Vietnamese Javan rhino now extinct

On 25 October 2011, WWF and the International Rhino Foundation confirmed that the Javan rhinoceros in Vietnam is extinct.
The species was initially believed to be extinct in Vietnam until 1988, when a very small population was found still clinging to existance in Cat Tien National Park. Efforts were made to save this population but poor protection of its habitat ultimately led to its demise. The last Javan rhino in Vietnam was shot and killed in April 2010 and its horn removed.
It is WWF's highest priority to save the remaining Javan rhinos in Indonesia and the other species in Vietnam – such as the tiger, Asian elephant and endemic species like the saola – that are all at risk of extinction unless law enforcement and protected area management significantly improves.

[Brasil]
Luis Salém se inspira em travesti da vida real para viver Ana Girafa
Ator torce para que o público se sensibilize com o lado humano da cabeleireira
Ana Girafa da novela Aquele Beijo, é mais um desafio na carreira de Luis Salém. Primeira travesti vivida pelo ator em sua carreira na televisão, a moradora do Covil do Bagre e dona do salão de beleza New Roberta's teve inspiração em uma personagem da vida real.

[Brasil]
Travesti Patrícia Araújo faz ensaio sensual; veja fotos
Patricia Araújo, a modelo travesti que esteve no "Fashion Rio", em 2009, acaba de conquistar mais uma façanha. Ela é a primeira travesti a posar para um ensaio sensual do "Virgula Girl", do portal "Virgula", que geralmente trazem panicats, ex-bbbs e assistentes de palco.

[España]
Diputada transexual española pide que la transexualidad sea eliminada de la lista patologías mentales de OMS
La diputada socialista Carla Antonelli ha reclamado este lunes que la transexualidad sea eliminada de la lista de enfermedades mentales catalogadas por la Organización Mundial de la Salud (OMS) y ha solicitado al Gobierno de la Comunidad de Madrid que apoye esta iniciativa, tal y como ya ha hecho el Gobierno de España.

[España/Argentina]
Federación Argentina y Española LGTB se reunieron en la Asamblea Madrid con diputada transexual
La FALGBT se reunión con Carla Antonelli, primer Diputada transexual de España, y recibió apoyo a la Ley de Identidad de Género

[UK]
Tranny Hotel receives funding boost
A transgender festival taking place in Liverpool has received a massive boost after being awarded a grant to help fund the event.
Tranny Hotel, being held 11 – 13 November at The Adelphi, will see dozens of transgender artists descend on the city from across the globe.

[UK]
GLBTI hate crimes on the rise in UK
Incidents of hate crimes targeting gay and transgender people in Britain are on the rise, with the latest police statistics showing that crimes against transgender people rose by 14 per cent during 2010, while some areas recorded a 170 per cent increase of homophobic crimes.

[Ireland/Thailand]
'Without equality, tolerance is just a myth'
Paisarn Likhitpreechakul, The Nation's columnist on gay affairs since 2001, has been honoured by the National Lesbian and Gay Federation (NLGF) of Ireland with the GALA International Prize for Gay Rights Activist of the Year.
Paisarn, a defender of gay and other rights, accepted the award over the weekend on behalf of the Sexual Diversity Network.
For five years, Paisarn and his organisation have fought against the Army's practice of altering the personal records of transgender draftees to describe them as suffering from permanent psychosis.
Recently Paisarn took a phone call telling him about the decision of a court that morning to rule against the practice.

[Turkey]
Turkish Cypriots agree to repeal ban on homosexuality
Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu has agreed to repeal a ban on homosexuality in the northern part of Cyprus.
It comes after an outcry over the arrest of three men accused of "conspiring to have a sexual intercourse against the order of nature".

[Russia]
Moscow protest over US ‘disease’ classification for transsexuals
Russian demonstrators took to the streets of Moscow, Saturday, as part of a global protest against moves by US doctors to class gender identity problems as a disease.

[Zimbabwe]
Zimbabwean PM opens self to criticism over gay rights
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has opened himself up for a barrage of attacks from President Robert Mugabe, his party Zanu-PF and conservative Zimbabweans who do not subscribe to gay rights.

[Uganda]
Uganda Parliament Votes to Continue Anti-Homosexual Bill
Uganda’s parliament voted to reopen a debate on a bill that seeks to outlaw homosexuality that may be expanded to include the death penalty for gay people.
The legislation will be sent to the relevant session committee for consideration, Speaker Rebecca Kadaga told lawmakers today in a televised debate from the capital, Kampala.

