US conservatives look to an unlikely ally in court battle over transgender rights: Europe
The Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments Wednesday over Tennesseeโs law banning transition-related medical care for minors.
LGBTQ+ rights
The Guardian view on protests in Georgia: resisting a drift into Putinโs orbit | Editorial
The Georgian Dream governmentโs suspension of EU talks has sparked an existential struggle for democracyIn recent years, Georgiaโs ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party has brazenly pursued a policy of gaslighting an overwhelmingly pro-European population. …
Unprecedented protests sweep Georgia after government scraps EU bid
The European Parliament has called for elections to be rerun amid claims of irregularities and intimidation.
US suspends strategic partnership with Georgia after EU membership talks halted
The State Department also condemned the โexcessive use of force by policeโ after thousands of Georgians protested the halting of EU accession negotiations.
Protests in Georgia as poll commission confirms pro-Russia ruling partyโs win
Head of the Central Electoral Commission was doused with black paint as hundreds of opposition supporters staged a protest against the vote.
โInhumane and wickedโ: anguish over Italyโs expanded surrogacy ban
Most who seek surrogacy overseas, which is now punishable by jail terms and fines, are heterosexual couples Maria Sole Giardini was campaigning outside the Italian parliament in 2021 for surrogacy to be legalised when she encountered Giorgia Meloni.The…
US โconcernedโ for citizens after Meloniโs surrogacy ban in Italy
Washington fears that parents of children born through the procedure will not be recognized.
The anonymous, anything-goes forum at the heart of the Pelicot rape case
Before it was shut down this year, the illicit and unmoderated chat site Coco had been implicated in killings, child sexual abuse and homophobic attacksThe trial of a 71-year-old man has gripped France and horrified the world after he admitted to repea…
The EUโs most pointless job
Josep Borrell loves to condemn things โ sometimes in the “strongest possible terms.” Does it ever have any impact?
Georgia ratifies law curbing LGBTQ+ rights despite president’s opposition
The law, which includes bans on same-sex marriages, was approved by parliament before being opposed by pro-European President Salome Zourabichvili.
Georgia signs into law measures curbing LGBTQ+ rights
Passed by the speaker of Georgia’s parliament on Thursday, the controversial ‘family values’ bill puts homosexual relations on a par with ‘incest.’ It also bans gender transition, adoption by gay and transgender people, and nullifies same-sex marriages…
Georgian president refuses to sign anti-LGBTQ+ rights bill into law
Salome Zourabichvili opts not to advance bans on same-sex marriages and on adoptions by same-sex couplesGeorgiaโs president has refused to sign into law a bill aimed at severely curtailing LGBTQ+ rights, weeks after the controversial legislation was pa…
Georgia president refuses to sign bill curbing LGBTQ+ rights
Denounced by rights groups, the bill is widely expected to be passed into law by the parliament’s speaker. It would ban gender transition, adoption by gay and transgender people, and nullify same-sex marriages performed abroad.
Meloniโs street protest crackdown prompts concerns of growing repression in Italy
Beefed-up anti-protest laws take aim at climate activists and allow nonviolent protesters to be jailed.
Russia could do deal with Georgia over occupied regions, hints foreign minister
Talk of an agreement over Abkhazia and South Ossetia comes as the ruling Georgian Dream party pushes friendly ties with the Kremlin.
Georgian activists fear rise in anti-LGBTQ+ hate crime after trans model murdered
Kesaria Abramidze was murdered inside her apartment last Wednesday, a day after the government passed a sweeping measure severely restricting LGBTQ+ rights.
Macronโs old guard spooked by new governmentโs rightward shift
New ministers’ stances on immigration and social issues appear to break with some of their predecessors’ worldview.
Georgian trans model murdered after parliament passes โanti-LGBTQ+โ law
Tributes paid to Kesaria Abramidze, as ruling party and allies are accused of state campaign against minoritiesA well-known Georgian transgender model has been murdered, local officials said, a day after the government passed legislation that will imp…
EU foreign policy chief urges Georgia to retract bill restricting LGBTQ+ rights
The EU has already warned Georgia’s government that its membership bid has been ‘de facto halted’ as it advances a string of measures that run counter to European values.
