When the world gets closer.

We help you see farther.

Sign up to our expressly international daily newsletter.

AFP
AFP (Agence France-Presse) is an international news agency headquartered in Paris, France. The agency, founded in 1944, transmits news in several languages, including French and English.
Photo of Tashi Choden, crowned Miss Bhutan 2022 in June
LGBTQ Plus
Laura Valentina Cortés Sierra, Lisa Berdet, Lila Paulou, McKenna Johnson, Joel Silvestri and Emma Albright

LGBTQ+ International: Iraq Homosexuality Ban, Bhutan’s Beauty Queen — And The Week’s Other Top News

Italian police, Brazilian soccer, Japanese politics, and plenty of other stories from around the world

Welcome to Worldcrunch’s LGBTQ+ International. We bring you up-to-speed each week on the latest news on everything LGBTQ+ — a topic that you may follow closely at home, but can now see from different places and perspectives around the world. Discover the latest news from all corners of the planet. All in one smooth scroll!

Featuring, this week:

  • The first Queer Miss Bhutan
  • A Brazilian referee coming out just before Qatar World Cup
  • Life as an Argentine trans dad
  • … and more
✉️ You can receive our LGBTQ+ International roundup every week directly in your inbox: Sign up here.

🇮🇹 Italian Police Equate Gender Identity With Mental Disorder In Job Application Form

Italy’s Ministry of Interior is looking to hire 1,381 new police agents, but as part of their eligibility criteria, they class “gender identity” in the list of mental health disorders, as reported by Open media.

The call, published on May 16, on the Ministry’s website, indicates the procedures and requirements to apply. Under the heading "mental disorders" that the candidates cannot have, the words "current or previous gender identity disorders" appear, last in the list with "schizophrenia, current or past mood disorders, current or past dissociative disorders, current or past anxiety disorders,” and other ailments.

According to La Stampa, this part of a 7-page application process was flagged by an aspiring policeman, who was “offended and humiliated” and turned to a lawyer. “It seems to me as a wrong reference in a wrong context.”

🇧🇷🇶🇦 Referee Igor Benevenuto Comes Out Just Months Before World Cup In Qatar

Photo of \u200bBrazilian referee Igor Benevenuto

Brazilian referee Igor Benevenuto

Facebook page


FIFA Referee Igor Benevenuto came out in an interview with theGlobo Esportes podcast "Nos Armários dos Vestiários" (in the locker's closet), a journalistic series that exposes homophobia and machismo in Brazilian soccer. Benevenuto talked about the pain of living in a culture and a religion that rejected homosexuality, as highlighted by Out Sports LGBT+ media.

“For a while, I believed that there was something very wrong with me, because while I respected the Church, its doctrine failed miserably with what I felt. I remained the same, only without the right to express myself,” said the 41-year-old.

FIFA welcomed Benevenuto’s decision to come out, stating that “Igor striving to be true to himself is an important moment for football in Brazil and in other countries around the world.” FIFA has been criticized by LGBTQ+ groups after choosing Qatar as its 2022 World Cup host, a country where homosexual sex is illegal.

🇧🇹 Miss Bhutan Speaks Up For The LGBTQ+ Community

Tashi Choden, crowned Miss Bhutan 2022 in June, is the first-ever public figure in the country that publicly came out as lesbian. She will also be the first openly gay to represent the conservative country at Miss Universe 2022 in December.

She spoke up for the LGBTQ+ community and told AFP, “I'm not only speaking for the Bhutanese community but I'm speaking for the minority community on a platform like the Miss Universe pageant.”

🇫🇷 France Excludes Transgender Men From Medically Assisted Procreation 

The Constitutional Council in France approved the exclusion of transexual men from medically assisted procreation (MAP). The July 6 decision has sparked many reactions from LGBTQ+ associations to politicians.

SOS Homophobie, a non-profit French organization that fights against homophobic and transphobic crimes, expressed its "anger" and "dismay" at this decision, and qualified it as "a missed opportunity to immediately address the inequality of reproductive rights between citizens.”

