While Thailand’s youth are generally accepting of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered (LGBT) individuals, older Thais are less open-minded to the idea of same-sex marriage. Kalayasiri’s bill faced strong opposition at its inception, partly due to the fact that most lawmakers in Thailand fall on the other side of the generation gap.

In response, gay columnist Dan Savage called for a nation-wide boycott of Stoli and other Russian vodkas. This weekend several bars in West Hollywood got into the act. Even though Stoli is a business, not a government that can enact policy, WeHo councilman John Duran told us why he supported the move by his city's businesses. "I mean I think that a boycott has two primary reasons, one of which is to target and protest where injustice is occurring, but also to raise public awareness."

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on Friday launched Free & Equal, an unprecedented global public education campaign for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) equality. At a press conference held in Cape Town, South Africa, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay was joined by Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu and Justice Edwin Cameron of the South African Constitutional Court to announce the year-long project.

Directed by Andrew Brown, a Ph.D candidate in performance studies at Northwestern University, "Home/Affair" uses theater to communicate a political message about lesbian/ gay/ bisexual/ transgender refugees in South Africa. Homosexuality is illegal in 38 African countries, so South Africa, with more liberal laws regarding discrimination, has become a haven for gay refugees fleeing persecution.

In February 2013, the interagency LGBT Working Group collaborated to host a half-day workshop at the U.S. Embassy for leaders from the LGBT community in order to better understand their needs and priorities and to inform them of policy changes and upcoming opportunities for U.S. Government support of their work.

Olivia Companies, the lesbian luxury travel company, announced last month that it joined forces with a coalition of government and nonprofit organizations to form a new LGBT Global Development Partnership. “We are thrilled to be a part of this historic partnership with the U.S. government and the four other founding partners, and to once again reinforce our 40-year commitment to the LGBT movement,”

Sour Lips by Omar El-Khairy is a play that dramatises the story of Amina Arraf, a fictional Syrian character created by Tom MacMaster in a blog he dubbed A Gay Girl in Damascus. Emerging in the hype surrounding the Arab Spring, the blog bore an activist façade and was part of a buzzing blogsphere discussing a transition to democracy and progressiveness in the region.

Eight burly guards in black suits ushered guests into an anonymous building on the bank of the Neva River in St. Petersburg, as activists, artists, and diplomats gathered last month for the opening of the city's Queer Fest – the first time the annual event has been held under the shadow of a new law against "gay propaganda" aimed at minors.