Connect with us

World

Out in the World: LGBTQ news from Canada, Asia, and Europe

Russian authorities raided four gay bars earlier this month

Published

2 years ago

on

(Los Angeles Blade graphic)

CANADA

Voters in New Brunswick booted the Progressive Conservative Party from government on Oct. 21 after a tumultuous year that saw the province’s premier lead a trend of Canada’s conservative parties launching policies targeting transgender students in schools. 

The New Brunswick Liberals led by Susan Holt won 31 seats to the Progressive Conservatives’ 16 and the Green Party’s 2. Holt will become the province’s first woman premier.

Outgoing Premier Blaine Higgs, who had personally spearheaded the province’s controversial policy requiring parental notification and consent if a student wants to use a different name or pronoun in school, lost his own seat in the election. 

Higgs had announced the policy earlier in the year, which led to two of his own cabinet ministers resigning in protest. While the Progressive Conservatives insisted the policy was popular and campaigned hard on maintaining it, voters ultimately rejected it.

Holt has pledged to withdraw the policy and put safeguards in place for LGBTQ students.

New Brunswick is the third Canadian province this year where voters rejected conservative parties that had implemented or proposed anti-trans policies in schools, after Manitoba and British Columbia.

Voters in Saskatchewan on Monday will decide the fate of the right-leaning Saskatchewan Party government, which recently passed a law overriding the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms to implement its parental notification and consent policy for trans students. The party has also pledged further crackdowns on trans people in schools. 

Polls indicate the race is tight, with some predictions suggesting the New Democrats, who have pledged to repeal the policy, look set to unseat the Saskatchewan Party for the first time in 17 years.

The Progressive Conservative government of Nova Scotia also called snap elections for Nov. 26, and polls indicate that the PCs will cruise to a victory. The Nova Scotia government bucked the anti-trans trend among Canada’s conservative parties and has announced plans to update education policies to make schools more LGBTQ-inclusive. 

IRELAND

Ireland’s parliament passed a sweeping hate crimes law addressing a sharp uptick in violence against LGBTQ people both on the Emerald Isle and across Europe.

The Criminal Justice (Hate Offenses) Act was passed by a vote of 78-52 on Oct. 23. The bill adds stiffer penalties to crimes if they are found to be motivated by hatred based on race, color, nationality, religion, national or ethnic origin, descent, disability, gender (including trans and nonbinary identities), sex characteristics, and sexual orientation.

The government said Ireland had been an international outlier due to its lack of hate crime legislation. The lack of hate crime laws had been flagged in the annual Rainbow Index report on Ireland by ILGA-Europe.

Still, the government faced opposition to its initial hate crimes bill, which also included provisions expanding the country’s laws banning hate speech to include hate speech based on gender identity. To get the bill passed, the government stripped those provisions from the bill. Hate speech based on sexual orientation has been illegal in Ireland since 1989.

“Making the decision to remove the incitement to violence or hatred provisions was a difficult one; but it was necessary to move forward to put the hate crime provisions into law. The message this sends is clear — hatred and violence towards others because of who they are will not be tolerated, and now the law will reflect this,” says Justice Minister Helen McEntee in a statement.

“I have been very clear that I believe we need to update the 1989 Act to adequately deal with incitement to hatred offenses, particularly in the context of modern online communications. I absolutely believe this needs to be next on our agenda and amendments to the 1989 Act will be progressed at the earliest opportunity.”

LGBTQ activists had mixed feelings about the bill’s passage, acknowledging the value of getting the bill passed but pledging to continue fighting for hate speech protections for trans people. 

“LGBT+ and other communities deserve protection and we welcome the imminent passage into law of this long overdue legislation. There must be consequences for targeting people for who they are,” said Ireland’s National LGBT Federation (NXF) in a statement on X.

“The NXF and our civil society colleagues remain firmly committed to seeing the incitement provisions of (the) bill revisited and enacted. Ensuring the legislation is fit-for-purpose is crucial. The safety of our communities is more important than ‘culture wars’ or political populism.”

SOUTH KOREA

Hundreds of thousands of people attended a demonstration against LGBTQ rights in the South Korean capital on Oct. 27, organized by Christian groups.

Police estimated that around 230,000 people attended the demonstration, while organizers claimed that attendance was over one million, Reuters reports. 

The protesters were demonstrating against a recent Supreme Court ruling that found that the National Health Insurance Service was obligated to provide spousal benefits to same-sex couples. While the ruling is binding, reports have emerged that the NHIS is still not providing benefits to same-sex couples, as there remains no legal recognition of same-sex couples in South Korea.

