[Europe]
European Commission releases annual report on EU
The European Commission released its annual reports on the progress made towards accessing the EU, today.
The documents assess recent evolutions in all areas related to the European Union, including fundamental rights in each of the four candidate countries (Croatia, Iceland, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Turkey) and five potential candidates (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, Serbia).
The reports present a nuanced picture of the situation for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in accession countries. Although some progress has been made, the great majority of accession countries still fall short of EU standards for the fundamental rights of LGBT people.
Slow progress for LGBT people in EU accession countries

[UK]
A VERY peculiar engagement
Charles had a sex change - then hated being Samantha so became a man again. Now he's getting married. So is his fiancée barmy, brave... or just in love?
Transsexualism is ‘delusion’ says former sex-swap man

[Turkey]
Charges dropped against Turkish trans activists
A Turkish judge dismissed charges in late October against five activists from the Ankara transgender organization Pembe Hayat.

[Turkey]
Turkish LGBT activists: More pressure from the EU, equality now
Ulrike Lunacek MEP, Co-president of the LGBT Intergroup, held a lunch debate with LGBT activists in Istanbul on the occasion of the Greens/EFA conference “Turkey in Europe”.

[Russia]
Indonesian transsexuals freed from sex slavery in Moscow
Two suspects have been detained in Moscow for smuggling two Indonesian transsexuals into Russia and forcing them into prostitution, the Russian Investigative Committee said on Wednesday.

[India]
Bangalore activists suspect foul play in transgender’s death
A city-based voluntary organisation said it would launch next month a year-long campaign in a bid to add dignity to the lives of sexual minorities in the society.
The organisation, Sangama, decided to launch the campaign following the mysterious death of a 23-year-old transgender at her house in Nethaji Nagar on Monday.

[India]
Sarath plays a transgender
Sarath Kumar, who is of late trying his hands at varied roles, is playing a transgender in ‘Kanchana’, a bilingual directed by choreographer-actor-filmmaker Raghava Larencce.

[India]
Pension Scheme For Delhi Eunuchs
A Delhi civic body has rolled out a pension scheme for eunuchs that could benefit nearly 300,000 members of the third gender community living in the city.
Indian eunuchs get a bit extra

[Australia]
Gender change for army captain
An Aussie army captain who served in East Timor will undergo gender assignment surgery party funded by the defence force’s medical care fund.
Army Captain Matthew Clinch, who will soon physically become Bridget Clinch, told Seven’s Sunday Night show: “There is no difference between what I can do and what any other female can do once I’ve finished all of my treatment.”
Soldier's taxpayer funded sex change defended

[Canada]
YMCA gets gender neutral changeroom
A new universal changeroom is open to the public at the Argyle St YMCA.

[USA] [Commentary]
Transgender Remembrance - Prepare Ye The Way
An ancient Chinese proverb that said, "Be not afraid of going slowly, but be afraid only of standing still." Today we all are being called to stand up and move forward and prepare the way for our community. I know that progress may seem slow and sometimes unachievable, but, my life is a testament that the destination of history is determined by our actions. No matter who you are or where you have been, you can make a difference.

[USA]
Male, female or neither? Gender identity debated at same-sex colleges
When Kevin Murphy entered as a freshman at Mount Holyoke, a Massachusetts women's college, in 2003, he was female. By the time he received his diploma, he was male.
Phillip Hudson, who attended Morehouse, an all-male historically black college in Georgia, calls himself androgynous, meaning he doesn't identify with masculine or feminine identity norms.
The two men represent a debate that is brewing at some of the nation's same-sex colleges. For these colleges, which have historically defied boundaries and challenged the status quo, a new test of tolerance has surfaced: How are they handling gender identity?

[CA, USA]
First transgender judge in US
Voters in Alameda County have elected the first transgender trial judge in the United States to the superior court bench.

[CA, USA]
Transgender youth leader charged with murder
A transgender youth leader was charged with murder Monday in the fatal stabbing of her boyfriend in Walnut Creek, a prosecutor said.
Akira Tajah Jackson, 24, of Oakland was also charged with an enhancement for using a large kitchen knife to kill 56-year-old Alan Gray in his home on Santa Rita Drive at about 9:20 a.m. Thursday. (Photo)
Transgender youth leader charged in Walnut Creek slaying
Oakland Woman Charged With Fatal Stabbing Of Boyfriend
Oakland Woman, Said to Be an Advocate for Transgender Youth, Charged in Death of Walnut Creek Man During Lovers' Quarrel
Transgendered Woman Akira Jackson Charged with Boyfriend's Murder

[CO, USA]
Mexican transgender asylum seeker allowed to stay in U.S.
When Alexandra Reyes' father caught her wearing her sister's shoes and clothes, he tied her up and beat her with spiked pieces of a tree.
"It was so horrible, I would scream," Reyes said in Spanish. "He told me he had a son, not a daughter, and he did not accept me."
(Photo: Transgender woman Alexandra Reyes cries as she recalls abuse she suffered in Mexico. An immigration judge granted Reyes a form of asylum that allows her to stay in the U.S.)