🇷🇺 Russia May Extend Law Against “Gay Propaganda” To All Adults

Photo of the Moscow Pride

Moscow Pride

Wikimedia Commons


A senior Russian legislator said that the country’s so-called “gay propaganda” law, banning the promotion of any “non-traditional” sexual relationships among minors, could extend to adults later this year. According to Reuters, if the ban extends, anyone seen as promoting homosexuality could be subject to fines. Alexander Khinshtei, the head of the State Duma’s information committee, wrote on Telegram that “We propose to generally extend the ban on such propaganda regardless of the age of the audience.”

Russia’s existing “gay propaganda” law, introduced in 2013, has been used as justification to stop pride marches and detain activists. Last week, parliamentary speaker Vyacheslav Volodin said that because Russia had quit the human rights watchdog group Council of Europe, “Demands to legalize same-sex marriages in Russia are a thing of the past.”

🇮🇶 Iraq’s Proposed Law To Ban Homosexuality Causes Uproar

Iraq's government has taken steps to criminalize homosexuality, the country’s Parliamentary Legal Committee met on July 8 to create proposals targeting the LGBTQ+ community. In an interview with the Iraqi News Agency, State of Law coalition MP Aref al-Hamami confirmed that “It was agreed within the parliament to collect signatures after returning to session to legislate a law prohibiting homosexuality in Iraq”. Homosexuality has been legal in Iraq since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein.

Despite it being legal, politicians and religious leaders have constantly attacked the LGBTQ+ community, which has also been subjected to death threats, attacks and murder by armed groups, as well as targetting through laws punishing "immodest acts" according to Middle East Eye. The current government has even proposed the creation of an annual day against homosexuality.

Amir Ashour, head of the IraQueer LGBTQ+rights group, told Middle East Eye that the new law would provide cover for such attacks. "This will allow the Iraqi government to legally get away with murder and provide legal protection for armed groups and other criminals who continue to target LGBTQ+ citizens."

🇿🇦 South Africa’s Celebrated Film Critic Barry Ronge Dies At 74

One of the most prominent openly gay personalities in South African media, film critic Barry Ronge has died at age 74. Ronge led a decades-long career as a journalist, writer, columnist, and broadcaster. Despite his life in the public eye, Ronge kept a very private life.

For 45 years, he shared his life with his partner Albertus van Dyk, whom he cites as his biggest inspiration.

🌎 UN Renews LGBTQ+ Rights Watchdog

The United Nations Human Rights Council adopted a resolution in order to renew the mandate of the Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) for three more years. The vote on Thursday was adopted with 23 in favor, 17 voting against and 7 abstaining.

In addition to the renewal of the mandate, the resolution also confirmed fundament LGBTQ+ human rights. Since its creation in 2016, the UN expert has raised awareness worldwide about the impact of the criminalization of same-sex relations and the lack of affirming legal gender recognition procedures.

🇺🇸 Burning Book, Hateful Tags: LGBTQ+ Harassment in New England

Screenshot of a tweet by \u200bBoston\u2019s mayor Michelle Wu reacting to vandalism in the city

Boston’s mayor Michelle Wu reacting to vandalism in the city

Twitter


A group of conservative mothers in Connecticut are demanding that a collection of books be burned, after their local library put up a display in honor of Pride during the month of June. On June 22, the group which included a “Christian taxpayer” saw the display and removed the books. They proceeded to demand that the books be removed and burned, using slurs at the front desk of the library.

In the neighboring state of Massachusetts, an LGBTQ+ friendly senior home which is under construction in Hyde Park was vandalized. Messages included: “Die slow”, “your fairytale is over”, “Die by fire”, and “There are 2 genders”. The graffiti was discovered in the Boston suburb on July 10, but was quickly covered by residents with pro-LGBTQ+ messages. Boston’s mayor Michelle Wu tweeted: “Hate and acts of vandalism will not be tolerated … anywhere in Boston.”