Recently, 11 same-sex couples filed lawsuits seeking to establish same-sex marriage rights in the country. 

Attendees at the protest carried signs that decried LGBTQ rights generally, including opposing a proposed anti-discrimination law, and urging “protect our children from gender pollution, gender confusion, and gender division destruction.”

Not all Christian groups agree with the protesters’ anti-LGBTQ sentiments. 

“This rally claims to be a ‘joint worship service,’ but it is nothing but a sinful event in which participants base their claims on outdated conspiracies to push homophobic discrimination,” read a statement signed by 53 LGBTQ organizations and LGBTQ-friendly Christian groups.

“This directly contradicts the values of generosity, diversity, and respect for human rights that our society has worked so hard to instill. They are oppressing the rights of minorities under the name of the ‘majority,’” the statement read. 

RUSSIA

The Russian government has escalated its crackdown on LGBTQ people, with raids on four gay bars across the country leading to at least 50 people being detained, Novaya Gazeta reports.

The raids took place on Oct. 12, coinciding with the bars’ events celebrating National Coming Out Day. Two popular queer bars, Central Station and Three Monkeys, were raided in Moscow, while two other queer bars were reportedly raided in Yekaterinburg in central Russia. 

Videos of the crackdowns released on Russian propaganda Telegram channels show detainees being forced to lie on the ground or stand with their hands against the wall while police violently frisk them. 

The channels variously allege that the purpose of the raids was to crack down on drug trafficking or respond to civilian complaints of impropriety. One channel alleges that the clubs were “discrediting the Russian army” as drag performers at Central Station mocked Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. 

Russia has intensified a crackdown on LGBTQ people over the past decade, first banning “LGBTQ propaganda” in 2013. Last year, the Supreme Court declared “the international LGBT movement” an “extremist organization,” causing several queer organizations and venues to close or go underground. 

GEORGIA

Georgia’s opposition leaders are crying foul after what they’re saying was a rigged election that let the ruling Georgian Dream party hold onto power. Georgian Dream has led a crackdown on LGBTQ people while leading an increasingly authoritarian, anti-democratic, and pro-Russia government at odds with the country’s largely pro-Western and pro-democracy population.

The opposition parties claim that multiple exit polls showed them winning a combined majority of votes on election day Oct. 26, before official results reported that Georgian Dream had won 53 percent of the vote. Opposition parties claim that the official results come from voter intimidation, ballot stuffing, fraud, and other irregularities seen and reported at polling stations across the country, especially in rural areas where Georgian Dream dominated.

President Salome Zourabichvili refused to recognize the official results, which she claimed were caused by Russian interference. The opposition parties also announced on Monday that they would boycott parliament. They have collectively called for protests against disputed election. 

The European Union called for an investigation into the election. Georgia officially seeks to join the EU but has had its membership application suspended due to democratic backsliding under Georgian Dream.

The U.S. government has also previously applied sanctions on Georgian Dream leadership and has said it is observing the situation closely. 

Related Topics:
Advertisement
FUND LGBTQ JOURNALISM
SIGN UP FOR E-BLAST

Brazil

US official protested at 2026 International AIDS Conference

White House funding cuts have adversely impacted global HIV/AIDS fight

Published

2 hours ago

on

July 28, 2026

By

HIV/AIDS activists on July 26, 2026, protest U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator Jeff Graham at the 2026 International AIDS Conference in Rio de Janeiro. (Photo courtesy of Asia Russell)

HIV/AIDS activists on Sunday protested a Trump-Vance administration official at the 2026 International AIDS Conference in Rio de Janeiro.

Health GAP Executive Director Asia Russell and others disrupted U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator Jeff Graham, who is leading the Trump-Vance administration’s AIDS 2026 delegation, as he spoke. They were protesting the Trump-Vance administration’s cuts to U.S. foreign aid that they maintain have had a devasting impact on the global HIV/AIDS fight.

“The U.S. government has stolen HIV treatment from 77,163 HIV positive children, slashed PrEP enrollment by 42 percent, closed 1,700 PEPFAR HIV treatment sites, decimated programs led by and for key populations, implementers report slashing condom programming by 93 percent, and so much more,” said Russell in a Bluesky post that contained pictures of her and other activists on stage at AIDS 2026.