Georgia passes controversial bill restricting LGBTQ+ rights
Georgia’s parliament on Tuesday approved legislation that ‘concerns restricting, in educational institutions and TV broadcasts, the propaganda of same-sex relationships and incest,’ a measure that echoes laws adopted in neighboring Russia.
โNot our traditionโ: calls in Sweden to ban fathers walking brides down the aisle
Popularised by Hollywood and the wedding of the crown princess, the patriarchal โhandoverโ is catching on. Now Lutherans want to stop itFrom equal parental leave and an almost gender-balanced parliament to pole position in the EUโs gender equality inde…
Georgiaโs ruling party wants to outlaw the opposition
Georgian Dream looks to shut down party founded by former leader Mikheil Saakashvili.
Russia on mpox: No risk due to our โtraditional valuesโ
Russian official laughs off threat of disease formerly known as monkeypox.
Bulgariaโs new anti-LGBTQ+ law is official. Opponents beg EU to take action.
The legislation triggered protests across the country and condemnation from human rights groups.
Rights groups slam Bulgaria for banning LGBTQ+ โpropagandaโ
The law mirrors similar legislation passed in Russia and Hungary in recent years.
Your Tim Walz policy guide: Where he stands on abortion, unions, energy and more
The Minnesota governor may bring rural appeal but his policies reflect a progressive agenda.
The Paris Olympics may look fair and inclusive on TV. The truth is much darker | Rokhaya Diallo
From a headscarf ban for French athletes to social cleansing in the capital, these Games rest on a foundation of injusticeThe Paris Olympics opening ceremony was a stunning spectacle for global audiences, projecting an image of a proudly inclusive and …
Meloni was on her best behavior โ now her mask is starting to slip
The Italian prime minister and her fellow euroskeptics now want to โchangeโ EU from within, extracting benefits while hollowing out its real spirit of unification.
My queer friends in Italy are so worn down by discrimination, they donโt notice it. Here’s why | Viola Di Grado
Giorgia Meloni is trampling what few rights the LGBTQ+ community has โ so many just feel grateful to be โtoleratedโI was chatting online the other day with a female friend who is undergoing IVF in Italy to have a child with her girlfriend. IVF for lesb…
Starmer praises Abbott and hails diverse Commons in first speech to parliament as PM โ UK politics live
Parliament the most diverse by race and gender the country has ever seen, says Starmer, with the largest cohort of LGBT+ MPs in the worldDowning Street has released a full version of what Keir Starmer said in his opening remarks to the metro mayors at…
What happens if Italy and Franceโs right-wing firebrands unite?
Once in office, Italyโs Giorgia Meloni moderated her positions. Will Marine Le Pen do the same?
Unease and fear in France as Marine Le Penโs National Rally leads in polls
Concern over agenda of far-right RN feeds undercurrent of division ahead of decisive second round result next SundayThe sense of unease loomed over Parisโ Pride parade on Saturday, hinted at by the banner reading: โThe far-right is the mortal enemy of …
With EU bid stuck, Georgia prays for Euro 2024 victory instead
Amid warnings of backsliding on key reforms, the ruling party is focusing on a different type of goal altogether.
Letโs be a bit more honest about what a โEuropean identityโ looks like
Emphasizing Europeโs โJudeo-Christianโ heritage and looking only to antiquity betrays the European project, excluding the various peoples and entities that shaped the Continent.
A bear attack in Slovakia reveals what the far right really wants
Across the globe, populists are rolling back efforts to save nature and the planet.
Georgiaโs pro-EU parties unite in bid to oust government
New declaration calls on the West to help ensure free and fair elections in wake of “foreign agent” law outcry.
Pope Francis has lost control of his liberal revolution
Trouble is brewing in the very regions that cradled the 16th-century Protestant Reformation.
