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Straits Times
26-06-2025
- Politics
- Straits Times
Hungary's LGBTQ+ community reels under Orban's laws, Pride ban
Zsolt Hegyi, 57, the leader of the Latszoter photography community poses for a picture in his apartment in Budapest, Hungary, April 27, 2025. \"People in Hungary are a lot less negative towards LGBTQ people than the government is trying to suggest,\" said Hegyi, who is gay and has never attended Pride but will join the march now. REUTERS/Marton Monus SEARCH TERM - SEARCH \"HUNGARY-LGBT/PRIDE-ANNIVERSARY\" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH \"WIDER IMAGE\" FOR ALL STORIES Momentum's parliamentary representative David Bedo and independent MP Akos Hadhazy protest against a bill before the Hungarian parliament that would ban Hungary's annual Pride march and impose fines on organizers and people attending the event in Budapest, Hungary, March 18, 2025. Parliament passed the bill banning Pride and fined five Momentum MPs, including Bedo and Hadhazy, a total of 82 million forints for disrupting the parliamentary session. David Bedo, who held the smoke bomb, was suspended for 12 parliamentary sessions, along with other MPs. REUTERS/Marton Monus SEARCH TERM - SEARCH \"HUNGARY-LGBT/PRIDE-ANNIVERSARY\" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH \"WIDER IMAGE\" FOR ALL STORIES Vivien \"Vivi\" Winkler, 27, and Laura \"Lau\" Toth, 37, talk in their apartment in Budapest, Hungary, March 31, 2025. Winkler says it is surreal that they should feel they are doing something wrong if they hug or kiss each other in the street, as they are in love and could even marry down the line - though in another country. Hungary has never allowed gay marriage, only civil unions. REUTERS/Marton Monus SEARCH TERM - SEARCH \"HUNGARY-LGBT/PRIDE-ANNIVERSARY\" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH \"WIDER IMAGE\" FOR ALL STORIES A rainbow flag lies in front of law enforcement during a demonstration after the Hungarian parliament passed a law that bans LGBTQ+ communities from holding the annual Pride march and allows a broader constraint on freedom of assembly, in Budapest, Hungary, March 25, 2025. As Budapest prepares to celebrate its 30th Pride Parade, Hungary's LGBTQ+ community tries to cope with an erosion of their rights due to policies of the right-wing government. REUTERS/Marton Monus SEARCH TERM - SEARCH \"HUNGARY-LGBT/PRIDE-ANNIVERSARY\" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH \"WIDER IMAGE\" FOR ALL STORIES TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY Vivien \"Vivi\" Winkler, 27, and Laura \"Lau\" Toth, 37, walk their dog, Kiki in Budapest, Hungary, March 20, 2025. Winkler says it is surreal that they should feel they are doing something wrong if they hug or kiss each other in the street, as they are in love and could even marry down the line - though in another country. Hungary has never allowed gay marriage, only civil unions. REUTERS/Marton Monus SEARCH TERM - SEARCH \"HUNGARY-LGBT/PRIDE-ANNIVERSARY\" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH \"WIDER IMAGE\" FOR ALL STORIES Member of the ballroom community Koni \"Koni 007\" Racz, 28, shouts at demonstration after the Hungarian parliament passed a law that bans LGBTQ+ communities from holding the annual Pride march and allows a broader constraint on freedom of assembly, in Budapest, Hungary, April 1, 2025. The right-wing government under Prime Minister Viktor Orban has passed a series of legislation targeting the LGBTQ+ community, including a ban on the change of gender in personal documents, legislation that effectively halts adoption by same-sex couples, and a law banning the use of materials in schools seen as promoting homosexuality and gender transition. REUTERS/Marton Monus SEARCH TERM - SEARCH \"HUNGARY-LGBT/PRIDE-ANNIVERSARY\" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH \"WIDER IMAGE\" FOR ALL STORIES A hand is raised in a crowd at the afterparty of the Pride Month opening event in Budapest, Hungary, June 7, 2025. The right-wing government under Prime Minister Viktor Orban has passed a series of legislation targeting the LGBTQ+ community, including a ban on the change of gender in personal documents, legislation that effectively halts adoption by same-sex couples, and a law banning the use of materials in schools seen