Two women kiss at a Pride parade in Maribor, Slovenia. (Lightrocket via Getty/ Milos Vujinovic) Slovenia has become the first Eastern European country to legalise same-sex marriage and adoption, following a court ruled they were constitutional rights. On Tuesday (4 October), Slovenia’s parliament passed the amendment, making it the very first Eastern European country to
Europe
Pope Francis leaves Assisi at the end of Economy of Francis, an international movement of young economists. (Getty) Pope Francis reportedly encouraged an LGBTQ+ Catholic group to build a church “that excludes no one.” According to L’Avvenire, the pope met with Italian LGBTQ+ Catholic group The Tent of Jonathon in a Wednesday (21 September) conference
Serbian president Aleksandar Vučić allowed the march to go ahead, but on a smaller route. (Getty) Serbia’s government has been forced into a screeching u-turn after its decision to ban EuroPride’s parade was met with fierce opposition. EuroPride is an international celebration of the LGBTQ+ community hosted by a different European country each year. Serbia
Police secure serbian LGBT Info centre during the ‘Litiya for salvation of Serbia’ in Belgrade. (Getty) Politicians from across Europe have condemned the Serbian government over the effective ban of this year’s EuroPride. Serbian police announced a ban on the route of the march on Tuesday (13 September) after weeks of hostile back-and-forth between EuroPride
The Pride March in the city of Katowice, Poland. (Twitter/ milosc_) Two Pride marches in Poland have gone ahead peacefully after years of violence, with participants crediting their activism for “changing reality”. The Pride event in the city of Katowice, Poland, took place for the sixth year on Saturday (3 September), and drew around 4,000
Maria Walsh speaks in an Instagram clip. (Maria Walsh/Instagram) MEP Maria Walsh has urged EuroPride to continue despite backlash from anti-LGBTQ+ groups. The Midlands-North-West member of the European Parliament insisted that the Pride festival – which is hosted in a different European city each year – should go ahead as scheduled from 12 to 18
LGBTQ+ activists and allies gathered outside the Independent House to demand an end to the Irish Indepdent’s “anti-trans crusade”. (Trans and Intersex Pride Dublin) Protesters outside the Irish Independent’s offices have rallied the publication’s continued “anti-trans crusade”. Over 100 people gathered outside Independent House in Dublin on Saturday (27 August) to highlight a rise in
Thousands of people marched against Belgrade hosting EuroPride. (Oliver Bunic/Getty) Thousands of religious and right-wing Serbians have marched in Belgrade to protest an upcoming EuroPride event… that’s already been postponed. Anti-LGBTQ+ protestors took to the streets of the country’s capital on Sunday (28 August) to oppose plans for the city to host EuroPride on 17
Elton John gave a sneak peak of his new song with Britney Spears. (Instagram/@EltonJohn/Getty) Elton John has treated the world to a sneak peek of his upcoming collaboration with Britney Spears – and fans say the single can’t come soon enough. The world will very soon be wowed with Britney Spears’ first new music in six
Heartstopper stars Joe Locke (R) and Kit Connor. (Netflix) The Isle of Man will update its discriminatory blood donation rules, its government has said after Manx Heartstopper actor Joe Locke called them out as “archaic”. Locke spoke via video message at the island’s Isle of Pride celebrations in Douglas on Saturday, demanding that the ban
Serbian Orthodox Church bishop Nikanor Bogunović of Bana. (Screen capture via YouTube) A senior bishop in Serbia has been condemned for encouraging armed attacks against an LGBTQ+ Pride event in Belgrade. In September, the Serbian capital will host EuroPride, which celebrates LGBTQ+ rights across the continent, in a first for a southeastern European country. But Serbian
Three queer men who fled Afghanistan shared their stories. (PinkNews) It’s been one year since the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan, plunging countless people into unknowable danger and uncertainty. Basir still remembers the terror he felt in the days and weeks after Kabul on 15 August, 2021. As an LGBTQ+ activist, Basir knew he was in
Pope Francis celebrates mass at the the National Shrine of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupre, Canada. (Getty/ Chip Somodevilla) Pope Francis has met with four groups of trans people who found shelter in a Catholic church, the Vatican has confirmed. According to AP News, the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano reported that the Pope met with a group of trans
Jill Scott of England celebrates with the UEFA Women’s EURO 2022 Trophy during the England Women’s Team Celebration at Trafalgar Square on August 01, 2022 in London, England. (Leon Neal/Getty) England hero Jill Scott interviewed the Women’s Euro 2022 trophy in a hilarious clip. The England team descended on London’s Trafalgar Square on Monday (1
France’s minister for territorial cohesion Caroline Cayeux. (AFP via Getty/ SAMEER AL-DOUMY) More than 100 public figures in France have called for the resignation of minister Caroline Cayeux after she reaffirmed her anti-LGBTQ+ views. Cayeux, who was appointed minister for territorial cohesion less than two weeks ago on 4 July when France formed its new government,