The US government has stolen HIV treatment from 77,163 HIV positive children, slashed PrEP enrolment by 42%, closed 1700 PEPFAR HIV treatment sites, decimated programs led by and for key populations, implementers report slashing condom programming by 93% and so much more

[image or embed]

— Asia Russell (@asia-ilse.bsky.social) July 26, 2026 at 2:26 PM

Secretary of State Marco Rubio shortly after the Trump-Vance administration took office issued a waiver that allowed PEPFAR and other “life-saving humanitarian assistance” programs to continue to operate during a freeze on nearly all U.S. foreign aid spending. HIV/AIDS service providers around the world with whom the Washington Blade has spoken say PEPFAR cuts and the loss of funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development, which officially closed on July 1, 2025, has severely impacted their work.

The International AIDS Society in a press release it issued last week noted PEPFAR “has saved more than 26 million lives” since President George W. Bush implemented it in 2003, “and changed the trajectory of the HIV pandemic.” The group also said PEPFAR “was a a success under the first Trump administration, with major progress toward the 95-95-95 goals.”

The UNAIDS’s 95-95-95 goals are 95 percent of people with HIV knowing their status, 95 percent of people with HIV having access to antiretroviral therapy, and 95 percent of those receiving ART having suppressed viral loads by 2030.

“Since the start of the second Trump administration, however, it has undergone major disruptions,” added the International AIDS Society.

“No one has to accept being lied to by this administration, particularly not the scientists and communities and activists who know the best what is at stake and what is actually happening,” said Russell on Bluesky.

many many people stood up and applauded during our protest, and thanked us afterward.

No one has to accept being lied to by this administration, particularly not the scientists and communities and activists who know the best what is at stake and what is actually happening

— Asia Russell (@asia-ilse.bsky.social) July 26, 2026 at 2:45 PM

AIDS 2026 will end on Friday.

Continue Reading

Germany

We must not scapegoat refugees after Berlin Pride terrorist attack

‘LGBTI people must not be instrumentalized to spread hatred against others.’

Published

14 hours ago

on

July 28, 2026

By

A memorial near the Brandenberg Gate in Berlin on July 27, 2026. (Courtesy photo)

On Saturday, during Berlin’s Christopher Street Day, one of Europe’s biggest LGBTQ Pride events, a 21-year-old religious extremist drove a van into the crowd and then used a knife to stab multiple people. One person died and 29 others were injured.

When I saw this news on social media, I sincerely felt scared, and not because one more bigot used his religion to justify violence against people like me. It has, unfortunately, happened too often. Despite being happy to see the overwhelming support for the queer community and the condemnation of terrorism, I was terrified by the wave of Islamophobic and anti-immigrant statements that came even from “left” and “progressive” people who should know better, who generally support refugees, who know that all people are equal, and that you shouldn’t treat others as less human because of their religion.

In 2020, a Russian MP threatened to start a criminal case against me after I interviewed Muslim women about why they called themselves feminists and wrote about my own relationship with feminism and Islam, mentioning that I was following events in Syria and had read some academic books on the Islamic State. Surprisingly, the MP claimed that I was recruiting women to ISIS by using feminist ideas, which, of course, was absolutely ridiculous for many reasons, including the fact that I was an openly nonbinary transgender person. But some media outlets and queer people online, including those who called themselves progressive, refused to support me or believed the lie. This is what an anti-extremist witchhunt looks like. If I had been in Russia, and not in the UK, I probably would have been in prison.

It is extremely important to oppose extremism by knowing the actual facts about terrorist groups and not starting a moral panic.

Here are four examples of what media coverage and queer people online often misunderstand about the events in Berlin, and why it’s important.

1. Islam is not the problem

Despite a common misunderstanding, this terrorist act wasn’t even about Islam. 

Islam, just like Christianity and Judaism, has a variety of views on LGBTQ rights, from affirmative to condemning. I think everyone in the American Bible Belt has met Christian fundamentalists who praised violence against LGBTQ people or used violence against their own queer children, so it is a universal problem. But the thing is Abdul Ballout was not an ordinary conservative Muslim. He was known for wanting to join ISIS. It is an apocalyptic cult that teaches that we are living in the last era, so they are trying to re-create the caliphate that they believe should be restored before Doomsday. 

Most of the Muslim people I know, including conservative Salafi Muslims, see the group as dangerous criminals, or don’t see the group as a Muslim group at all. The vast majority of ISIS victims are not Western people or queer people, but cisgender heterosexual Muslims in the Middle East and Africa who the group considers to be infidels. ISIS is widely condemned by Muslim communities and scholars, and blaming Islam for the actions of cult members is like blaming Christianity and all Christians — or even all Christian fundamentalists — for the actions of Branch Davidians members or for the mass murder-suicide committed by members of the People’s Temple.