US ambassador accuses Hungaryโs PM of using anti-LGBTQ โmachinery of fearโ
David Pressman describes personal experience in speech condemning Viktor Orbรกnโs legal and rhetorical attacksThe US ambassador in Budapest has accused the government of Hungaryโs far-right prime minister, Viktor Orbรกn, of using a โmachinery of fearโ to…
โI was shot in the leg back homeโ: the refugees reviving rural Spain
Depopulation can be a serious problem โ ultimately, a shrinking community canโt maintain its services. But asylum seekers are bringing ghost villages back to lifeWalther Valbuena, a journalist and drag artist, had to leave Colombia. His best friend, a …
First Pride march since Russian invasion takes place in Kyiv
Crowd dispersed by police after only 10 minutes and redirected to the subway due to threats from anti-LGBTQ+ groups, say organisersThe first Kyiv Pride march since the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine was stopped by police after travelling only a few …
Italy denies removing LGBTQ and abortion references from G7 declaration
Final communique omits references to protection of gender identity and sexual orientation, and to safe abortion accessItalyโs far-right government has denied that it removed references to abortion and LGBTQ rights in the final declaration of the G7 sum…
Macron, Meloni clash over abortion rights at G7
Body language of the two leaders in Puglia also reflects tensions between them.
As the far right surges, Europe heads toward its Donald Trump momentย
If the polls are correct, this weekโs European Parliament election will reorder the Continentโs political landscape.
Georgia introduces Russian-style crackdown on LGBTQ+ rights
Proposal targets same-sex marriages, changing gender, and erasing public references to the community.
Vatican issues apology over Pope Francisโs โhomophobicโ slur
Statement says pontiff apologises โto those who felt offended by the term reported by othersโPope Francis has apologised for using an offensive slur during a discussion with bishops about admitting gay men into seminaries, saying he โnever intended to …
Georgiaโs other Russian-style law is fueling a bitter culture war
Proposed restrictions on LGBTQ+ rights have proven far harder for politicans at home and abroad to unite against than the governmentโs “foreign agent” bill.
Georgian PM join thousands to mark controversial family Purity Day
Thousands, including Georgia’s Prime Minister, marched in Tbilisi to celebrate Family Purity Day, highlighting traditional values amid rising tensions over LGBTQ+ rights and controversial new laws.
Lady Massey of Darwen obituary
Teacher, education adviser and politician who worked tirelessly to improve the lives of children in Britain and abroadDoreen Massey, Lady Massey of Darwen, who has died of cancer aged 85, devoted a long and busy working life primarily to improving the …
Why Georgiaโs government thinks it can scorn the EU and keep its grip on power
Some 80 percent of Georgians want to join the EU, which begs the question of why the ruling party feels so secure.
Norwegian Dream review โ queer romance speaks for all the oppressed underclasses
This idealistic feature draws parallels between the struggles of immigrant Polish workers in Norway and the homophobia faced by two young lovers, but canโt quite sew up the two seamsDirector Leiv Igor Devold makes an unexpected link-up between Norway, …
UK accused by Amnesty of โdeliberately destabilisingโ human rights globally
Rights chief also warns Britain will be โjudged harshly by history for its failure to help prevent civilian slaughter in GazaโThe UK has been accused by Amnesty International of โdeliberately destabilisingโ human rights on the global stage for its own …
Georgia not ready for EU, says ruling party
The pronouncement comes as tensions fray between Tbilisi and Brussels over a ‘Kremlin-inspired’ foreign agent law.
Georgiaโs EU bid is being sabotaged by its own government, Brussels fears
Some 80 percent of Georgians want to join the EU, but the government seems to fear that membership could undermine its grip on power.
On holiday with Europeโs right-wingers
Hundreds of European conservatives gathered in Cyprus for a “cultural weekend” that mixed policy discussions, networking and time away from the bureaucratic machine.
