NEWSWORTHY
Hong Kong to allow dependent visa for same-sex couples after landmark ruling
Hong Kong said on Tuesday it will recognize overseas same-sex partnerships when granting dependent visas, more than two months after the city's top court ruled that a British lesbian should be granted a spousal visa in a landmark judgment. International banks and law firms operating ...
Romania legislature votes in favor of man-woman marriage only, paves way for referendum
Romanian senators on Tuesday approved a measure that would pave the way for the constitution to be changed to explicitly state that marriage is a union of a man and a woman. Senators voted 107-13 with seven abstentions to allow a referendum that could change ...
Until real change is achieved, LGBTQ people in Japan have no reason to be grateful
When the first same-sex partnership was recognized in Shibuya in 2015, the mayor called it "a first step." So why, nearly three years later, are we still taking first steps?
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy's retirement, announced on Wednesday, could put some of his signature rulings in jeopardy, including ones that expanded or preserved gay rights and abortion rights. Kennedy is a conservative, but he joined the court's four liberals to cast deciding votes ...
Argentine Congress poised for historic, contentious abortion vote
Lawmakers in traditionally conservative Argentina began a key session Wednesday ahead of a divisive vote on a bill to legalize abortion. The debate has divided Argentinian society. Though it became the first Latin American country to legalize same-sex marriage in 2010, it remains strongly influenced ...
Voters in Costa Rica were deciding in an Easter Sunday runoff whether to elect conservative Christian singer Fabricio Alvarado Munoz their next president, a result that could mark a sharp turn from the current government's embrace of gay rights. Best known for religious dance songs ...
Japan's first 'official' same-sex couple announce separation
Japan's first official same-sex couple terminated their partnership on Christmas Day. Actress and LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) activist Koyuki Higashi and entrepreneur Hiroko Masuhara released a statement earlier this week saying they have returned their partnership certificate to Tokyo's Shibuya Ward on Monday, ...
Taiwanese man facing deportation from Japan struggles to stay with same-sex partner
A Taiwanese man who has lived in Japan with his male Japanese partner for nearly a quarter century is now on the brink of separation not because he has fallen out of love but because he faces deportation for overstaying his visa. Hoping to continue ...
Same-sex couples hurried to declare plans to tie the knot on Saturday as Australia's new marriage equality law came into effect, with wedding registry offices holding special hours for the first day of legalized gay unions. The historic bill finally legalizing same-sex marriage came into ...
LGBT advocates push for nationwide recognition of same-sex marriage
Calls are growing in Japan for same-sex marriage to be legalized so LGBT couples can enjoy the same benefits that heterosexual couples do. While six governments in Japan recognize same-sex partnerships, ensuring such couples the same treatment and entitlement to local services as married couples, ...
Gay couples will be able to legally marry in Australia after a same-sex marriage bill sailed through Parliament on Thursday, ending decades of political wrangling. There were loud cheers, hugs and sustained clapping in the 150-seat lower House of Representatives when all but four MPs ...
Same-sex wedding cake battle comes before U.S. Supreme Court
The U.S. Supreme Court is to hear arguments on Tuesday in a case that has been described as the most significant for gay rights since it approved same-sex marriage two years ago. The landmark case pits a gay couple, Dave Mullins and Charlie Craig, against ...
