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Saturday, January 3, 2026
TopicLGBT rights

Topic: LGBT rights

Thailand becomes first Southeast Asian country to pass marriage equality law

With the support of nearly all lawmakers in the upper house, the law next needs royal approval. It will come into force 120 days after it is published in the royal gazette.

‘Benedict XVI backed me up in favour of civil partnerships for LGBT couples,’ says Pope Francis

Francis has confirmed the Catholic Church's opposition to LGBT marriages, but has repeatedly said same-sex couples have a right to be protected by civil union laws.

Belarus prepares draft law criminalising ‘promotion of non-traditional’ LGBTQ relationships

Homosexuality was decriminalised in Belarus in 1994, but the country does not recognise same-sex marriages and authorities have cracked down on LGBT pride parades.

Activists hail as Nepal’s top court temporarily clears way for same-sex marriage

The country's Supreme Court issued an interim order Wednesday allowing same-sex couples to register their marriages pending a final verdict.

Uganda’s LGBT rights crackdown may be mirrored in Kenya and other East African states.

The proposed Kenyan law punishes gay sex with at least 10 years in prison and 'aggravated homosexuality' with death penalty.

Japan passes much-contested LGBT bill to promote understanding of community amid criticism

Initial draft stipulated that discrimination on basis of sexual orientation, gender identity should ‘not be tolerated’ but was changed to ‘there should be no unfair discrimination.’

Same-sex marriages don’t threaten the family unit; they strengthen it 

Recognition of such marriages will encourage other marginalised communities to seek judicial recognition and protection.

‘Marriage not an absolute right, even between heterosexual couples,’ Centre tells SC 

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta also said the subject of extending legal recognition to same-sex marriages should 'better be left to the choice of the Parliament'. 

On Camera

Indian bureaucracy should be given incentives and rewards: MH Mody

Is there a place for a counter-bureaucracy, or a separate and competing bureaucracy to counterbalance the force of the executive’s bureaucracy, asked author MH Mody in 1980.

India’s urban co-op banks are turning the page—crisis to cautious revival, one metric at a time

With bad loans shrinking & capital buffers stronger, urban co-op banks’ new umbrella body NUCFDC is now prioritising rollout of digital transformation.

Greece looking at TATA’s WhAP infantry combat vehicle for army procurement

If deal goes through, Greece will be 2nd foreign country to procure vehicle. Morocco was first; TATA Group has set up manufacturing unit there with minimum 30 percent indigenous content.

A year-end Mea Culpa in National Interest—The Army-Islam combo doesn’t kill democracy

Many of you might think I got something so wrong in National Interest pieces written this year. I might disagree! But some deserve a Mea Culpa. I’d deal with the most recent this week.