[DC, USA]
Transgender Pioneer
Kye Allums is surprised by the support he has received as of late.
Last week, the George Washington University junior and player on the women’s basketball team publicly came out as a transgender man. Allums is believed by many to be the first openly transgender person to play Division I college basketball, though not the first to play on an intercollegiate team.
Though he has been open about his transgender status with his teammates and coaches for a while, Allums changed his legal name in September. Then, last month, he approached the university about being referred to as a male.
[Commentary] GWU student an inspiration
[Commentary] What Trans Sporting Advantage?

[IA, USA]
UI hosts second annual TransWeek
The University of Iowa is hosting a multi-day event later this week that will celebrate transgender people.

[MA, USA]
Close shave for wife killer
A transsexual convicted killer suing the Department of Correction to have taxpayers pay for a new round of electrolysis and a sex-change operation doesn’t have any hair issues that couldn’t be resolved by more razor work and heavier makeup, the chairman of the prison system’s Gender Identity Disorder Treatment Committee claims in a newly filed court document.
Transsexual prisoner wants sex change

[MA, USA]
TCNE and First Presbyterian Church of Waltham lead Transgender Day of Remembrance November 20
Tiffany Club of New England and First Presbyterian Church of Waltham partner to observe the annual Transgender Day of Remembrance on November 20th. The movie, "Thy Will be Done" will be shown. A remembrance service and pot luck supper will be held.
Transgender Awareness Week Brings Over 20 Public Education Events Across the Bay State

[MN, USA]
Transgender in Small Town Minnesota
Dee Ellen Dressler lives life as a woman although born a man. Through the support of her family and church members, Dressler was able to make the transition. (Photo)

[MO, USA]
Fox Files: Transgender Youth
Transgender youth are at far greater risk of bullying and suicide than gay youth. Broadly speaking they feel they were born into the wrong body. Their mind is one gender while their body is the other. Their struggles often are not discussed publicly for fear of how their will be treated.

[Puerto Rico]
El hermano del salsero Víctor Manuelle, de travesti a cantante cristiano
Héctor Gustavo Ruiz Velázquez, hermano del salsero puertorriqueño Víctor Manuelle, saca al mercado su primer disco, "A ti mi rey, mi Dios", después de haberse convertido al cristianismo y superar difíciles momentos.

[Trinidad and Tobago]
‘Cross-dresser’ causes stir in Sando court
La Romain resident Nicolas Paul had heads turning and tongues wagging when he appeared in the San Fernando Magistrates’ Court yesterday dressed like a woman. Paul, who appeared in court charged with loitering, created a stir when he was escorted to the Fourth Court. Members of the public and curious court staff rushed to see the man as he sauntered across the corridor before being taken before Fifth Court Magistrate Taramattie Ramdass. Paul, dressed in a form-fitting red sweater over a netted top and fitted jeans with black boots, was greeted with snickers as he appeared before Ramdass charged with the summary offence.
(Photo: Rishi Ragoonath - La Romain resident Nicolas Paul, dressed in women's clothing, is escorted from the San Fernando Magistrates’ Court yesterday.)

[Chile]
Andrés Rivera, de la OTD: “Las personas se confunden cuando les digo que con esta cara tengo vagina”
No es que Andrés Rivera sea un provocador gratuito ni un performista queer: “Es de rabia y del odio de donde sale el activista que soy hoy día”, aclara.

[Chile]
Activistas transexuales de Chile se reúnen con el Presidente del Senado de su País
Se ha realizado este lunes 8 de noviembre, a las 12:00hrs, en la sede del Congreso en Santiago de Chile, una reunión entre el presidente del Senado, Jorge Pizarro, y el Movimiento Trans, del cual participa MUMS, Movimiento por la Diversidad Sexual, con el fin de abordar una solución a la situación actual de las personas trans en lo que se refiere a la falta de congruencia entre sus documentos y su identidad de género.

[Argentina]
Thousands join Argentina’s gay Pride march
Thousands of people joined Argentina’s annual gay Pride march on Saturday in Buenos Aires.
Argentina's Gay Community Campaigning For Gender Identity Law


[Argentina]
Protesta de gays, lesbianas y travestis frente a Gobernación
Realizaron hoy una colorida manifestación en reclamo de que "en las políticas públicas de la Provincia se reconozcan y se contemplen la identidad de género y la diversidad sexual". (Foto)