Will Japan's next PM support same-sex marriage?

Did India just legalize rape?

Japan: Asahi reports on prospective candidates for the leadership race to replace outgoing PM Kishida on their support for same-sex marriage – only one candidate, Taro Kono, supports it; another, Seiko Noda, claimed to “somewhat support” it.

India: The Delhi High Court has asked the government to clarify its stance on whether non-consensual gay sex is illegal under the new penal code that came into effect this summer. The new code deleted the sodomy law that was in the colonial-era Indian Penal Code — the Supreme Court had invalidated the sodomy law in 2018 for consensual acts, but left it intact for non-consensual acts. So, theoretically, male-on-male sexual assault might not be illegal in India currently.

Nepal: The first Pride festival since same-sex marriage was legalized by the Supreme Court last November was a huge success, with hundreds of participants, including a government minister.

Note, for some reason, Wikipedia editors are adamant that Nepal not be counted as a same-sex marriage country because the Supreme Court order is provisional and laws haven’t been amended yet. Nevertheless, reports have emerged of at least four couples who’ve been married since the ruling last year, including one this week. I’ve tried arguing, but a couple editors are really persistent on this.

Bulgaria: The European Commission has requested clarification from the government about its new “LGBT propaganda” law. This is the first step in an investigation into violations of the EU Charter.

Ukraine: President Zelenskyy has proposed ratifying the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. The motivation here is to have a stronger hand for making a case against Russia (which is not a member of the ICC – neither are the USA or China), but it’s kind of muddied by a proposal that the Court not have jurisdiction over Ukrainians for the first seven years that it’s a member. It’s probably also a consideration that this may help its bid to join the EU – the only other European states that aren’t members are Belarus, Monaco, the Vatican, and Azerbaijan. The most recent member to join was Armenia, also after a dispute with Russia.

Tanzania: The government has been urged by activists to accelerate its own announced plans to abolish the death penalty. No executions have taken place in the country since 1995, although more than 400 people are currently on its death row.

Malawi: The government has also announced a delay in its own death penalty abolition bill. The minister of justice says that it’s still a priority, but taking a backseat to other justice priorities for the next session of parliament. Malawi is also abolitionist in practice, having had no executions since 1992. The Supreme Court briefly nullified the death penalty in 2021 but reinstated it later that year.

Meanwhile, in the States

Log Cabin Republicans paid Melania Trump $237,000 to speak at a fundraiser. Trump’s financial disclosures also reveal that much of her income comes from the sale of custom NFTs, which, uh, people are still buying NFTs???

Speaking of scams, former congressman George Santos has pled guilty to federal aggravated identity theft and wire fraud charges. He’ll be sentenced in Feb 2025, but the agreed sentence includes 2 years in prison and restitution of $373,000.

Michigan: AG Nessel is defending the state’s conversion therapy ban in federal court.