In Australia, Victoria Police will not participate in an annual pride march in Melbourne after event organizers decided to not allow officers to march in uniform without tactical equipment, as in previous years, according to SBS News. “Organizers would only allow police to take part if they wore plain clothes or a branded polo,” Victoria Police said in a statement. “We believe this would be a backwards step for inclusion, especially for our [LGBTQ+] employees who simply want to celebrate being their authentic selves.” The policy change happened after police were confronted by up to 50 protesters during last year’s march, with the force accusing the group of surrounding its members on three sides, hurling abuse and throwing paint bombs. Uniformed police will still have a presence at the Feb. 2, 2025 Midsumma Festival’s Pride March to maintain community safety and public order.
On a related note, most queer individuals support the inclusion of police in pride parades, according to a new national survey conducted by LGBTQ+ advocacy group Just.Equal Australia, ABC.net.au noted. However, most of those who support police inclusion want it to come with strict conditions such as training in LGBTQ+ policing issues and a formal apology for police mistreatment of LGBTQ+ people. Many pride events, such as the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, began as a protest against LGBTQ+-based discrimination, including police brutality against the queer community and other minority groups. New South Wales Police Commissioner Karen Webb recently apologized for the force’s handling of queer-based hate crimes after a report found officers were “indifferent, negligent, dismissive or hostile” over a period of 40 years.
In the UK, the Metropolitan Police are hunting for three men after the legendary drag performer Heklina (Steven Grygelko) was found dead in Soho in 2023, PinkNews reported. Grygelko was found unresponsive by her friend Joshua Grannell (aka drag artist Peaches Christ) and later pronounced dead at the age of 54. The Metropolitan Police were at the scene and have continued to investigate the circumstances surrounding Grygelko’s death, which was declared to be “unexpected.” CCTV footage revealed that three men (whose photos have been released) were at Grygelko’s home in the early hours of April 3. Grygelko (who was born in the United States) was in London to perform with Grannell in the show Mommie Queerest, a parody of Mommie Dearest that was set for a two-week run at Soho Theatre in April 2023.
Just as he did when he first became president, Donald Trump imposed a “global gag order” that bars U.S. funds from going to any overseas program that provides abortions or whose employees even mention abortion when counseling pregnant clients, according to Erasing 76 Crimes. The last time Trump imposed this funding cut, it resulted in thousands of vulnerable people losing access to health services. Anti-abortion advocates have called the order an action to end “forced taxpayer funding of elective abortions.” The position—sometimes called the Mexico City Policy and referred to by opponents as the “global gag rule”—was first introduced more than 40 years ago; every U.S. Republican president has put it in effect and every Democrat has repealed it.
In a related matter, the U.S. government’s suspension of foreign funding has thrown South African clinics and projects providing life-saving services to men who have sex with men (MSM) and the transgender community into chaos, according to Mamba Online. Cape Town’s Anova Health Ivan Toms Centre—which has offered HIV services to gay, bisexual and other MSM since 2009—confirmed its “temporary closure”; Engage Men’s Health, which provides sexual health and mental health services in Johannesburg, Gqeberha and East London, also closed its doors. One Engage Men’s Health client asked the Department of Health to intervene, writing that the center “play[s] a crucial role for many queer people in South Africa, especially those living with HIV. Stigma-free environments are vital.”
Also, the Trump administration declared a wide-ranging shutdown of the nation’s PEPFAR anti-AIDS program that provides anti-HIV medications for more than 20 million people globally (although some Trump officials have reportedly balked), including more than 500,000 children with HIV, per Erasing 76 Crimes. The New York Times noted that the Trump administration has instructed organizations in other countries to stop disbursing the medications purchased with U.S. aid, even if the drugs have already been obtained and are in local clinics. Although the Trump administration has “only” mandated a 90-day suspension of foreign aid programs, pending a review, PEPFAR’s computer systems also are being taken offline—meaning that the program may not return.
