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ARIA Award winner and former Australian Idol star Anthony Callea will sing at the memorial service for Queen Elizabeth at Parliament House on Thursday.  Prime Minister Anthony Albanese made the announcement on Sky News on Sunday. The Prime Minister said that the farewell to Queen Elizabeth II would be led by TV presenter Melissa Doyle and Opposition leader Peter Dutton would be among those who would deliver short remarks at the service.Following the state funeral for the Queen on Monday, Australia will mark Thursday as the National Day of Mourning.

Thousands of LGBTQI activists and allies took to the streets of Belgrade for the EuroPride 2022 March on September 17, 2022, in the face of a police ban that was withdrawn at the eleventh hour and threats from right-wing Christian protesters. EuroPride 2022, hosted by Belgrade Pride, was hailed by  European Pride Organisers Association (EPOA) as the “most important in the event’s 30 year history”.  More than 7,000 police personnel were deployed to ensure the Parade passed off peacefully, after calls from homophobes to disrupt the event.  Police formed a protective corridor around the Pride participants as football hooligans, anti-gay right-wing and religious protesters threw projectiles and clashed, reported Balkan Insights. According to EPOA, several LGBTQI activists were attacked as they left the closing concert.

With the late Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral set to take place on Monday 19th September, many shops across London will be closed for the day, except for one gay sauna.Pleasuredrome, a popular bar spa in London that boasts as the “only gay venue in the UK that never closes” announced that it will not play music and show its regularly scheduled porn in the cinema. Instead, they will be live streaming the funeral in the cinema.“The staff and management of Pleasuredrome Spa join together in expressing their sense of deep sadness and loss at the passing of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II,” management wrote on their website.“In accordance with Government guidance and advice, Pleasuredrome Spa will remain open on Monday, 19th September.

Award-winning designer and creative director at CRE8 in Cairns, Aaron Coshaw passed away at the top of Victoria Falls, Zambia. He was surrounded by his loving partner, Jay Horne and friends.Horne expressed his grief at the passing of his partner on , saying he was “completely dumbfounded, devastated, lost and heart broken.”“Yesterday afternoon, just after this photo was taken my rock, my guide, my confidant, my partner in life and number 1 support [Aaron Coshaw] passed away at the top of Victoria Falls here in Zambia,” Horne wrote.“But I am desperately trying to take comfort in the fact that Aaron passed away in such a beautiful location and that he was so excited to tick off number 3 of the 7 Natural Wonders of the World.”While in grief, Horne is facing the task of bringing Coshaw back home, with the help of local and state members in Cairns, the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Australian Embassy.Coshaw’s life was full of excitement and remarkable achievements.

The US Senate is delaying its vote on legislation that will protect same-sex marriage until after the November mid-term elections. This is to allow Republicans some political breathing room to support the bill without offending their support bases.Leading Democratic negotiator on the bill, Senator Tammy Baldwin is confident that the bill will pass if Republicans are given time.“We’re very confident that the bill will pass, but we will need a little more time,” she told CNN.The decision to delay the vote comes after many weeks spent in bipartisan negotiations as a small group of senators had tried to reassure any concerns Republican senators had as a way to gain their support on the bill.The Respect for Marriage Act seeks to codify same-sex and interracial marriages whilst repealing the Defense of Marriage Act, which only recognises marriage in the US between a man and a woman.Senator Susan Collins has stated that the amendment would “make it clear” that the bill will not “legalise polyamorous marriages” or force churches to perform “same-sex marriages.”“I think we’re in very good shape, very good shape.

A NSW Supreme Court jury  on Thursday held Hamdi Alqudsi guilty of allegedly plotting to carry out attacks on Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras and other places as leader of the terrorist group ‘Shura’. The court has scheduled Alqudsi’s sentencing over two days starting October 31, reported the Sydney Morning Herald. Alqudsi was the first Australian to be convicted and sentenced to eight years imprisonment in 2016 for his role in sending young men from Australia to Syria to help  Islamic State fighters in the country’s civil war. The prosecution case was that Alqudsi set up the Shura in 2013 and dubbed himself the “commander” and “emir” of the Shura. Shura means consultation council in Arabic.

By Dale BarrettA bid to change the name of the space outside Newtown’s Town Hall to ‘Pride Square’ has been approved by the Geographical Naming Board of NSW.  The Board is currently seeking community feedback on the renaming, coinciding with Sydney’s hosting of WorldPride in February 2023.Inner West Councillor Mat Howard made the proposal to rename Bedford Square in March, where it was passed unanimously by council. A proposal by Councillor Pauline Lockie for the installation of a rainbow crossing in Newtown coincided with Cr Howard’s motion for ‘Pride Square’.Councillor Mat Howard (centre) at a trans and gender diverse swim night organised by Inner West Council.

To Barbra, With Love makes its debut in Sydney, Canberra, and Adelaide in celebration of Barbra Streisand’s 80th Birthday. The critically acclaimed concert showcases Streisand’s impressive musical career and features local orchestras behind celebrity performers. The show premiered earlier this year at the Hammer Hall in Melbourne, with high praise from both audiences and critics. Starring four of the Australian theatre industry’s most impressive singers.