Beth Mead of England celebrates after scoring her team’s fifth goal with teammates during the UEFA Women’s Euro England 2022 group A match between England and Norway at Brighton at Hove Community Stadium on July 11, 2022 in Brighton, United Kingdom. (Photo by Thor Wegner/DeFodi Images via Getty Images) England beat Norway in a record-breaking
Lewis Hamilton has condemning the harassment. (CHRISTIAN BRUNA/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) Lewis Hamilton has condemned the wave of sexist, racist and homophobic harassment Formula One (F1) fans faced during the Austrian Grand Prix. At the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, Styria, around 105,000 people gathered to watch the nail-biting races on Saturday (8 July). But a
Mabel Matiz. (Nihal Demirci/Getty Images) A Turkish singer has been threatened with “annihilation” by fans and censorship from the state for releasing a gay love song. Mabel Matiz, an LGBTQ+ rights activist known off-stage as Fatih Karaca, released “Karakul” on 30 June to cap off Pride Month. The music video sees the “Öyle Kolaysa” singer,
A catholic priest used the sacrament as part of the conversion therapy. (Credit: Mark Kerrison/In Pictures via Getty Images) An Irish woman has recounted her horrific experience with so-called gay conversion therapy led by a Catholic priest – who tried to cure her by reading her the last rites, which are reserved for those sick
Spain approves draft of gender recognition law which allows ‘self-determination of sex’ (Mike Kemp/In Pictures via Getty Images) Spain has approved a draft of a new gender recognition law which would allow for trans people to update their legal gender marker without the need for hormones or surgery. The Council of Ministers approved the bill
“During the day, the city was full of people who wanted to speak out, about sorrow and anger, but also about support and solidarity and the will to continue fighting, for the right of every individual to live a free life, a safe life,” Støre said. “Bullets cannot kill love,” added the head of the
In a stunning show of solidarity, WarsawPride and KyivPride united for a single, joyous Pride parade. (WOJTEK RADWANSKI/AFP via Getty Images) In a stunning show of solidarity, Poland’s Warsaw Pride and Ukraine’s KyivPride united for a single, joyous Pride parade in Warsaw. On Saturday (25 June), thousands of glittery protesters flooded the streets of Poland’s capital
Refusing to balk in the face of a mass shooting, thousands of LGBTQ+ people protested in Oslo, Norway. (Rodrigo Freitas/Getty Images) Norway’s LGBTQ+ community has remained defiant in the face of a mass shooting in front of an LGBTQ+ venue in Oslo by staging a “spontaneous” Pride parade. Only hours before the capital city’s annual
Miloš Zeman, president of the Czech Republic, vows to veto legislation that would give same-sex couples the right to hold civil weddings in the country. (Mateusz Wlodarczyk/NurPhoto via Getty) Czech president Miloš Zeman has said he plans to veto proposed legislation that would give same-sex couples the right to get married in the country. The
Handball player Jacob Bjørn Hessellund has come out as gay. (Instagram/@ hessellundjacob) Danish professional handball player Jacob Bjørn Hessellund has bravely come out as gay – and he hopes to one day find a “wonderful man”. The 30-year-old, who plays for the Lemvig-based team Lemvig-Thyborøn Håndbold, became the second handball player in a month to come out
Riot police formed a blockade around the students, before arresting them one by one. (Twitter/ budirenisi) A Pride parade at Boğaziçi University, Turkey, was violently broken up by authorities, with dozens of students arrested by riot police. LGBTQ+ people face increasing persecution in Turkey, and in 2015, Instanbul Pride was banned for the first time.
Pride parade in Padua, Italy, 2021. (NurPhoto via Getty/ Massimo Bertolini) A 16-year-old in Italy was beaten so severely by his own uncle that he broke four ribs, all for having a rainbow scarf on his bag, rights groups have said. On 17 May, which was also International Day Against Homophobia Biphobia and Transphobia (IDAHOBIT), the
Boris Johnson’s government was criticised by Roderic O’Gorman for its handling of conversion therapy. (Getty/Facebook) Ireland will ban conversion therapy for all LGBTQ+ people and will swerve the UK’s approach of excluding trans people, a government minister has said. Roderic O’Gorman, minister for children and equality, said the government intends to ban the practice, and
Greece has joined the 14 countries that have some form of national conversion therapy ban – but there’s a catch. (ARIS MESSINIS/AFP via Getty Images) Greece has become the latest European nation to outlaw barbaric conversion therapy – but the ban will not cover “consenting” adults. On Tuesday (10 May), parliamentarians in Greece voted to
For Callum Kenney, Ireland has become a country paralysed by anti-LGBT+ violence. (Provided) A trans man feels too scared to leave his home after four of his ribs were broken in an attack that still haunts him a year on. Callum Kenney, a 22-year-old Dublin City University graduate, told PinkNews a thug brutally set upon