as promoting homosexuality and gender transition. REUTERS/Marton Monus SEARCH TERM - SEARCH \"HUNGARY-LGBT/PRIDE-ANNIVERSARY\" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH \"WIDER IMAGE\" FOR ALL STORIES People take part in a demonstration after the Hungarian parliament passed a law that bans LGBTQ+ communities from holding the annual Pride march and allows a broader constraint on freedom of assembly, in Budapest, Hungary, March 25, 2025. Right-wing Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who casts himself as a defender of what he calls Christian values from Western liberalism and whose supporters are mostly rural conservatives, has passed several laws affecting the lives of Hungary's LGBTQ+ community over the past decade. REUTERS/Marton Monus SEARCH TERM - SEARCH \"HUNGARY-LGBT/PRIDE-ANNIVERSARY\" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH \"WIDER IMAGE\" FOR ALL STORIES A woman holds a flag during a march after the Hungarian parliament passed a law that bans LGBTQ+ communities from holding the annual Pride march and allows a broader constraint on freedom of assembly, in Budapest, Hungary, March 30, 2025. Right-wing Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who casts himself as a defender of what he calls Christian values from Western liberalism and whose supporters are mostly rural conservatives, has passed several laws affecting the lives of Hungary's LGBTQ+ community over the past decade. REUTERS/Marton Monus SEARCH TERM - SEARCH \"HUNGARY-LGBT/PRIDE-ANNIVERSARY\" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH \"WIDER IMAGE\" FOR ALL STORIES A woman lights a cigarette placed in a placard depicting Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban, during a demonstration, after the Hungarian parliament passed a law that bans LGBTQ+ communities from holding the annual Pride march and allows a broader constraint on freedom of assembly, in Budapest, Hungary, March 25, 2025. As Budapest prepares to celebrate its 30th Pride Parade, Hungary's LGBTQ+ community tries to cope with an erosion of their rights due to policies of the right-wing government. REUTERS/Marton Monus SEARCH TERM - SEARCH \"HUNGARY-LGBT/PRIDE-ANNIVERSARY\" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH \"WIDER IMAGE\" FOR ALL STORIES People take part in a demonstration after the Hungarian parliament passed a law that bans LGBTQ+ communities from holding the annual Pride march and allows a broader constraint on freedom of assembly, in Budapest, Hungary, March 25, 2025. Right-wing Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who casts himself as a defender of what he calls Christian values from Western liberalism and whose supporters are mostly rural conservatives, has passed several laws affecting the lives of Hungary's LGBTQ+ community over the past decade. REUTERS/Marton Monus SEARCH TERM - SEARCH \"HUNGARY-LGBT/PRIDE-ANNIVERSARY\" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH \"WIDER IMAGE\" FOR ALL STORIES A transgender flag is held during a march after the Hungarian parliament passed a law that bans LGBTQ+ communities from holding the annual Pride march and allows a broader constraint on freedom of assembly, in Budapest, Hungary, March 30, 2025. The right-wing government under Prime Minister Viktor Orban has passed a series of legislation targeting the LGBTQ+ community, including a ban on the change of gender in personal documents, legislation that effectively halts adoption by same-sex couples, and a law banning the use of materials in schools seen as promoting homosexuality and gender transition. REUTERS/Marton Monus SEARCH TERM - SEARCH \"HUNGARY-LGBT/PRIDE-ANNIVERSARY\" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH \"WIDER IMAGE\" FOR ALL STORIES Vivien \"Vivi\" Winkler, 27, kisses Laura \"Lau\" Toth, 37, at a demonstration against the banning of the annual Pride march and curbing the rights of assembly in Budapest, Hungary, April 1, 2025. Winkler and Toth have attended Pride marches before but said this year's will be especially important. REUTERS/Marton Monus BUDAPEST - Lau and Vivi, a young lesbian couple in Hungary, often hold hands walking through Budapest's streets. However, Lau has started to have troubling second thoughts about this show of affection since the government ramped up its anti-LGBTQ+ campaign. Right-wing Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who casts himself as a defender of what he calls Christian values from Western liberalism and whose supporters are mostly rural conservatives, has passed several laws affecting the lives of Hungary's LGBTQ+ community over the past decade. These include banning a change of gender in personal documents, legislation that effectively halts adoption by same-sex couples, and a law banning the use of materials in schools seen as promoting homosexuality and gender transition. In March, parliament passed a law that created a legal basis for police to ban Pride marches, key events for the LGBTQ+ community worldwide in campaigning for rights, celebrating diversity and highlighting discrimination. Orban's Fidesz party said Pride could be harmful to children and so protecting them should supersede the right to assemble. "Somehow unconsciously, I started to think whether I should dare to hold Vivi's hand in front of a child now," said Lau (Laura Toth), 37, a DJ and sound technician working in Budapest's vibrant club scene. "This does not mean I will not hold her hand now, but something started to work inside me." Her partner, 27-year-old Vivien Winkler, says it is surreal that they should feel they are doing something wrong if they hug or kiss each other in the street, as they are in love and could even marry down the line - though in another country. Hungary has never allowed gay marriage, only civil unions. The couple fell in love two years ago. With their dog, they have moved into a cosy flat full of books and photos, and have set up a small studio in one room, where Lau makes her own music. She is set to release a track which she calls "a queer love song". Along with love, they also found true inspiration in each other. "This LP is about my personal coming out story," she said with a knowing smile, as this was not easy for her growing up in a town in eastern Hungary. With the help of therapy, she finally came out 2-3 years ago, first to her grandma, who was more accepting than her parents. Vivien had a similar experience with her grandparents in Budapest who were very quick to embrace Lau as a member of the family. They are happy together and both regularly DJ in clubs. But they feel the air is thinning for LGBTQ+ people. "We are continuously discussing that we may need to move abroad next year," Vivien said. DEFYING THE BAN Orban told his supporters in February that Pride organisers "should not even bother" planning the event this year. Some saw this as a tactic to hold on to conservative votes - in 2026 he faces elections and a new opposition party poses a serious challenge to his rule. "We've defended the right of parents to decide how their children are brought up, and we've curbed views and fashions that are against nature," the veteran leader said in May. Passage of the new law allowed police last week to ban the 30th Pride march due on June 28. However, Budapest's liberal mayor said the march will be held on that date nonetheless, as a municipal event celebrating freedom, allowing it to circumvent the ban. Thirty-three foreign embassies including those of France, Germany and Britain, although not the United States, have backed the event. "Pride will not ask for permission: this is a protest," the Budapest Pride organisers have said. Lau and Vivi have attended Pride marches before but said this year's will be especially important. Laszlo Laner, 69, was an organiser of Budapest's first Pride in 1997 and played an active role in Hungary's gay movement after the collapse of the communist regime in 1989. "I think we will have the largest crowd so far, not only of LGBTQ+ people and sympathizers but also... those who march for democracy, freedom of speech and the right to assemble," he said. Hungarians were mostly accepting of the LGBTQ+ community, he added. This has been underpinned by polls. A survey by pollster Median in November 2024 made for HATTER society, a Hungarian LGBTQI group, showed 53% of Hungarians said it was acceptable for two men to fall in love, and 57% said the same about two women. About 49% would support same-sex marriage. People in Hungary are a lot less negative towards LGBTQ+ people than the government is trying to suggest, said Zsolt Hegyi, 57, who is gay and has never attended Pride but will join the march now. Events like Pride can help people who