Luxembourg Prime Minister Admitted to Hospital with Covid

THE GUARDIAN: Xavier Bettel attends as a precautionary measure after testing positive last week

Luxembourg’s prime minister, Xavier Bettel, has been admitted to hospital after testing positive for Covid-19 last week, local media have reported, citing a statement from his office.

Multiple outlets said Bettel, 48, attended hospital as a precautionary measure on Sunday morning. Unless doctors advised otherwise, he was due to spend 24 hours under observation while “additional tests and analyses” were carried out. There was no immediate report on his condition.

Bettel tested positive for coronavirus and began self-isolating for 10 days on 27 June, two days after attending a European Council meeting in Brussels with fellow EU national leaders. He received a first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine on 6 May. » | Jon Henley, Europe correspondent | Sunday, June 4, 2021

Inside Giorgio Armani's Fashion Legacy | The Business of Fashion

May 4, 2015 • Just days before the opening of Armani/Silos a new museum housing the vast Armani archive, BoF's Imran Amed interviews Giorgio Armani on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of his business.

Global Journalist: Gay Rights in the Arab World

Sep 22, 2016 • One of the hardest regions of the globe to be lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender is the Arab world.

In Saudi Arabia and Yemen, the punishment for the crime of sodomy is death by stoning, and many other countries impose prison sentences.

Also challenging is the fact that the stigma associated with being LGBT is so great, many people feel they can’t come out even to their family or closest friends.

On this edition of Global Journalist, a look at the uncertain lives of LGBT people in Arab nations.

Joining the program:

*Saleem Haddad, the Jordanian-born author of the new novel "Guapa," about the outing of a young gay man in an unnamed Arab country.

*Graeme Reid, director of the LGBT rights program at Human Rights Watch.

*Esra'a Al-Shafei, a Bahraini activist and director of Mideast Youth, network of online platforms that amplify marginalized voices in the region.

*Antoun Issa, a senior editor at the Middle East Institute who has written extensively on LGBT issues in the region.


Interview: Saleem Haddad: 'I put everything into this novel and it was a relief' »

God and the Gay Christian | Matthew Vines | Talks at Google

Jul 10, 2015 • Matthew Vines visits Google's Mountain View office to discuss The Reformation Project and his book 'God and the Gay Christian: The Biblical Case in Support of Same-Sex Relationships'. You can find Matthew's book on Google Play here: https://goo.gl/p1xK6j

Matthew Vines is the founder and president of The Reformation Project, and the author of God and the Gay Christian: The Biblical Case in Support of Same-Sex Relationships. The Reformation Project runs conferences across the country for Christians who want to advance the inclusion of the LGBT community in their churches. TIME has written that Vines “represents new momentum to change the evangelical tide,” and he has been featured on CNN, NPR, MSNBC, and in The New York Times.

The Beach Boys : Sloop John B

The Beach Boys : I Can Hear Music

En Chine, la communauté homosexuelle tente de s'affirmer en dansant

LE FIGARO : Le «voguing», né dans les années 1970 à New-York, trouve un écho grandissant auprès de la jeunesse LGBT, prise en étau entre le conservatisme de la société chinoise et un désir d'émancipation.

Cuir, perruques et talons hauts. En Chine, les minorités sexuelles se défoulent désormais au rythme du «voguing», une danse inspirée des défilés de mode qui auraient été revus et corrigés par des drag-queens. Pression familiale, sociale et politique, les personnes lesbiennes, gays, bisexuels, transgenres et queers (LGBTQ) peinent à sortir du placard dans un pays qui n'a retiré l'homosexualité du classement des maladies mentales qu'en 2001. » | Par Le Figaro avec AFP | mercredi 31 mars 2021

US Embassy in Warsaw Publishes Video Condemning LGBT Hate

BBC: The US embassy in Warsaw has published a video pushing back against anti-LGBT messages posted on its social accounts.

The clip, titled #WordsMatter, shows members of the Polish LGBT community reading hateful comments left on posts about equality.

The video comes at the end of pride month against a backdrop of rising discrimination in the country.

Poland's right-wing president Andrzej Duda ran for election last year on a platform condemning LGBT "ideology".

A swathe of towns and regions across the country have passed resolutions declaring themselves "LGBT-free zones" in recent years.

While the resolutions are largely symbolic - they reflect deepening hostility faced by LGBT people nationally and have sparked international condemnation. » | Thursday, July 1, 2021

Matthew Vines: "For the Bible Tells Me So: Hermeneutics and the Debate About LGBTQ Inclusion"

Mar 6, 2020 • One of the most important issues for Christians to understand in our interpretation of the Bible is the role of hermeneutics—not just what the text says, but how we most faithfully understand and apply the text today. In this talk from our Reconcile and Reform conference in Seattle, TRP's Executive Director Matthew Vines explains how the tools non-affirming Christians already use to interpret the Bible can and should be applied to the conversation around LGBTQ inclusion in a way that leads to an affirming conclusion.

This talk was given on November 8, 2019, at Plymouth Church United Church of Christ in Seattle, Washington.