World leaders gathered in Poland on Jan. 27 to mark 80 years since the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp, per CNN. Nazis murdered more than 1 million people at the camp from 1940 to 1945—part of the 6 million Jews, LGBTQ+ people and other individuals killed during the Holocaust. The UN declared Jan. 27 as International Holocaust Memorial Day in 2005. Britain’s King Charles, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron were among those attending the event.
In Australia, the Queensland government has stopped new trans patients under the age of 18 from accessing hormone therapies in the state’s public-health system, according to ABC.net.au. Health Minister Tim Nicholls announced the pause as he also unveiled a review into the evidence for stage one and two hormone therapies for children with gender dysphoria. The minister announced two separate investigations into the Cairns Sexual Health Service: one that will look at the governance framework and one that will examine the services delivered. Nicholls added that the Queensland Children’s Gender Service would continue to offer all other clinical support to adolescents experiencing gender dysphoria.
Serbian Prime Minister Milos Vucevic—known for his loyalty to anti-LGBTQ+ President Aleksandar Vucic—resigned in an attempt to relax political tensions and pressure resulting from massive anti-corruption protests over the deadly collapse of a concrete canopy, the AP noted. Vucevic’s resignation could lead to an early parliamentary election. Vucevic’s resignation must be confirmed by Serbia’s parliament, which has 30 days to choose a new government or call a snap election.
In Bangladesh, a female student was recently expelled from her Islamic University residence hall while a female friend of hers was turned over to police after a crowd of students accused the pair of homosexuality, Erasing 76 Crimes noted. The accused residential student, Mia (a pseudonym), was expelled despite her denial. Islamic University was also the site of recent homophobic protests against an academic who was perceived to be gay and who was barred from teaching there last year.
Lawyer and anti-LGBTQ+ advocate Moses Foh-Amoaning is urging Ghanian President John Mahama to expedite the passage of the country’s anti-LGBTQ+ bill, saying that Ghana will not suffer economically or diplomatically for standing against queer rights now that Donald Trump is the U.S. president, according to Erasing 76 Crimes. “Donald Trump has promised to prosecute those involved in gender-affirming care for transgender individuals, including doctors providing puberty blockers to children. That’s how far he is prepared to go. Ghana is on the right side of the United States,” Foh-Amoaning said on Neat FM. Mahama recently declared the bill dead, as it was not signed into law before the previous term of Parliament ended.
Axel Rudakubana—a teenager who stabbed three young girls to death at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in England—was sentenced to 52 years in prison, NBC News reported. Judge Julian Goose—who couldn’t impose a sentence of life without parole because the assailant was under 18 at the time of the crime—said Rudakubana “wanted to try and carry out mass murder of innocent, happy young girls.” Rudakubana was 17 when he attacked the children in the seaside town of Southport last July, killing Alice Da Silva Aguiar, 9, Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7, and Bebe King, 6, as well as wounding 10 others, including the instructor. The killer faced three counts of murder and 10 of attempted murder as well as additional charges of possessing a knife, the poison ricin and an al-Qaida manual. No motive for the killings has been publicized; however, the BBC noted that Rudakubana’s father stopped him from returning to his former school (from which he was expelled five years earlier) a week before the killings.
Former New Zealand Prime Minister The Rt. Hon. Dame Jacinda Ardern talked about leadership during a Sundance panel involving the film Prime Minister, which focuses on her life, according to Deadline. Ardern said, in part, “I’m not saying that the leadership style that I have—or me as a leader—that I was perfect. I absolutely was not. I made mistakes, but I hope people can see in this story that I was human and that actually traits of kindness and empathy are also successful traits in leadership and politics, and that hopefully more people will emulate them.”