struggle to come to terms with their feelings to open up. "They can get some encouragement that the world will not collapse after their coming out," he said. LIVING AUTHENTICALLY Ballroom culture, which originated as a safe and inclusive space for Black and Latino LGBTQ+ individuals in New York, also offers a safe space in Budapest with its regular balls, where participants compete with dances in various categories. In Turbina, an arts and inclusive community space in the heart of Budapest, over a hundred people gathered on March 15 for a ballroom event where participants donned costumes inspired by iconic queer personalities. Iulian Paragina from Romania, a dental technician who has lived in Budapest for four years, acted as Master of Ceremony and also danced. "As a queer person, one of the biggest challenges is simply having the courage to live authentically," Iulian said. "Personally, I used to feel relatively safe in Budapest, up to a point... Today, our voices are being silenced, whether it's through banning Pride, limiting freedom of expression, or pushing harmful narratives." The gradual erosion of LGBTQ+ rights has had a chilling effect on the community, said Armin Egres Konig, 25, who is trans and non-binary, and works as a social worker for the rights group HATTER society. Konig was personally affected by the 2020 law which made it impossible for transgender people to legally change their gender, as it was enacted before their coming out. While Konig found an inclusive and accepting community at university, they find being trans can be difficult in everyday life. "In the world out there it is very hard to be a trans person and I faced harassment in the street." REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
New York Post
08-06-2025
- Politics
- New York Post
Boulder Jewish Fest kicks off a week after antisemitic firebomb attack: ‘Healing is a marathon'
Thousands of people packed Sunday's Boulder Jewish Festival at the Pearl Street Mall in Colorado — not far from the site of last week's antisemitic firebomb attack. Among the event's speakers were members of Run for Their Lives, the peaceful group targeted by the firebomber. The festival, hosted by the Boulder JCC, featured dozens of community Jewish organizations, food vendors, an art market and live music and performances — under a noticeably stepped-up security presence. Thousands of people show up for a day of solidarity, unity and healing at Sunday's 30th annual Boulder Jewish Festival. REUTERS The festival served as a showing of community solidarity, healing and hope in the wake of the terror attack that injured 15 people participating in a pro-Israel walking event. Event organizers worked closely with the Boulder Police Department, JEWISHColorado's Secure Community Network and state officials to ensure the event was safe. Bomb-sniffing dogs could be seen walking around areas where the public gathered accompanied by uniformed police officers. The 30th annual Boulder Jewish Festival was held with increased security in the wake of last week's terror attack. REUTERS The festival kicked off with a walk of solidarity for the Israeli hostages still being held by Hamas. Run for Their Lives was holding such a walk when its members were allegedly targeted by Mohamed Sabry Soliman last week. Among last week's injured was Barbara Steinmetz, an 88-year-old Holocaust survivor described by a local rabbi as a 'very loving' woman. Members of Run for Their Lives took the stage to address the crowd. Susan Rona, the Mountain State's regional director of the Anti-Defamation League, also was on hand to thank those in attendance. 'The thousands strong showing up today are saying, 'Enough, enough, enough,' ' she said. 'Hate toward the Jewish community has no place in Boulder, hate has no place in Boulder. 'After the headlines fade, don't pretend this isn't happening. This is life for Jews in America today, and healing is a marathon,' she added. 'We in boulder have the power to change our polarized nation together. Let us show the world how we respond to hate. Let's make some new memories together in this space and show the world what hate cannot extinguish: love, shared humanity, community and joy,' she urged the cheering crowd. 'That is how we respond, and that is how we will move forward together, undeterred and more committed than ever to each other.'