🇯🇵 Record Number Of LGBTQ+ Candidates In Japan’s Election

In Japan’s House of Councillors election that took place on Sunday, history was made with a record number of 4 out of 545 candidates aiming to enter Japan’s male-dominated political circle identify at LGBTQ+. Japan’s political landscape was criticized for being unable to reflect the society’s diversity, and it only ranks 147th in political empowerment among 156 countries in the World Economic Forum’s Gender Gap Index.

With transgender candidate Karen Yoda, Shunichi Murata who identifies as bisexual, and Daigo Matsuura who is openly gay, talks on “diversity” and “coming out” and visibility on the LGBTQ+ population in Japan’s political world creates a watershed.

🇦🇷 Argentine Trans Dads Fight For More Visibility

Screenshot of Network of Trans Dads's first Zoom meeting

Network of Trans Dads's first meeting

Screenshot Agencia Presentes


Last year in Argentina, about 20 trans men came together to create the network “Paternidades Trans Argentina.” This online community is helping people share their stories, feel understood, inspired and supported while taking the medical and legal steps to become trans dads. Since the creation of the network, several members have become parents and are contributing to making trans parenthood visible, which is also helping to fight the stigma associated with it.

Members advocate for a much needed cultural change by achieving personal accomplishments and through in-person events like conferences and campaigns. They hope to bring awareness on the reality of “trans and non-binary men who gestate, adopt and accompany” children. Argentine trans men (and particularly those who get pregnant) still have to face hostile depiction by some part of the media as well as difficulties to be supported by the health system. The network thus brings them much needed comfort and relief.

OTHERWISE

• The authors offers a reflection on how David Fincher’s 1999 Fight Club helped him come to terms with his sexual orientation and gender identity.

• The Crown actress Emma Corrin becomes the first nonbinary person to be featured on the cover of Vogue.

• Independent online magazine Autostraddle has put together a list of 49 queer and feminist books coming out in the summer. Enjoy!

Vaccines usually take years to discover
LA STAMPA
Kat Bohmbach

Who Will Find It First? The Global Race For A Vaccine

Cooperation is important, but so is competition ... as research bodies and nations look to find the only true solution to the COVID-19 pandemic as quickly as possible.

PARIS — As the coronavirus continues to spread its deadly tracks via human contact at remarkable speeds, medical researchers are in a race against time to develop a vaccine to immunize the global population. But there are also races within that race: among private foundations and public health administrations — and from one country to the next. Yes both cooperation and competition are vital to get an effective vaccine as quickly as possible.

So far, the general consensus is that it will take at least 12 to 18 months to map out, test and produce an effective solution. In an effort to accelerate, Bill Gates said last week that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is funding the construction of factories for the seven most-promising vaccine candidates. Only one vaccine will ultimately be chosen, while the remaining candidates most likely make it very far at all, shining a light on the tumultuous, arduous, and extremely costly road to developing a vaccine., Meanwhile on Tuesday, Russia announced that it will begin testing a vaccine on humans as soon as June. Here are some of the factors and projects that could be key to find a solution:

  • Cost & Scale: There are currently at least 35 companies and academic institutions working on the development of a vaccine. The cost is upwards of $2 billion, according to Le Monde, meaning that only large global laboratories and start-ups backed by foundations or companies can afford to try. Once a vaccine has been approved, Johnson & Johnson in the U.S has already made a $1 billion deal to produce more than a billion doses.

  • Sequence: China sent out the genetic sequence of COVID-19 in mid-January, giving researchers a head-start, but they still don't know how the virus will evolve or react to treatments.

  • Bird study: Les Echos visited researchers in Israel working to create vaccines based on "prototype" pathogens they had already been studying in birds, as well as monitoring the effects different medications have on COVID-19 patients.

  • Real time: Because it can take so long to map out a vaccine, doctors in Italy are helping to mobilize a first of its kind effort to share research, in real-time, 24-hours a day over social media, reports La Stampa.