Georgia wants to ban changing gender in sweeping new anti-LGBTQ+ law
The new crackdown comes months after the South Caucasus country was granted EU candidate status.
Two bar workers in Russia detained under new anti-LGBTQ+ law
Pair are accused of roles in โextremist organisationโ and could face up to 10 years in prisonA Russian court has ordered two bar workers to be placed in custody, accusing them of roles in an โextremist organisationโ, under new legislation criminalising…
Giorgia Meloniโs plan to run Europe โ and befriend Donald Trump
The Italian prime minister is courting Trump and preparing to tilt European policy her way.
Biden slams Trump-Orbรกn meeting in Florida
The Hungarian leader has become an icon to some conservative populists for advocating โilliberal democracy.โ
Fears of womenโs rights in peril if far right surges in EU election
“It’s hard to be a woman in politics,” said Jรฉromine Andolfatto, policy and campaign officer at the European Women’s Lobby.
โThis is still tabooโ: queer teens and their families embrace gay comedy in Serbia
Audiences are finding sharp resonance and emotional comfort in Patrik Laziฤโs moving and funny play Our Son, about topics still sensitive in the BalkansThe hurling of a salad bowl to the floor might not sound like the most dramatic of moments, but it s…
Ukrainian veterans reject award after church annuls gay soldierโs medal
Combat medic battles Kyiv patriarch over LGBTQ+ rights.
Boylesque review โ tender portrait of drag artist who refuses to grow old gracefully
Bogna Kowalczykโs lively and moving film follows 82-year-old Lulla La Polaca who embraces the future and its uncertainties with irresistible joie de vivreStill sorely underexplored on screen, the autumnal years of queer life are vibrantly explored in …
Greece becomes first Orthodox Christian country to legalise same-sex marriage
Lawmakers in the 300-seat parliament voted for the bill drafted by centre-right government despite church officialsโ objectionsGreece has become the worldโs first Christian Orthodox nation to legalise same-sex marriage after the Athens parliament passe…
โA brilliant startโ: gay Greeks eager for MPs to legalise same-sex marriage
Parliament is expected to pass bill on Thursday but the rancour it has caused shows countryโs entrenched social conservatismViktoria Kalfaki can still vividly remember the moment she and her wife, Christina Leimoni, realised they would have to fight fo…
โA gay plumber? What a tall taleโ: the film showing changing attitudes to LGBTQ+ rights in Ukraine
Lessons of Tolerance follows a family overcoming their homophobia, an education that war with Russia seems to be giving many in the countryArkadii Nepytaliuk grew up in a small village in Ukraineโs Khmelnytskyi region under the control of the Soviet Un…
โThis is where I apologiseโ: Polish state TV presenter says sorry to LGBT+ viewers
Activist Bart Staszewski hails โmeaningful and necessaryโ apology as opening new chapter for state broadcasterA television presenter with Polandโs state broadcaster has apologised for the years of โshameful wordsโ directed at LGBTQ+ people, in a moment…
Tucker Carlson joins long line of โuseful idiotโ journalists helping tyrants
The notorious Walter Duranty of the New York Times and Nazi broadcaster Lord Haw-Haw offer cautionary tales.