CairoScene
02-06-2025
- Business
- CairoScene
New Wave of Book Kiosks Brings Affordable Reading to Rural Egypt
The initiative supports affordable access to books in rural Egypt through the Haya Karima Foundation. Jun 02, 2025 The Ministry of Culture is launching 45 book kiosks this June as part of the ongoing 'Your Book' project, in collaboration with the Haya Karima Foundation. Timed to coincide with the anniversary of the June 30th revolution, the rollout is designed to promote reading in rural areas by offering books at affordable prices. These kiosks will function as permanent mini-libraries in underserved villages. The project expands on an earlier prototype set up at the Cairo Opera House and builds on 333 kiosks already established through the Ministry's partnership with the Haya Karima Foundation. Books stocked at the kiosks come from the General Egyptian Book Organization and other Ministry-affiliated publishers, with selections curated in partnership with the Publishers Union to ensure quality and relevance. The kiosks themselves are tailored to fit into broader village beautification plans, offering both visual appeal and commercial potential. Book prices are kept low to reflect local income levels, while maintaining high standards in content and printing.
The Star
29-05-2025
- Business
- The Star
Asia must not ‘rest on its laurels', and continue to reinforce partnerships amid turmoil: S'pore DPM Gan
TOKYO: Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong on Thursday (May 29) appealed to Asia to form agile partnerships and double down on regional integration amid deepening global strife. While many countries in Asia are already part of overlapping partnerships of varying permutations – bilateral, regional, plurilateral – the inherent danger is if they rest on their laurels and not work on growing and strengthening these links, he said. 'We should recognise the challenges of the current turmoil and raise the ambition of each of these mutually reinforcing partnerships,' DPM Gan said in a speech during the 30th Nikkei International Forum on the Future of Asia in Tokyo. Exercising agility and flexibility in building ties is increasingly vital as the world grapples with what DPM Gan described as 'the greatest uncertainty confronting us today', with questions lingering over what will happen after the US' 90-day reprieve over 'reciprocal tariffs' ends on July 8. 'Things are changing all the time, every morning when (you) open the newspaper, there is always big news on trade and tariffs, and sometimes shocking news, and that is the first dish on your breakfast table,' DPM Gan, who is also Singapore's Trade and Industry Minister, said in conversation with the Nikkei's Singapore bureau chief Fumika Sato. While he noted that the risk of a recession cannot be ruled out, another bad-case scenario was that it would be difficult to undo the damage caused by the sweeping Liberation Day tariffs. 'At the end of 90 days, whatever outcome that may be, the uncertainty remains that tariffs can be raised or reduced at any point in time,' he said. 'This will result in weakening of the global trading system, and that is going to be the new order of the day. In time to come, this will be the new landscape.' Trade-reliant economies, such as Singapore – whose trade is three times the size of its economy – would be vulnerable to these headwinds. This was why it is essential for Asean and its partners to double down and expand existing relationships, he said. Doing so would 'demonstrate to the rest of the world that despite this contestation and competition, there is still room for cooperation and collaboration'. The Straits Times is a media partner for the two-day event, whose theme for 2025 is Asia's Challenge In A Turbulent World. DPM Gan, who leads Singapore's tariff negotiations with Washington, used his 20-minute address to emphasise that a winner-takes-all approach towards trade goes against the spirit of a level playing field that the World Trade Organisation (WTO) has been advocating. In such a climate, larger economies with stronger bargaining chips can leave smaller economies in the dust. 'This is why recent moves by some countries to impose and remove tariffs at will are concerning,' he told an audience of more than 200 diplomats, bureaucrats, executives and academics. Singapore faces the baseline 10 per cent reciprocal tariff imposed by the US, although some countries across South-east Asia were hit harder with rates of more than 40 per cent. 'We must do all we can to reinforce a shared rules-based order, so that global trade can continue to be conducted on a free, fair and non-discriminatory basis,' DPM Gan said. In this regard, Japan and Singapore are partners, given the convergence in their strategic outlooks and a shared agenda to strengthen and reform multilateral institutions. The two countries mark 60 years of diplomatic ties in 2026, an occasion that lends itself to the opportunity for new areas of collaboration such as digital trade, supply chain resilience and the green transition. DPM Gan reiterated Singapore's hopes for Japan to play an even bigger role in the upkeep of regional peace and stability – a point that Singapore's political leaders have made repeatedly in recent years. 