  • Trials: Several companies, including Moderna, in the race for developing a vaccine will be pushing forward with human testing trials in the coming weeks. This does not mean that a cure for COVID-19 is a near-reality. Seth Berkley, head of the Vaccine Alliance, GAVI, cautions that it usually takes between 10 and 15 years for a drug to go from development to testing phases and onto licensing then manufacturing. The vaccine for Ebola was ready in 5 years. One of the lead researchers behind that effort said there are some signs of hope for quicker results for COVID-19.

In Nairobi, Kenya, on March 4
BBC

Coronavirus ~ Global Brief: Will Africa Be Spared?

For the coming weeks, Worldcrunch will be delivering daily updates on the coronavirus global pandemic. The rapid and insidious path of COVID-19 across the planet teaches us in a whole new way how small the world has become. Our network of multilingual journalists are busy finding out what's being reported locally — everywhere — to provide as clear a picture as possible of what it means for all of us at home, around the world.

SPOTLIGHT: WILL AFRICA BE SPARED?

Nationwide curfews across Europe, the White House preparing a $1 trillion relief package, Saudi officials banning pilgrimages to Mecca. As the number of people infected by COVID-19 keeps rising — and spreading — the world has turned upside down. That would also seem true when we look at how the global crisis is playing out in Africa, where reported cases are still in the low hundreds across the entire continent. Since the first infection was detected on February 27, in an Italian man traveling through Nigeria, there are still no signs of a serious outbreak in certain countries that have battled in recent years with endemic diseases such as ebola, malaria and tuberculosis. Experts are scratching their heads: Are the low infection statistics a matter of climate, lack of testing, luck, or other factors that set Africa apart from other parts of the world?

While it's too early to say how the COVID-19 reacts to warmer weather, tropical countries aren't immune to virus seasonality, with flu peaking in the dry season in many African countries. Rather, most bets have so far been put on its lower travel exposure. This might seem puzzling at first, particularly as the virus originated in China, which has become Africa's biggest trade partner, with over 10,000 Chinese-owned firms sprinkled across the continent. Still, there are relatively few Chinese posted on the continent for work, compared to those who travel, for example, to Europe for business and pleasure, estimated to be ten times the number who go to Africa.

Pessimists, however, fear that Africa is a ticking coronavirus time bomb. After all, if advanced French and Italian healthcare systems are overwhelmed, how will African countries — with scarce intensive-care beds and low-testing capacity — manage to contain the virus when it eventually starts to spread? On Wednesday, Le Monde reported the first death in sub-Saharan Africa, a 62-year-old woman in Burkina Faso. Fears are not unfounded, but Africa also has a few things going for it: the median age is under 20, which will likely reduce the mortality rate among those infected, and the continent has plenty of hard-earned experience in fighting endemic diseases — an important resource, as proven by the sleepy response of many Western leaders. But for now, we can only hope the world doesn't turn again.​

Watch VideoShow less
Clashes in Tunis over unemployment and stagnating economy
BBC

The Latest: Biden's Big Day, Jack Ma Is Back, Tokyo Games At Risk

Welcome to Wednesday, where Biden will be inaugurated as the 46th U.S. president, Italy's prime minister hangs on, and the Tokyo Olympics may be cancelled again. We also visit six iconic businesses around the world, which have survived wars and depressions, but are now at risk of closing down due to the pandemic.

Joe Biden won't fix the world's broken diplomacy by himself

Democrats who reach the White House do not necessarily play into the hands of Europeans. It is up to them to unify their voice to pass their agendas.

The inauguration of Joe Biden opens a new chapter in the history of the United States, one filled with hopes that may quickly prove to be excessive. A new "New Deal" promises a shift in public health, diplomacy, and welfare for the American people.

It is also an opportunity to repair the historic bridges linking the two sides of the Atlantic. The next few days will be marked by actions of major symbolic importance: Washington's return to the Paris Climate Accord, a reconciliation with the World Health Organization, and likely, the revival of nuclear talks with Iran. Yet it would be a trap for us to believe that this means the return to a time when America and Europe were working together in defense of freedom and democracy.