Jackie Wilson: (Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher

And here are Fred Astaire and Rita Hayworth dancing to this great song:

Brazilians Take to Streets to Demand Removal of Jair Bolsonaro

THE GUARDIAN: Calls for president’s impeachment grow amid claims government sought to profit from Covid jabs

Huge crowds of protesters have returned to the streets of Brazil’s biggest cities to demand the removal of a president they blame for more than half a million coronavirus deaths.

Tens of thousands of demonstrators hit the streets of Rio de Janeiro on Saturday morning as calls for Jair Bolsonaro’s impeachment intensified after allegations that members of his government had sought to illegally profit from the purchase of Covid vaccines.

“The people have awoken,” said Benedita da Silva, a 79-year-old congresswoman and veteran of the Brazilian left, as she joined the rally.

“I’m here because we absolutely have to get this monster out of power and reclaim Brazil,” said Magda Souza, a 64-year-old dissenter, as she marched through downtown Rio with her husband, José Baptisa. “We’re surrounded by barbarism,” Souza added as a police helicopter circled over the throng. » | Tom Phillips in Rio de Janeiro | Saturday, July 3, 2021

European Human Rights Chief: Governments Must Take ‘A Long, Hard Look in the Mirror’ | Conflict Zone

Jun 10, 2021 • The Council of Europe’s latest report gives a stark warning on the state of democracy on the continent, saying the democratic environment and institutions “are in mutually reinforcing decline.”

But what can it do to reverse the backsliding? And how can it uphold human rights in countries who enjoy membership of the club but don’t follow its rules?

On DW’s Conflict Zone, host Tim Sebastian speaks to Dunja Mijatovic, the commissioner for human rights at the Council of Europe, on the line from Strasbourg.

Conflict Zone is Deutsche Welle's top political interview. Every week, our hosts Tim Sebastian and Sarah Kelly are face to face with global decision-makers, seeking straight answers to straight questions, putting the spotlight on controversial issues and calling the powerful to account.

Lionel Richie : Stuck On You

James Taylor : You've Got a Friend

Timeless Thoughts - The Video - Documentary

Sep 26, 2020 • These are timeless thoughts, as narrated by the voice of renowned and multi-awarded Italian actor Pierfrancesco Favino. Giorgio Armani's language evolves relentlessly, whilst staying firm in its roots.It is the result of a process of subtraction, which captures time and sublimates it, creating fashion that goes beyond fashion.

Gay Marriage Is Legal in These Countries

Jun 27, 2019 • As of May 2019, there are now 29 out of 195 countries where gay marriage is legal.

Rainbow Bridge: LGBTIQ Migrants in Malta. A Documentary by MGRM

Mar 26, 2021 • This documentary features the lives of three asylum seekers in Malta. It seeks to give light to their lives back in their home country, their journey till they arrived to Malta, their asylum procedure and their new life in Malta. It also envisages to be an educational tool about the struggles of LGBTIQ+ migrants especially during their stay in detention, open centers, asylum claim procedure that can take years and their experiences with homophobia and racism. Finally, this documentary wants to portray the human story of every individual, their hopes and dreams for the future.

Gay and Queer in Europe: How to Tackle Exclusion? | To the Point

Jul 1, 2021 • How much freedom do members of the LGBTQ community enjoy? In recent weeks, Gay Pride marches in countries around the world have underlined the solidarity in the community. But discrimination, violence, even the death penalty, are still part of the global agenda of hate. There's been angry criticism of Hungary's new anti-LGBTQ law - and of European soccer's blocking of the use of the movement's rainbow colors at a big European championship match in Munich. Gay and queer in Europe: How to tackle exclusion? Our guests: Joseph Hutchinson (US journalist), Pascal Thibaut (Radio France Internationale), Bernd Riegert (DW Brussels).

Former EU Chief Donald Tusk Stages Comeback in Poland | DW News

Jul 3, 2021 • The former resident of the European Council, Donald Tusk, is staging a political comeback in his homeland Poland.

Tusk is taking over as leader of the main opposition party, the liberal Civic Platform. He wants to challenge Jaroslaw Kaczynski of the ruling right-wing Law and Justice party, in elections in two years' time. The government has clashed with Brussels over law reforms, and LGBTQ and women's rights.

Austritt aus Istanbul-Konvention: Tausende protestieren in der Türkei zum Schutz von Frauen

TAGES ANZEIGER: Die Kritik an dem Schritt war gross. Dennoch steigt die Türkei aus der Istanbul-Konvention zum Schutz von Frauen aus. Erdogan verteidigt seine Entscheidung, Frauen protestieren.

Tausende Menschen in der Türkei haben gegen den Austritt des Landes aus der Istanbul-Konvention zum Schutz von Frauen protestiert. Demonstrantinnen im Zentrum der Millionenmetropole Istanbul hielten am Donnerstag Plakate hoch mit der Aufschrift: «Wir geben die Istanbul-Konvention nicht auf. Für uns ist es noch nicht vorbei.» Sie skandierten: «Wir schweigen nicht, wir fürchten uns nicht, wir gehorchen nicht.» Auch in der Küstenmetropole Izmir, der Hauptstadt Ankara und anderen türkischen Städten gab es Proteste. Die Demonstrationen fanden unter massivem Polizeiaufgebot statt. Präsident Recep Tayyip Erdogan verteidigte unterdessen den umstrittenen Schritt. » | SDA/aru | Donnerstag, 1. Juli 2021