A suspect wanted in the stabbing death at a California gay bar, has been arrested.On September 9, Christopher Finley, 28, and Jacob Touchstone went out for a date night and nightcap at Mineshaft bar in Long Beach.An altercation happened between the couple and an unnamed man with a taser and, soon after, an altercation with Smalls, resulting in the couple being stabbed. Finely would pass away eight hours later at the hospital.Smalls is being charged with one count of murder, one count of attempted murder.In a statement, police said there is “no evidence this is a hate or bias-motivated incident.”The couple’s GoFund Me page reveals that the couple has been together since 2016.“From then on, there was never a Jake without a Chris,” the page states. “They had ups and they had downs and they even tried the whole time apart thing, without ever really leaving each others’ lives.

For the first time, participants will be able to register as Non-Binary when they sign up for the 2023 London Marathon.Races that operate under World Athletics rules, such as the Championship, Good for Age, and elite athlete races will not offer a third option. According to London Marathon Event Director Hugh Brasher, “This is a significant step forward for the TCS London Marathon as we continue our journey to make our event truly inclusive.”Brasher continued, “We know there is still much more to be done, but changes such as this demonstrate our commitment to making the TCS London Marathon an event that is for everyone.” According to the Boston Athletic Association, in an interview with The Independent, “non-binary athletes can submit entry applications if they’ve completed a marathon as a non-binary participant during the current qualifying window.”LGBTQI sports advocacy group, Athlete Ally spokesperson Joanna Hoffman rescinded to the news, saying, “A truly inclusive marathon provides space for every runner to register, compete and be celebrated exactly as they are.”Hoffman continued, “Including a nonbinary category in the Boston and London Marathons, following the New York Marathon’s prior adoption, is a critical step forward.

Sydney is alive this week with events for queer people. With album launches to celebrate, cabaret shows to delight in and dances to attend, here’s just some of what’s on the menu in queer Sydney.Indie pop star Rina Sawayama’s sophomore album Hold The Girl releases Friday following support from singles This Hell, Catch Me in the Air and Phantom.

A trans boy has been outed at a school in Israel resulting in anti-trans protests by parents and threats of school transfers. The third grader attends Morsheth Naria school in Givat Shmuel. Trigger Warning: This story discusses transphobic conduct, which might be distressing to some readers. For 24 hour crisis support and suicide prevention call Lifeline on 13 11 14. For Australia-wide LGBTQI peer support call QLife on 1800 184 527 or webchat.In an interview with Ono News, a parent said, “The administration knew about the story and probably most of the teachers did too, but it dropped on the parents like lightning on a clear day.”According to JewishPress, 17 transphobic parents of third graders threatened to pull their children from school.“We, the majority of third-grade parents, are not ready to contain the phenomenon and accept the damage to our spiritual character and the emotional damage that our children are going through and will go through in the future.”“We need your help in this fight to stand firm on the way our children are educated, and our insistence that we are not ready to apologize for our way of life and our desire to educate our children according to our will.”In response religious LGBTQ Group, Havruta tweeted, “In the service of transphobia and under the auspices of the hate lobby, there is a demonstration in Givat Shmuel against a religious trans boy.

Just days ahead of the event, Serbian authorities have banned the 2022 EuroPride Parade through the streets of the country’s capital Belgrade.Last month, the Serbian Church had called for armed attacks on LGBTQI people marching in EuroPride. Subsequently, Serbian president Aleksandar Vučić had called off the march citing “security concerns”. EuroPride organisers had said they would go ahead with the parade, but this week updated that police had banned the route of the Pride walk scheduled for September 17, 2022. Police bans EuroPride 2022 MarchToday, on September 13, the Serbian Police banned this year’s EuroPride March, by handing over the official notice to the organizers.

Australian Special Forces veteran, founder of the Australian Values Party, and OnlyFans model Heston Russell is suing the ABC for defamation.According to Russell’s lawsuit, the November article made defamatory claims including that Russell “was reasonably suspected by the Department of Defence of committing a crime or crimes when he was a commando in Afghanistan,” and that Russell “was involved in callously killing an Afghan prisoner in Helmand province in mid-2012 because the prisoner would not fit on a US aircraft.”The lawsuit goes on to state that “Russell has been gravely injured in his character, his personal reputation, and his professional reputation as a former member of the armed forces, and has suffered and will continue to suffer substantial hurt, distress and embarrassment.”He continued, “I will not be making any further comment now that the matter is before the Court.”According to the Daily Telegraph, Russell is being represented by defamation lawyers Sue Chrysanthou SC and Rebekah Giles.  In the past, the pair have represented Christian Porter, Geoffrey Rush, John Barilaro and Andrew Laming.He is suing for damages, aggravated damages, legal costs, and for the ABC articles to be removed. The ABC, in a statement, said it “will defend its journalism on this important issue of public interest.”On August 12, Russell pleaded not guilty to assaulting a man at a private party in Sydney on January 2022.In December 2021, Russell made headlines when it was revealed that he raised approximately $15,000 in the name of a veterans’ mental health charity by selling nudes of himself via OnlyFans.© Star Observer 2022 | For the latest in lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex (LGBTIQ) news in Australia, be

