Category: News

Jul 08
Turkey Blocks Gay Cruise As Pride Crackdown Continues

Turkey has barred a scheduled gay cruise from docking in the port city of Kuşadası, citing the country’s “moral values”, following another crackdown on LGBTQ+ Pride events. The Athens-to-Venice cruise, chartered by American LGBTQ+ travel company Atlantis Events, was prevented from stopping in Turkey on 7 July as originally planned. The cruise was aboard Virgin […]

Jul 08
Steam Faces Questions Over LGBTQ+ Content Visibility In China

Reports have raised concerns that Steam may be limiting how LGBTQ+ content is discoverable on its platform in China, after users began encountering error messages when searching for games tagged with LGBTQ+ themes. A screenshot shared on 25 June by ResetEra user Neha showed a failed attempt to search for LGBTQ+-tagged titles on Steam’s Chinese […]

Jul 07
The Force Is Strong with Auckland Philharmonia  

This August, Auckland Philharmonia celebrates the extraordinary legacy of a film score superstar in JBWere presents: The Magic of John Williams, a concert featuring the greatest John Williams works in full symphonic splendour, conducted by one of the world’s foremost interpreters of Williams’ music.  There are few composers whose music can transport an audience before a single word is spoken.  […]

Jul 07
Should Social Media Be Banned For Under-16s? 

B416 argues social media is harming young people, but youth organisations warn a ban could cut off vital connections for isolated rangatahi  As Australia and the UK are restricting social media access for under-16s, a similar conversation is gathering momentum in Aotearoa. At the centre of that push is B416, a campaign group calling for […]

Jul 07
Meta Under Scrutiny After Hate Content Removals Drop Following Policy Changes

Meta has come under scrutiny at Australia’s Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion after hearings revealed a sharp drop in hateful content being removed from Facebook following policy changes introduced in early 2025. The Royal Commission was established on 9 January 2026 in response to the antisemitic terrorist attack at Bondi Beach on 14 […]

Jul 06
A Bear Brotherhood: Matt McVeigh discusses his Mr Bear Australasia win 

Matt McVeigh discusses his Mr Bear Australasia win  How did it feel to hear your name announced as Mr Bear Australasia winner?  What was running through my mind? Absolutely nothing for about 20 minutes!  Once my brain finally restarted, I just felt incredibly grateful—to the judges, the organisers, the competitors and everyone who had supported […]

Jul 05
U.S State Of Missouri Restricts Gender-Affirming Care For Trans Prisoners

Missouri has enacted a new law restricting access to gender-affirming healthcare for incarcerated transgender people, marking a major shift in how the state’s Department of Corrections can provide medical treatment. HB 2009, signed into law by Governor Mike Kehoe on 30 June, prohibits the use of state funds for hormone therapy and gender-affirming surgeries intended […]

Jul 03
Three-Quarters Of UK Adults Back Marriage Equality

A new YouGov UK tracker has found that more than three-quarters of UK adults support same-sex couples’ right to marry. The bimonthly tracker, released on 29 June, found that 76% of UK adults support the change in the law that allowed same-sex couples to marry. Of those surveyed, 51% said they “strongly support” same-sex marriage, […]