Africa gains access to state-of-the-art HIV drugs
Under a deal between drug makers, African nations and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, generic drug makers will produce the same top-end HIV drugs used in rich nations and distribute them in Africa for a maximum of $75 a year. The drugs include components that fight drug resistance, a challenge in managing HIV in Africa. [The Guardian]
Russian activists hold Pride in Norway
A group of LGBT activists from Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan crossed the border into Norway on Saturday for a Pride parade in the town of Kirkenes. Pride demonstrations have been repressed in Russia under laws banning “homosexual propaganda.” [Barents Observer]
Anti-LGBT crackdown in Azerbaijan
Activist groups in the central-Asian country of Azerbaijan have reported a sudden and unexplained crackdown against sexual minorities. Government officials have called for the continued arrests of people who do not correspond with “national traditional values.” [Gay Star News]
One in five Americans thinks gay relationships should be illegal
Despite leaps in acceptance of same-sex relationships in the past decade, 23 percent of Americans still think gay relations should be against the law, according to a national survey. [The Washington Post]
Brazilian court allows conversion therapy
A federal court in Brazil has ruled that psychologists may treat homosexuality as a disease. So-called conversion therapy has been illegal in the country for 18 years. [The LA Times]
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