It was a big night for HBO’s runway hit The White Lotus at the 2022 Primetime Emmy Awards, winning nearly all the major categories it was nominated in. Sydney-born out gay Australian actor Murray Bartlett took home Emmy for best supporting actor in a limited series, while co-star and gay icon Jennifer Coolidge won the best supporting actress in a limited series. In his acceptance speech, Bartlett thanked White for “giving me one of the best experiences of my life” and gave a shout out to his mom. “I just want to thank my mom all the way home in Australia for giving me the most wonderful foundation of unconditional love. And inspiring me to believe that we can all do that for each other.

Self-described as a ‘bubbly bookish bisexual”, Rhiannon Wilde is deeply interested in championing queer stories and believes that being queer underpins her way of viewing the world, the stories she thinks of and the characters that pop into her head when she writes. When it comes to her writing practice, the themes that she enjoys exploring often stem from a “questioning of the self” and the “defining moments that lead up to and come from it.”She describes her latest novel, Where You Left Us, as one that brings her a lot of joy, where she’s able to approach both mental health and queer relationships by including a character with anxiety and exploring a budding romance that occurs between two bisexual girls. In its earliest forms, Where You Left Us was written as a single perspective from one character before Wilde developed a dynamic between two sisters in the novel and wanted to shed light on the individual journeys that they had. ‘Where You Left Us’ by Rhiannon Wilde. Image: SuppliedShe states that connections between people informs the heart of her work, “be it sisters or first loves or new relationships or very best friends”, and that queerness filters through everything she writes and attaches herself to. Wilde describes Where You Left Us as a “gothic Wuthering-Heights-meets-Evermore” that focuses on the two Prince sisters (Scarlett and Cinnamon), two romantic interests, one family mystery on a cliff by the sea.

A federal judge from Texas, Judge Reed O’Connor has made a shocking ruling, stating that the inclusion of the HIV treatment was a violation of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.This comes after companies Braidwood Management and Kelley Orthodontics brought the case to the US District Court. The companies were represented by Johnathan Mitchell, a man infamously known for his anti-abortion behaviour.The companies filed the lawsuit, stating that PrEP’s coverage in the Affordable Care Healthcare Act (ACA) forced religious companies with anti-LGBTQ+ to finance and help “homosexual behaviour.”Their argument was that including the PrEP treatment “forces religious employers to provide coverage for drugs that facilitate and encourage homosexual behaviour… prostitution, sexual promiscuity, and intravenous drug use.”With Judge O’Connor’s ruling, neither of the companies is required to cover PrEP costs for their employers.

The Queensland Human Rights Commission (QHRC) has recommended an overhaul of the state’s three-decade old anti-discrimination laws to protect vulnerable groups, including LGBTQI students and employees in religious schools. The recommendations have come months after Brisbane’s Citipointe Christian College issued anti-LGBTQI student enrolment and staff employee contracts. The school subsequently withdrew the contracts after a public outcry.The Minister tabled the 122 recommendations made by QHRC in Parliament.

This week in Queer Melbourne we have a platter of delicious options. Enjoy your fix of culture with intergenerational queer bonding, speed dating, theatre, burlesque and more.One Friday every month, the Motley Bauhaus is taken over by the campy, glitter streaked performers of the Melbourne burlesque scene. This month you’ll have the pleasure of watching Evana de Lune, SHAM, Celia Bow, Whiskey Falls and Zaphyer Enfield.

While video games have come a long way from the usual heterosexual, cis-gendered characters or storylines, very few have taken a step further into the LGBTQI territory. However, a new video game from a Melbourne-based company, Up Multimedia, along with support from the Victorian state government and Film Victoria Australia, does just that.The Beat: A Glam Noir Game is an investigative thriller game where you take on the role of a gay cop still in the closet who has to investigate a murder that’s happened in an unnamed city’s gay scene.Game developer, Luke Miller went into detail behind some of the game’s iconic locations, like the laundrette and Black Rock Beach.“In the 1980s there was a ground-breaking gay film from the UK called ‘My Beautiful Laundrette’.

Web Weaver, the new gay Spider-Man, will make their highly anticipated debut in October and Marvel Comics has released more details on how the newest member of the Marvel Universe gets their powers, as well as visuals of their fabulous crime-fighting costume.The character will make their debut in Edge of Spider-Verse #5, the concluding instalment of the five-part series.In the comic, created by out writer Steve Foxe, and artist Kei Zama, Web-Weaver is introduced as a “not-so-mild mannered fashion designer at Van Dyne [who] gets spider-powers and shows us a very different kind of Spider-Slayer.” “Web-Weaver is *not* Peter Parker–he’s a brand-new hero in the classic Spider-hero archetype,” tweeted Foxe on Friday. “And I promise you don’t need a degree in fashion to follow his exploits.