[España]
Condenado a dos años y medio cárcel por obligar a prostiturise a mujeres transexuales brasileñas en Sevilla
La Audiencia de Sevilla ha condenado a dos años y medio de cárcel a una persona brasileña acusada de prostituir a mujeres transexuales de su misma nacionalidad en España, a las que organizaba el traslado y luego mantenía en un piso dedicado a la prostitución hasta que saldaban la deuda contraída para pagar el viaje.

[UK]
NHS gender reassignment surgery rates triple
The number of gender reassignment surgeries carried yearly on the NHS has tripled since 2000, figures show.
In 2000, 54 surgeries were carried out, compared with 143 in 2009, the Daily Telegraph reports.

[Kenya]
Bisexual male sex workers run big risks
At a nightclub in Mombasa, on the Kenyan coast, Tito Bakari* a local man, and Leonard Smithberger, a tourist, make out in a dark corner before the bouncer asks them to leave. Hand in hand they walk to another bar nearby, where they party through the night.

[Uganda]
Cacería de gays
“Salimos de la iglesia completamente asqueados”, dice Lulu Owori, una estudiante de trabajo social de la Universidad de Makerere, en Kampala, la capital de Uganda. “Yo estaba disgustada porque me parece que el pastor abusó de la congregación. Pero la mayoría de la gente estaba de acuerdo con él y muchos decían que había que buscar homosexuales para matarlos. ¡Yo no volveré a misa con él!”

[Philippines]
Group backs Bebe Gandanghari’s reported sex change plan
Ang Ladlad party-list group is backing the reported plan of Bebe Gandanghari to undergo sex change.
The party-list group for lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgenders (LGBT) has given Gandanghari its “moral support.”

[USA]
LGBT and Allied Groups Call on Congress to Pass ENDA Now
Today, the nation’s leading lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) organizations, along with allies in the faith, labor and civil rights communities, issued the following statement to members of the United States Congress:
“Pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act NOW.”
"Pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act NOW."
[Blog/News] Proposed Transgender Discrimination Protections Spark Debate
[Blog/News] ENDA House Vote 'Coming Soon' Says Barney Frank - What About Senate Support?
[Blog/Commentary] Yet Another Reason That There Can Be NO Compromise on ENDA
[Blog/Commentary] Top Capitol Newspaper Publishes Outrageous Lies of Hate Group About ENDA

[USA]
Debate Over Transgender Teachers
Nancy Cordes spoke with the Human Rights Campaign's Allyson Robinson and the Traditional Values Coalition's Andrea Lafferty about the upcoming congressional vote on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act.

[USA] [Blog/Commentary]
Why I Do Not Use “Gender Variant”
If one views “gender” as a social construct that has varied a great deal across time and in various cultures rather than as some form of unvarying absolute truth, a binary of one or zero, black or white then the very idea of “gender variant” is patently absurd.

[USA] [Blog/Commentary]
NCTE Responds to the Proposed DSM Revisions
This year, the American Psychiatric Association unveiled proposed changes to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (commonly known as the DSM), which provides information to clinicians diagnosing and treating mental health conditions. The DSM is revised periodically and reflects changes in attitudes and treatments among practitioners; this will be the fifth edition. NCTE applauds the inclusion of transgender people and the clinicians who serve our community in the current revision process; their input has clearly impacted the emphasis on reducing stigma and providing appropriate and supportive care.

[CA, USA]
Mother of murdered teen speaks
Last Wednesday in the Event Center, students and faculty listened to guest speaker Sylvia Guerrero, the mother of Gwen Araujo, a transgendered woman who was killed in Newark, California in October 2002.

[CT,USA]
Report: Crossdressed body found in Danielson
The body of a man has been discovered in a parking lot in Danielson, but state police say it does not appear any crime was committed.
WFSB-TV is reporting the body was male, but dressed in women's clothing.
Police say the remains were found in a grassy area at the back of a restaurant, near the city's courthouse at about 7 a.m. on Tuesday.
What appeared to be a trail of blood could be seen on a nearby sidewalk, and police had cordoned off a block of Main Street while they investigated.
State police issued a release late Tuesday morning saying the death did not appear to be the result of any crime.

[DC, USA]
Don't Ask Don't Tell protests at White House met with secrecy and arrests
Yesterday, activists protesting the fact that Don't Ask Don't Tell has yet to be repealed, chained themselves to the fence in front of the White House. This particular protest (a similar one occurred just a few months ago) was in response to news from the White House that they would not be repealing DADT this year, despite President Obama's State of the Union address which promised to do so.
BREAKING: 6 activists chained to White House fence in protest of ‘don’t ask, don’t tell'
Dan Choi, Other Gay Rights Protesters Arrested After Chaining Selves to White House Fence
Lt. Dan Choi, 5 Other Gay Activists Arrested At White House Protest
Lt. Dan Choi, 5 Other Gay Activists Arrested At White House Protest
Prepping for Civil Disobedience: Dan Choi and GetEQUAL Return to the White House Gates
DADT Protesters Arrested at White House