Finlandโs โDJโ candidate hopes to become the countryโs first Green and gay president
Pekka Haavisto, who is second in the opinion polls, is bolstering his campaign with club nights and music from the 60s and 70sAt a packed, dimly lit music venue in Helsinki, an attentive crowd dressed up for a night out sings sweetly along to musicians…
โI will pretend not to be meโ: Russia cracks down on LGBTQ+ community
Less than 48 hours after โglobal LGBTQ+ movementโ banned for being extremist, LGBTQ+-friendly bars were raidedThe ink was barely dry on Russiaโs decision to outlaw what it called the โinternational LGBT public movementโ as extremist when masked police …
Jewish students condemn antisemitic tweets about French PM Gabriel Attal
Studentsโ union calls for sanctions over posts on social network that have also contained homophobic abuseThe French Union of Jewish Students has called for sanctions against people who have written antisemitic and homophobic comments about Franceโs ne…
Human rights in decline globally as leaders fail to uphold laws, report warns
Human Rights Watchโs annual report highlights politiciansโ double standards and โtransactional diplomacyโ amid escalating crisesHuman rights across the world are in a parlous state as leaders shun their obligations to uphold international law, accordi…
Greek PM faces fierce opposition over pledge to legalise gay marriage
MPs in his own cabinet are against move, while powerful Orthodox church fear it could lead to dismantlement of societyThe Greek prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, appears to be facing one of his most daunting challenges yet after a pledge to legalise…
Same-sex couples able to marry in Estonia from New Yearโs Day
Registrations open after Estonia became first former Soviet-ruled country to legalise gay marriageNSame-sex couples in Estonia are able to marry from today, in a milestone move people say brings the Baltic nation closer to its Nordic neighbours.Estonia…
Same-sex couples fight for civil unions to be legalised in Ukraine
Russiaโs invasion prompted the LGBTQ+ community to urgently discuss their lack of legal rightsA Ukrainian couple campaigning for marital equality has called on the Kyiv government to act on a draft civil union law that would give same-sex partnerships …
โNo, thatโs fascismโ: the librarian who defied Russiaโs purge of LGBTQ+ books
When Vladimir Kosarevsky was ordered to destroy books referring to same-sex relationships, he raised the alarm instead โ then went to Spain to rebuild his lifeAs a gay man growing up in Russia, books were Vladimir Kosarevskyโs refuge, offering him a pr…
The Lost Boys review โ passionate and political youth-prison love story
Director Zeno Gratonโs debut subtly yet powerfully shows two young men growing closer and pushing back against the systemInside the austere walls of a juvenile detention centre, love dares to blossom against all odds in Zeno Gratonโs bold and tender fe…
Russia outlaws โinternational LGBT public movementโ as extremist
Human rights activists say supreme courtโs vague wording provides wide scope for persecutionRussiaโs supreme court has outlawed what it called an โinternational LGBT public movementโ as extremist, in a landmark ruling that representatives of gay and tr…
Queendom review โ queer drag artistโs dangerous protest in Putinโs Russia
Documentary suggests that when performer Gena Marvin takes to the streets she is squaring up not only to prejudice but to the stateIt often takes actual physical courage to be different anywhere you grow up โ but it takes superhuman courage to be diffe…
The joy of the fight for LGBTQ+ rights โ and the threat from the far right | Letters
Dr Peter Purton recalls the early days of the fight for gay rights in Britain, which seem in danger across the worldThank you, Guardian, for publishing Sunil Guptaโs joyous photographs of the LGBTQ+ movement in Britain in its early years (โThis was my …
Russia files lawsuit to crack down on LGBTQ+ community
Supreme court to consider justice ministry request to outlaw โinternational LGBT public movementโ as extremistThe Russian justice ministry on Friday said it had filed a lawsuit with the supreme court to outlaw what it called an โinternational LGBT publ…
Russia moves to totally ban LGBTQ+ movement
Vladimir Putin’s government steps up crackdown.
Austria puts aside millions for gay people who faced prosecution
People investigated under discriminatory laws to get โฌ500, while those convicted will get โฌ3,000 or more, says justice ministerAustria has set aside millions of euros to compensate thousands of gay people who until two decades ago faced prosecution, it…
Eismayer review โ moving real-life tale of forbidden love in the army barracks
Gerhard Liebmann is brilliant as Eismayer, an Austrian drill officer who falls for a recruit in this intelligent, understated film about acceptanceThe character of Sgt Maj Eismayer is instantly recognisable from every basic training movie youโve ever s…
Polandโs opposition parties reach coalition agreement
The three parties in the coalition pledge to prioritize security and work to restore the rule of law.
