[Italy]
Italy to open transgender-only prison

Italy plans to open the world’s first prison for transgender inmates in a town near the Tuscan city of Florence, according to the BBC.

[SudAfrica]
Confirman que Semenya no podrá correr
El Comité Olímpico de Sudáfrica manifestó que la campeona mundial de 800 metros no competirá hasta que se resuelva el fallo sobre la controversia de su género.
Semenya remains in limbo despite coach's claims
Hermaphrodite? Caster Semenya Returns
ASA back away from Semenya affair

[Indonesia]
Jakarta's haven for an excluded community

In this week's Indonesia diary, Arnaud Guiguitant meets members of Yogya­karta’s gay or transsexual community and witnesses a defiant stance from those who do not believe they are breaking ­religious rules.

[Canada]
Trans guy banned from Facebook after uploading post-op chest pic

UPDATE: Facebook reinstates account and encourages Scaia to reupload the censored pics.

[USA]
Gay rights' advocates push for anti-discrimination bill

After a 15-year fight, gay rights’ groups believe 2010 will be the year they persuade Congress to pass a landmark law protecting workers from being fired or denied jobs or promotions because of their sexual orientation.

[USA] [Commentary]
Amanda's albatross

President Barack Obama appointed Amanda Simpson, a former test pilot, for a senior technical adviser post in the Commerce Department. Simpson has a 30-year history working in the defense and aerospace industries, largely with Raytheon Missile Systems. Further, she was the Democratic nominee to the Arizona state House of Representatives in 2004, albeit losing in the general election. That same year, the YWCA named her as one of its "Women on the Move." She is highly qualified, well connected, and just the sort of person you might expect to be appointed to such a post.

[USA] [Blog/Commentary]
Transphobia In Mainstream Media: Are The Right-Wingers The Real Problem?

It seems like all too often when you tune your radio or television to mainstream news and talk shows these days, there's good reason to be at minimum pretty annoyed, and sometimes even genuinely pissed off and angry if you're a transgender person or ally. Despite decades of progress made in the area of LGBT acceptance and representation in mainstream media, the problem of transphobia in mainstream media remains pervasive and seemingly virtually unchecked in some quarters, even in media specifically directed toward politically progressive and left-leaning audiences.

[MA, USA]
Mass. trans couple settles discrimination case

A housing discrimination case brought by a Massachusetts transgender couple against landlords and a real estate agent of a rental property in Oxford, MA, has recently been settled.

[VT, USA/Haiti]
Area artist dies in Haiti quake

Excerpt: McGarrell was born in Rome, Italy, as a female, but about six years ago, underwent transgender therapy to live as a male, his mother said.