[Nepal]
Sexual and Gender Minorities with HIV Face Double Stigma in Nepal
In a residential area of Kathmandu, Nepal's capital, neighbors are unaware of what goes on inside this three-story building. Neighbors stare at the men, often dressed in women's clothing and makeup, as they disappear inside.

[Pakistan]
“My family thinks I’m disgusting”
Transgenders are often forced to live under miserable conditions in Pakistan. Society does not accept them and they live as outcasts who are discriminated against in every field of life. This treatment extends not only to strangers but the family of transgenders too, who disown them and may even beat them till they are forced to leave their homes.

[Australia] [Commentary]
The 14 days of intersex
October is a significant month for intersex. October 26 marks the beginning of the Fourteen Days of Intersex with Intersex Awareness Day (IAD).
On October 26 1996 the American activist group Hermaphrodites With Attitude (HWA) teamed up with the trans activist group Trans Menace to protest against non-consensual cosmetic infant genital surgeries at the American Association of Paediatrics conference at the Hynes Centre in Boston, Massachusetts.

[Canada]
Sun TV airs transphobic ad
An ad that activists have called transphobic, which ran in the National Post and the Toronto Sun during the Ontario election campaign, appears to now be airing on Sun TV.
On Oct 24, Savannah Garmon tweeted a link to a YouTube video of the ad about an hour after Queer Ontario's Casey Oraa asked the Twitterverse to record a copy. The offending section starts at the 1:00 mark.

[USA]
Silicone to boost buttocks can be deadly
Legitimate use of liquid silicone injections in plastic surgery is rare, and U.S. emergency room physicians say the illegal use of the substance can be deadly.
Illegal Silicone Buttock Injections Can Be Deadly: Experts
Illicit silicone injections risky, even deadly: doctors

[USA]
Latina Transgender Advocate Bamby Salcedo on Youth and HIV/AIDS Prevention and Education
As part of our support for the media coverage around Chaz Bono’s casting on “Danci ng with the Stars” and an increasing amount of transgender-specific coverage in general, GLAAD is continuing to profile prominent transgender advocates and members of the community on a weekly basis. Previously, we spoke with Laverne Cox, Jamison Green, Ph.D., Stephanie Battaglino and Mari Rosenberger, and Noah Lewis. This week, we talked to Bamby Salcedo about her advocacy work with transgender youth and those affected by HIV/AIDS.

[CO, USA]
Transgender conference offers sensitivity training to care providers
In early October, Marie visited a Longmont dental office and ran into the same old problem: being referred to as a man instead of a woman, despite the pink bow in her shoulder-length hair and the dress she wore that day.

[CT, USA]
Medical School targets LGBTQ applicants
For the first time, the Yale School of Medicine is targeting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer applicants with its recruitment efforts.

[IL, USA]
(In)Justice for LGBTQ
As part of DePaul's annual Dignity Week, the Center for Intercultural Programs hosted an event designed to give students a look at individuals who routinely have their human dignity challenged, criminalized, or otherwise denied: the LGBT community.

[MI, USA]
Resolution Observes Transgender Day of Remembrance in Ferndale
Co-founder of Transgender Detroit Michelle Fox-Phillips says Transgender Day of Remembrance is "the most important transgender event of the year."

[PA, USA]
Transwoman Sentenced in Murder
On Friday, Asia Santana was sentenced to between 14 and 28 years in prison for being found guilty for stabbing her boyfriend to death in Norristown, according to The Times-Herald. Santana, a 41-year-old transgender woman whose given name is Tyrone Crawley, apologized for killing Eric Nevith, 28, who she claims infected her with HIV.

[TX, USA]
American Airlines Offering More Benefits to Their LGBT Employees
American Airlines announced today that it will offer new health coverage for transgender AMR Corporation employees, further expanding its partnership with the LGBT community. This announcement is huge, because it adds coverage for gender reassignment surgery, which is a rarity in the world of insurance. The health care will also ensure that same-sex domestic partners are included under Family and Medical Leaves of Absence.

[WI, USA]
Cross-Dresser Charged with Possession of Stun Gun During Escort Sting
A cross-dressing man lost his blonde wig while running from police Friday during an escort sting and landed himself in jail when police found sex toys and 3,000-volt stun gun in the man’s purse, according to a criminal complaint filed in Waukesha County Circuit Court.

[Mexico/USA]
Male trans athlete Keelin Godsey places fifth in hammer throw at Pan American Games
Keelin Godsey, a former track & field standout at Bates College, placed fifth in the hammer throw at the Pan American Games today as a member of the United States National Track & Field team. There were 14 women in the competition; Godsey threw a distance of 67.84m, which is his third-best distance ever.