Hungary sacks museum chief for not enforcing under-18s ban at LGBTQ+ exhibition
Lรกszlรณ Simon dismissed after National Museum allowed children to visit a World Press Photo showThe director of Budapestโs National Museum has been fired from his role over a contentious anti-LGBTQ+ law that he himself voted for when he was a member of …
Polandโs Duda nominates Morawiecki in no-hope bid to form a new government
Move shows that president is set to be thorn in flank of likely next PM Donald Tusk.
Poland finally has a chance to protect LGBTQ+ people โ will the new government take it? | Roch Dunin-Wฤ sowicz
The former ruling party targeted Polandโs queer communities. Now itโs out of power, they have high hopes for equalityFor LGBTQ+ people in Poland, the past eight years under the Law and Justice party (PiS) have been a period of turmoil and a test of end…
Hungary anti-LGBT law sees under-18s barred from World Press Photo exhibition
Prestigious show contains one set of images with LGBTQ+ theme, prompting a far-right lawmaker to file a complaint with the cultural ministryPeople younger than 18 have been barred from visiting this yearโs World Press Photo exhibition in Budapest after…
โNightmare is overโ: Polish election result brings relief for LGBTQ+ people
Community looks tentatively to future as party that sought to demonise them is unlikely to retain powerFor the past eight years, fear and anxiety has threaded through much of Bart Staszewskiโs daily life. As a gay man living in Poland, he found himself…
Giorgia Meloni treasures Italyโs families โ unless they include same-sex parents | Luisa Rizzitelli
The hard-right leader aims to cement traditional values by cracking down on LGBTQ+ rights. Is this really what Italians want?The family may be the cultural bedrock of Italian society, but an entirely conservative and patriarchal idea of family is what …
Polish president to meet party leaders for talks on forming government
Country waiting to see who Andrzej Duda will task with forming a cabinet after ruling nationalists lost majority Polandโs president will meet parliamentary party leaders next week, his office said, as the country waits to see who he will task with form…
How a Tusk-led government could bring radical change to Poland | Analysis
Warmer EU and Kyiv relations along with a focus on the rule of law, womenโs rights and LGBTQ+ rights could ensue if polls are accurateIf the exit polls turn out to be accurate, Poland is heading for a new government run by Donald Tusk. The change, afte…
Greeceโs gay Syriza leader says he told of plans to become parent to โstirโ debate
Stefanos Kasselakis says he wanted to open up the subject of same-sex couples having childrenGreeceโs first openly gay political party leader says he was deliberately trying to โstir stagnant watersโ and tackle the taboo subject of same-sex couples hav…
Xavier Bettelโs last stand
Luxembourg’s election is set to throw up fraught coalition talks.
The Guardian view on Slovakiaโs election: an ominous signal from central Europe | Editorial
Victory for a Putin-friendly populist has given Viktor Orbรกn an ally and the rest of Europe a problemElections in Slovakia, a country of 5.5 million people on the eurozoneโs eastern flank, do not normally generate global headlines. But these are not no…
Donatella Versace hits out at Italian governmentโs anti-gay policies
LGBTQ groups laud fashion designer for speech in which she said โminority voicesโ were under attackGay rights groups in Italy have praised Donatella Versace for speaking out against the governmentโs anti-gay policies in a heartfelt and personal speech …
Theresa May: Iโm woke
Former Tory prime minister says she meets the definition ‘of somebody who recognizes that discrimination takes place.’
The secret to winning the Polish election: Bashing Tusk
Donald Tusk and Jarosลaw Kaczyลski have turned the upcoming Polish election into a personal fight.
LGBTQ+ volleyball champion hits a nerve in Turkeyโs culture war
Furor over a star in European championship-winning team exposes deep rift between Islamists and secularists.
โOrphaned by decreeโ: Italyโs same-sex parents react to losing their rights
Rightwing PM Giorgia Meloni has demanded councils register only biological parents on birth certificates, leaving partners in legal limboWhether it is school runs or doctorsโ visits, Maria Silvia Fiengo and Francesca Pardi have always shared in the rai…