Azerbaijan, Eric McCormack and Tokyo 2020

Your Daily Package of newsy and naughty bits from around the world

Dozens arrested in Azerbaijan

Police in the Azerbaijani capital of Baku have arrested more than 50 gay and transgender people in a series of raids, lawyers and activists say. The pretence for the crackdown is to control prostitution, but many of the people arrested were allegedly targeted simply for being gay or trans. [The New York Times]

First same-sex weddings in Germany

Karl Kreile and Bodo Mende became the first German same-sex couple legally married this weekend. Watch the video at Deutsche Welle.

DUP responsible for gay equality gap in Northern Ireland

The alliance between the United Kingdom Conservatives and the Northern Irish Democratic Unionist Party is responsible for the continued lack of marriage equality and LGBT rights legislation in Northern Ireland, the Independent reports. Conservative leader Theresa May allied with the traditionalist DUP to prop up her minority government.

Will & Grace returns to the air

After an 11-year hiatus, Will & Grace returned to TV this week. In an interview with Reuters, lead actor Eric McCormack talks about how the show will have to adapt to the contemporary world.

Tokyo gears up for the most LGBT-friendly Olympics ever

While Japan lags behind on legal recognition of same-sex relationships, leaders in Tokyo are aiming to make the 2020 Olympics a landmark of LGBT inclusivity in sports. [Japan Today]

Niko Bell

Niko Bell is a writer, editor and translator from Vancouver. He writes about sexual health, science, food and language.

Read More About:
Power

Keep Reading

Trans issues didn’t doom the Democrats

OPINION: The Republicans won ending on a giant anti-trans note, but Democrats ultimately failed to communicate on class

Xtra Explains: Trans girls and sports

Debunking some of the biggest myths around trans girls and fairness in sports

How ‘mature minor’ laws let trans kids make their own decisions

Canadian law lets some youth make medical or legal decisions for themselves, but how does it work?

To combat transphobia, we need to engage with the people who spread it

OPINION: opening up a dialogue with those we disagree with is key if we want to achieve widespread social change