1
1m ews
Injured?
ISRAEL
...Call me
I
srael has lowered the age of consent for gay
sex from 18 to 16, in line with that for het
erosexuals. The penal code was modified in July,
but the move was not publicized until Nov. 1
because activists realized teens were unaware of
the change.
Homosexual relations also were legalized for
14- and 15-year-olds as long as their sexual part
ners are not more than three years older than
them. Many European nations have a lower age
of consent than Israel, including Malta, the
Netherlands, Portugal and Spain (12); Germany,
Iceland, Italy, San Marino and Slovenia (14);
and the Czech Republic, Denmark, France,
Greece, Poland, Slovakia and Sweden (15),
according to testimony presented to the Knes
set by the Association for Civil Rights in
Israel and the Association of
Homosexuals and Lesbians.
Experience the Pleasures of 5 Million Scent Receptors
Hala Gores, P.C.
A ttorney at Law
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FRANCE
RRAZIL
he leading conservative candidate for may
or of Paris, Philippe Seguin, has given a
groundbreaking interview to the gay magazine
lllico. His main opponent, Socialist Bertrand
Delanoe, is openly gay and 18 percent ahead in
the polls.
In the interview, Seguin, a member of the
Rally for the Republic party, promised to
appoint a gay liaison, launch a major HIV pre
vention program and consider marching in next
year’s gay pride parade and funding the city’s
Gay and Lesbian Center. The election will be
held in March.
n ardent supporter of gay equality was
elected mayor of Sao Paulo on Oct. 30.
Former television sex psychologist Marta Supli-
cy, 55, authored a gay partnership bill, which
remains stalled in the nation’s Chamber of
Deputies, when she was a member of Congress
during the late ’90s.
“We will govern for all citizens, especially
the poor, who need better education, health and
transportation,” she said. “My victory represents
the response of millions who want an end to
corruption.”
• Medical Malpractice
• Wrongful Death
• Defective Products
• Insurance Claims
Recycling R e fillin g Renewing # Since 1979
E9CENTIAL
NAMIBIA
UKRAINE
I mnesty International chapters from
m . -around the country made a strong showing
during the first Ukraine International Lesbian
&. Gay Conference from Oct. 19 to 21 in Kiev.
Representatives of gay organizations attended
from Belarus, Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithua
nia, Moldova, Poland, Russia and Sweden.
“The main importance of the conference
[was the] conversations of the participants
between themselves, establishing direct rela
tions between different organizations and
activists," organizers said in a press release. “For
the first time, a large number of lesbigay groups
from Eastern Europe could directly get to know
about the problems and achievements of each
other, about work experiences and plans for
the future. Ukrainian human rights organiza
tions had an opportunity to get to know and
establish contacts with groups engaging in
human rights protection toward lesbians and
gay men.”
Documents from
the conference are
......... '&■
available at www.
gay.org.ua/.
Namibia
MALAYSIA
if
; bout 99 per-
£"%, cent of the
34,000 people with
HIV in Malaysia
cannot afford an
a n ti-r e tro v ir a l
I»
drug cocktail to
combat the virus, the
Malaysian AIDS Council
said Oct. 29. “The anti-retrovi
ral dnigs are not locally available
and need to be imported, which makes
them too costly for an average income
earner, more so for poor families," said Prime
M inister M ahathir Mohamad’s daughter
Marina, a member of the council.
She urged the government to pay for the
drugs, which she said cost up to $526 a
month. In most nations, an anti-HIV cocktail
costs closer to $1,000 a month.
I
•" V-
.
v
Ar oma erapy
H
omophobic members of Parliament from
the ruling Swapo party continually dis
rupted National Assembly proceedings Oct. 31
in to delay debate on creation of the African
Court on Human and People’s Rights. The out
break began when MP Rosa Namises noted that
gays and lesbians have been under attack from
Namibian authorities.
“As far as I know, sodomy is still a crime in
this country,” MP Jerry Ekandjo shouted. MPs
Hadino Hishongwa and Jeremiah Nambinga
also repeatedly interrupted the session.
Ekandjo, who is also the minister of home
affairs, told 700 new police officers during a
graduation ceremony in October: “We must
make sure we eliminate [gays and lesbians] from
the face of Namibia. [The] constitution does not
guarantee rights for gays and lesbians."
Jeremiah Nambinga, deputy home affairs
minister, has said: “Homosexuality is evil. Homo
sexuality is anti-social and should not only be
condemned but should also be legislated against.
Homosexuals are patients of psychologi
cal and biological deviations.”
Namibia President Sam Nujoma has
said: “Those who arc practicing homo
sexuality in Namibia
:f;f! : §£
are destroying the na
tion.... Homosexuals
must be condemned
and rejected in our
society.”
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