Enrique Anarte Lazo

Language learning app Duolingo has cut LGBTQ+ references from its classes in Russia after a warning from authorities, the latest step in a state crackdown on online references to what Moscow calls "non-traditional sexual relations".

President Vladimir Putin signed a law widening Russia's ban on "LGBT propaganda" in late 2022, effectively outlawing public discussion of LGBTQ+ issues, and in 2023, the Supreme Court banned "the international LGBT social movement" as "extremist".

A year after Uganda enacted one of the world's harshest anti-gay laws, many LGBTQ+ exiles are struggling to start over, facing a host of new hurdles alongside some of the same old threats that forced them out.

From Canada to Kenya to Germany, their new homelands have not proved the sanctuary that many LGBTQ+ Ugandans hoped.

A self-determination bill that would make it easier for transgender Germans to change legal gender is moving closer to a parliamentary vote after years of delays, but trans rights advocates fear the legislation poses data privacy risks.

The long-awaited self-ID bill, which seeks to replace the 43-year-old Transsexuals Act and follows similar laws in other countries, is on track for a vote in the coming weeks in the lower house of parliament, the Bundestag, where the governing coalition holds a majority. 

A severe shortage of HIV prevention drugs in Germany has sparked fears of a spike in infections over coming months, with doctors urging government to step in and keep tens of thousands safe.

Almost 90% of Germany's doctor surgeries and pharmacies are affected by the shortages of PrEP pills, according to a survey by dagnä, an association of HIV specialists.

Spain's first openly transgender senator said she will strive to protect hard-won progress on LGBTQ+ rights, including the country's ambitious trans self-ID law, as right-wing parties seek to roll back the community's gains.

"We will defend our rights tooth and nail," Antonelli, 64, who took up her Senate seat on Thursday following Spain's inconclusive July parliamentary election, told Openly in a phone interview.

Polish teacher Maria Kistowska felt a burst of pride when her school came top in a new LGBTQ+ inclusion ranking that seeks to challenge the nationalist ruling party's curbs on gay and transgender rights.

"This sends out the message that we're LGBTQ+ allies, and it tells kids (that) there's a place where you can feel safe," Kistowska, 37, who teaches English at a school in the western city of Poznan, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.