[MA, USA]
Gay, transgender rights an election-year wedge issue again
Gay rights are emerging once again as a wedge issue in a Massachusetts governor’s race.
Since Saturday’s GOP convention, two gubernatorial candidates – Republican Charlie Baker and independent Timothy Cahill – have announced that if elected, they would veto a transgender equal rights bill pending in the state legislature.
Mass. gov. candidates split on transgender bill
Mass. GOP Ticket At Odds Over Trans Rights
[Blog/News] Patrick reiterates support for transgender bill

[NC, USA]
Info sought in Charlotte transgender murder
Police and family members of a transgender Charlottean identified by police as a “crossdresser” are searching for information regarding the crime and hope community members can aid in their quest to solve the murder.
Just after midnight on April 3, Toni Alston (birth name, Tony), 44, was found shot in the front door of her home on Minnesota Rd. in West Charlotte. On April 13, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, along with Alston’s family, held a press conference reaching out for information in the case. qnotes was not made aware of the press conference.

[NY,USA]
Gay Rights Activist Forced From St. Vincent's Hospital Into Nursing Home
After spending the past month in St. Vincent’s Hospital, Stormé DeLarverie, a founding member of the gay rights movement, has been forced into a Brooklyn nursing home as the bankrupt hospital prepares to close its doors.
Stormé (pronounced Storm-ee) DeLarverie, 89, became a legend in the LGBT community after famously punching a police officer during the historic standoff against NYPD in their attempted raid on the Stonewall Inn in the West Village. She was also the famed "Drag King" of the traveling Jewel Box Revue performance troupe.
(Photo: Arthur Nash - Storme DeLarverie, 89, hoists a batch of flowers in her bed at St. Vincent's Hospital, shortly before she was moved to the failing hospital's psychiatric ward.)

[TN, USA]
Vigil For Duanna Johnson
FAST FACTS:
Rallyers attend a peaceful vigil outside the federal courthouse
Vigil participants hope a judge will rule in favor of a new trial for former officer Bridges McRae
McRae was accused of violating the civil rights of a transgendered woman
Duanna Johnson’s Murder Still Unsolved
Gay, lesbian group to hold vigil tonight for transgender murder victim
[Blog/News] Bridges Mcrae Transgender Beating Case: Mistrial, Verdict Not Decided

[VA, USA]
Anti-discriminatory bill passes
Student Council unanimously passed a resolution yesterday night to affirm its support for a fully inclusive non-discrimination policy and to urge the Board of Visitors, the Virginia General Assembly and U.S. Congress to pass legislation supporting protections “against discrimination in local, state, and federal employment based on sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression.”

[Nicaragua]
Marcha contra el abuso sexual (Iniciativa desde La Diversidad Sexual Por Los Derechos Humanos)
La Iniciativa desde La Diversidad Sexual Por Los Derechos Humanos (IDSDH), el Grupo de Lesbianas SAFO, la Asociación Nicaragüense de Transgéneras (ANIT) y personas a título individual comprometidas con la defensa de los derechos humanos de la diversidad sexual en el mundo, marcharon en una de las avenidas principales de Managua rumbo a la Catedral Metropolitana de la ciudad donde se culmino con un plantón. (Foto)

[Bolivia]
Morales ve que los transgénicos son responsables de homosexualidad y calvicie
En la inauguración de la cumbre social que celebra en su país para discutir sobre el cambio climático, Morales cargó contra los transgénicos con esas afirmaciones y otras sobre los perjuicios a la salud causados por la Coca Cola y la patata holandesa.
Bolivia's president links homosexuality to eating chicken
Morales asocia el pollo de granja con la homosexualidad
Homosexuales españoles muestran su malestar por declaraciones de Evo Morales
Califican a Evo Morales de ignorante y homofóbico
Homosexuales piden en la embajada boliviana una rectificación de Morales
President Evo Morales says eating chicken might turn men gay
Evo Morales, sin plumas y cacareando "Pollo con hormonas tiene la culpa de la homosexualidad del hombre"

[Chile]
Ministra de Gobierno de Piñera se reúne con lesbianas y trans y apoya avance de ley contra la discriminación
La Ministra del Servicio Nacional de la Mujer expresó también su apoyo para combatir el bullying que afecta a lesbianas y transexuales, así como su preocupación por los problemas de salud que dañan a quienes tienen una identidad de género diversa. Schmidt valoró además el trabajo desarrollado por el Movilh en Chile.
Ministra de Chile se reúne con transexuales y lesbianas y anuncia apoyo Ley Contra la Discriminación

[Argentina]
Juez argentino se declara incompetente para cambio DNI, la maraña legal para transexuales del país
La Justicia Civil se declaró incompetente para entender en el planteo formulado por una transexual en Gualeguaychú que pidió el cambio de género, con lo cual se abren ahora dos vías, que todavía el abogado patrocinante, Luciano Bernigaud, está analizando: llevar el planteo ante el juez de Familia Héctor Vasallo, o apelar ante la Cámara de Apelaciones en lo Civil y Laboral.