington after the Sherlock actress claimed that she was bullied by her Strictly Come Dancing partner Giovanni Pernice on last year’s show, Deadline noted. The British broadcaster concluded an investigation into Abbington’s complaints and, in a ruling, partially upheld some of her concerns. “This apology means a great deal to me. So too does the fact that the BBC have acknowledged the steps that were put in place to support and protect me and past contestants were ‘not enough,’” Abbington said in a statement. Abbington abruptly quit season 21 of Strictly (known in the U.S. as Dancing with the Stars) last October, citing “personal reasons.”
And speaking of Sherlock, Sue Vertue—who produced the beloved BBC reimagining of Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes detective stories—said the brand is likely to return, per Deadline. “We love that show and there is a future for it. One day. Maybe. If everyone wants to do it,” Vertue told Deadline at the Amazon Prime Video Trailblazers event in London. Sherlock co-creator and star Mark Gatiss raised hopes for a film earlier this year, telling Deadline: “We’d like to make a film, but trying to get everyone together is very difficult.” Benedict Cumberbatch starred in the series alongside Martin Freeman‘s John Watson; they were last together on screen in 2017, with their final mystery titled “The Final Problem.”
Actor/DJ Idris Elba will headline the National Film Authority of Ghana’s second annual Africa Cinema Summit, set to run Oct. 7-10 in Accra, per Deadline. A few of the other speakers at the summit are slated to include King Tackie Teiko Tsuru II, leader of the Ga Traditional Area in southern Ghana; Nigerian actress Omoni Oboli; film producer/director Kunle Afolayan; and Viva Cinemas Nigeria Head of Operations Patrick Lee.
Icelandic Oscar-nominated singer-songwriter Björk previewed her manifesto from her new movie, Cornucopia, at Climate Week, Deadline noted. She told the outlet, in part, “it is an emergency/in order to survive as a species we need to define our utopia/the Paris climate accord is a modern utopia impossible to imagine/but overcoming our environmental challenges is the only way we can survive.”
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