2. Refugees are not the problem — and Germany is not a safe haven for refugees

First, the attacker was a German citizen. But the media continue to blame migration. Germany is seen as a safe haven for refugees and asylum seekers in the U.S., the UK and beyond. But the time when Germany was safe is long gone. For refugees from Russia between 2022 and 2025 alone, around 90 percent of refugee claims have been refused by Germany, including the claims of political prisoners. The situation for non-White Muslim refugees is even worse, especially in regions such as Bavaria.

I have personal experience working with some refugees in Germany who are also Muslim. The way the migration service mistreated them is beyond anything I saw while working with refugees and being a refugee in the UK. I saw cases in Germany where an asylum seeker’s family was threatened back home because of social media posts the asylum seeker had made, or where a person was detained and sent back to their homeland despite having a history of persecution and torture by the government. Very often, when a person is taken by the immigration service, their loved ones don’t know where they are. Queer refugees also report homophobic and transphobic attitudes in the system.

The narrative that Germany is too generous to refugees was created by the far right and has little to do with reality, and it harms actual refugees, including queer refugees, by silencing their voices.

3. There is no collective responsibility

It is an extremely old and dangerous idea.

Just as all gay men shouldn’t be blamed for what the American serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer did just because he was gay; we shouldn’t blame all Muslims, all people of Middle Eastern origin, or any other large demographic group for the crime of one terrorist. Even if the terrorist had been a refugee and a Muslim, it shouldn’t actually matter, because under the law in any modern non-authoritarian country, an individual shouldn’t be held responsible for the actions of their social group.

After all, when a white, Christian, cisgender, heterosexual, neurotypical person commits a crime, it is almost always seen as an individual’s fault. Why is it different for marginalized groups? The idea of collective responsibility harmed the gay community for decades and is harming the trans community right now, for example after Charlie Kirk’s murder. The best thing we can do is stop this narrative, because it will be used against us.

The only reason I explained about ISIS and the refugee experience in Germany is to show how far from reality the popular accusations are.

4. Witch-hunts and scapegoating serve the far-right agenda and are extremely anti-queer

From my own experience, as an openly trans person speaking against Islamophobia, sexism and queerphobia who was accused of supporting the cult that kills queer people, promotes the sexual exploitation of women and sees the majority of Muslims as legitimate targets, I can say for sure that moral panic can go wild.

People who remember the Satanic Panic of the 1980s, or even the attacks on Muslim communities after Sept. 11, should know this.

Now even queer people are attacking refugees and Muslim communities online while the German government is introducing more draconian measures against those groups.

ILGA-Europe, the biggest LGBTQ organization in Europe, made a statement warning against any attempt to weaponize the attack. 

“This tragedy must not be used to fuel hatred against migrants, foreigners or Muslim communities. We reject any attempt by anti-democratic actors to exploit what happened to divide communities, scapegoat minorities or turn one group against another,” Chaber, the group’s executive director, said. “LGBTI people must not be instrumentalized to spread hatred against others, nor should the existence of racism, Islamophobia or anti-migrant hatred be used to minimize the threats faced by LGBTI people. The rights, safety, and dignity of all people must be defended.”

People who live at the intersection of multiple marginalized identities — LGBTQ Muslims, LGBTQ people of color and LGBTQ refugees — will probably suffer the most from this moral panic. Moreover, these are the same political groups that target refugees, Muslim communities and queer people. If this hatred isn’t stopped now, everyone is potentially at risk. 

Condemning terrorism is important, but it is no less important to stop creating more victims.

Continue Reading

Netherlands

Dutch queen opens World Pride in Amsterdam

Ceremony took place hours before Berlin Pride terrorist attack

Published

1 day ago

on

July 27, 2026

By

Dutch Queen Máxima opens WorldPride in Amsterdam on July 25, 2026. (Photo courtesy of the Royal House of the Netherlands' X account)

Editor’s note: International News Editor Michael K. Lavers and Photo Editor Michael Key will be on assignment in Amsterdam from Aug. 5-10.

Queen Máxima on July 25 participated in this year’s World Pride opening ceremony in Amsterdam.

The Dutch monarch joined Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema at the ceremony that took place in Amsterdam’s Vondelpark. Several drag queens also participated in the event.

World Pride will take place in Amsterdam through Aug. 10.

Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten, who is openly gay, is scheduled to open the World Pride Human Rights Conference on Aug. 5.

Halsema on Sunday told reporters that authorities will bolster security measures “where necessary” in response to the terrorist attack at Berlin’s annual Pride march the day before that left one person dead and 29 others injured.

Continue Reading

Popular