From a European point of view, the hope inspired by Biden's inauguration Wednesday is just as dangerous as the blissful romanticism that swirled here with Barack Obama's arrival 12 years ago. First of all, Democrats who make it to the White House don't necessarily play into the hands of the Europeans. It was a Democratic president, Bill Clinton, who refused to ratify the Kyoto climate agreement and opposed the creation of an International Criminal Court. Barack Obama derailed an allied intervention in Syria.

In some ways, we may even miss Donald Trump who, for his own personal reasons, attacked the disproportionate power of the Big Tech companies like Google, Facebook and Amazon, which aligned with Europe's interest in reducing their powers. It is unlikely that Biden will join this fight, even if they are now the backbone of America's global domination.

We should not expect too much from the new president. The America of 2021 is not the America of the 2000s. The transatlantic relationship has reached the end of an era. The historic pillars of the international order have crumbled, and French President Emmanuel Macron already pronounced NATO "brain dead" a year ago.

Europeans will need to be particularly determined to grab the attention of Biden, who already has so much work to do domestically.

The Old World must propose a new transatlantic treaty that can seduce this new administration, around such crucial shared challenges as China's rising power, climate change, foreign investment monitoring, and industrial sovereignty. Washington will only listen if we speak with a single, unified European voice — and we offer them real value. Otherwise, our Inauguration Day hopes will quickly disappear.

— Lucie Robequain / Les Echos

Watch VideoShow less
Different versions of history
THE FINANCIAL TIMES

Who Controls The Past? China's Pressure On Western Academics

Once again, life imitates art. In his masterpiece 1984, George Orwell wrote, "Every record has been destroyed or falsified, every book rewritten, every picture has been repainted, every statue and street building has been renamed, every date has been altered."

This quote has proven particularly relevant in recent weeks as activists in the West suddenly became eager to tear down statues they consider offensive. But of course, the process of rewriting history is not new. Nor is it limited to the West.

In a recent article, the Financial Times describes how Chinese authorities have been using digitization to "systematically delete" from online databases used by scholars in China and abroad any historical documents from the 1950s that may "challenge the orthodoxy" President Xi Jinping wants to promote.

This will sound familiar to anybody who has read 1984: It is simply a 21st-century version of the work of Winston Smith, the main character, at the Ministry of Truth. In the real-world article, University of Michigan researcher Glenn Tiffert explains that as a result, "anyone who does research will come away misinformed or with a distorted view." But that is only the best-case scenario.

You don't mention the three Ts.

Zhang Lifan, a Chinese historian who has been banned from using social media because of his criticism of Mao Zedong, describes another, perhaps more worrying, consequence of this new form of censorship: "No one dares to do research on social movements, and most spend their time researching Xi's ideas and Marxism-Leninism," he told the Financial Times. "Many of those who teach the real history have been sacked or punished."

But in a new twist, Beijing has also recently tried to pressure Western universities, eager to attract much-needed funding as well as Chinese students, into doing its bidding. Cambridge University Press, the world's oldest publishing house, initially bowed to Chinese demands and blocked online access to "politically sensitive" articles (or articles disputed by the Chinese government) in its highly respected China Quarterly. The decision caused such an outcry that CUP quickly backtracked.

But as AFP reported in late August, other publishers have quietly resorted to censorship for the sake of business. "We frequently exercise self-censorship to adapt to different markets," a business development director for a British publishing house admitted.

A managing director at an Asian education publishing specialist summed it all up when he said that "it is in publishers' interest to not publish something that would anger authorities." In the case of China, he explained, "you don't mention the three "Ts': Tiananmen, Tibet and Taiwan."

And of course, if even Apple, one of the world's most powerful companies, yields to Chinese censorship demands, there is little chance of smaller organizations, let alone individuals, offering any form of resistance.

By consenting to what Étienne de La Boétie, a French political philosopher, described almost five centuries ago as "voluntary servitude," these actors are paving the way for the realization, at least in China, of another one of Orwell's ever relevant warnings: "Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past."