RuPaul’s Drag Race stars joined family, friends and other celebrities at the funeral of James Lee Williams, better known as drag queen The Vivienne, the BBC noted. The event took place in north Wales three weeks after the performer was found dead at age 32 at their home in Cheshire. Floral tributes spelled “Vivienne,” “James” and “Son,” and the crown and scepter awarded to RuPaul’s Drag Race winners were carried into the church ahead of the coffin. The Vivienne won the first season of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK in 2019.
In Japan, Fuji TV Chair Shuji Kano and Koichi Minato, head of Fuji Media Holdings’s TV wing, resigned over the handling of the sexual misconduct scandal involving TV presenter Masahiro Nakai, per Deadline. Nakai—who recently retired himself—was accused of sexually assaulting a woman at a 2023 dinner party allegedly organized by Fuji TV staff; advertisers had been pulling ads from the network after allegations that Fuji TV execs were engaged in a cover-up over Nakai, who had denied being violent with the woman. The Japanese entertainment industry has faced its own MeToo movement during the past couple of years following allegations from hundreds of people (primarily men and boys) against the late talent agent Johnny Kitagawa.
During a discussion with Tennis Channel panelists, lesbian tennis legend Martina Navratilova backed 2025 Australian Open semifinalist (and U.S. player) Ben Shelton, who criticized broadcasters over some of the questions they asked players, Sportskeeda noted. Navratilova said, “Yeah, he’s right. I mean, these guys are supposed to be promoting the sport, not knocking it down. On an individual level, tennis players have it pretty tough compared to professional team players; everything’s done for them. We have to create our own team and pay for everything and win matches to get paid. … So, for the broadcasters to not be well educated enough about the individual player before they make those interviews after the match, et cetera, I mean, just use your brain a little bit better. Yeah, I agree with Ben 100%.”
The Mona Lisa will be moved to a new exhibition space at the Louvre in Paris as part of the renovation of the world’s most visited museum, according to the BBC. Emmanuel Macron stood in front of the Leonardo da Vinci masterpiece as he made the announcement to an audience of dignitaries. The change—which The Guardian called “a misguided act of snobbery”—will be introduced by 2031 and visitors will be charged separately to see the painting.
Oscar-nominated trans Emilia Pérez star Karla Sofía Gascón has accused the social-media team of fellow best actress nominee Fernanda Torres of attempting to undermine her work, according to Variety. In a Jan. 21 video interview with Brazilian daily Folha de S. Paulo, Gascón praised Torres, the star of the Brazilian drama I’m Still Here. However, Gascón added, “What I don’t like are social-media teams—people who work with these people—trying to diminish our work, like me and my movie, because that doesn’t lead anywhere. … There are people working with Fernanda Torres tearing me and Emilia Pérez down. That speaks more about their movie than mine.” In a later statement sent to Variety, Gascón explained that her comments did not extend to those “directly associated” with Torres, but were intended toward “toxicity and violent hate speech on social media.”
In the UK, the owner of a mansion that singer Adele previously lived in has said that the performer’s suggestion that the property was haunted has made it unsellable, according to CNN. During a 2012 interview with CNN’s Anderson Cooper, Adele said of the property that it had been a “convent for a little while,” adding, “This bit’s all quite scary, really.” Although she didn’t use the word “haunted,” various media outlets have described the property that way. Now property owner Nicholas Sutton has applied for planning permission to convert it into apartments, saying the singer’s comments have scared prospective buyers.
A UK stage production of Neil Gaiman‘s Coraline has been canceled following several sexual-assault claims against the author, per Variety. The musical was slated to take place at Leeds Playhouse April 11-May 11 before touring to Edinburgh, Birmingham and Manchester. In July 2024, Tortoise Media reported that Gaiman had been accused of sexual assault by two women and released a six-part podcast, Master, which covered the allegations of five women. Gaiman released a statement at the time, expressing regret for how he’s handled some relationships. Deadline reported that Gaiman has also been removed from UK agent Casarotto Ramsay & Associates’ client list in the wake of the allegations.
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