'Singapore stands ready to work with Japan as a trusted and reliable partner, and we hope to step up our economic and security cooperation in time to come,' he said. Japan's expanding role in regional security comes despite its history as a wartime aggressor. But the tides have changed 80 years since its surrender, with Japan now relied upon as a staunch defender of a rules-based multilateral order. This order is now under attack, with assertive behaviour in regional waters, as well as international conflicts both on the battlefield and in trade. DPM Gan said the world is facing three key fundamental challenges today: - How can Asia maintain strategic autonomy amid intensifying US-China contestation? - How can we preserve the rules-based, multilateral trading system that underpins Asia's economic growth and development? - How do we address global threats and protect the global commons? For one thing, the persistent risk of flare-ups between the world's two largest economies could well spread beyond trade into other areas such as investments, supply chains and critical technology, DPM Gan warned. 'While both powers claim that they do not wish to force countries to take sides, each seeks to draw others closer to their respective orbits,' he said. This makes it all the more paramount for Asian countries, which maintain close ties with both powers, to 'continue to maintain our strategic autonomy and act in a principled and consistent way on the basis of our own national interests', he added. It was also in Asia's interests to modernise the WTO, DPM Gan said, noting: 'While the system is not perfect, we must not abandon it. Instead, we should reform it and make it better.' Among his suggestions were to review the existing consensus-based decision-making processes such that they do not 'end up a recipe for gridlock' and to update the WTO rulebook to address emerging issues. Other institutions such as the World Health Organisation, International Monetary Fund and World Bank cannot be allowed to fail, DPM Gan said, as this would impair the world's ability to respond to future crises like pandemics or recessions. The key way to prevent this was to entrench relationships – especially in areas where the collective commitment already seems to be waning, such as in climate change – by deepening existing ones and forging new ties. He noted how Asean, which earlier this week concluded talks on upgrading its trade in goods agreement, was looking to deepen economic ties with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). This includes a potential free trade agreement between Asean and the GCC, as well as its possible admission to the 15-nation Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, which now comprises Asean, Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea. The more vigorous Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), too, is looking at how to broaden economic partnerships, including with Asean and the European Union. The CPTPP comprised 11 founding members after the US pulled out – Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam – with Britain acceded as the 12th member in 2024. Singapore supports cementing multilateralism, including by expanding the CPTPP if countries can meet its stringent criteria, with DPM Gan noting China and Indonesia as among countries that have indicated interest. 'These new alliances will facilitate effective and timely collaboration on key trade policy issues, and signal our commitment to a rules-based trading system,' he said. There are also measures driven by like-minded countries, such as a WTO Joint Statement Initiative on E-commerce that Japan, Singapore and Australia co-led in 2019 and now involves 91 members, accounting for more than 90 per cent of global trade. Despite unsuccessful efforts to formally incorporate the initiative within the WTO in February, the countries are exploring how to implement the agreement in the interim. 'This is one example of 'flexible multilateralism', where we allow like-minded partners to move ahead on important issues of mutual interest, such as e-commerce, while leaving the door open for others to join as and when they are ready,' DPM Gan said. Other areas for collaboration with Asean include deeper digital integration and cross-border payment connectivity, and what DPM Gan described as a 'cross-border flow of electrons'. Referring to plans for an Asean Power Grid by 2045, which would facilitate the flow of renewable energy across borders and reduce the reliance on fossil fuels, he said: 'Asia is at the epicentre of the battle against climate change'. He added: 'There is urgency to galvanise global action not only for climate mitigation measures, but also to accelerate the green transition.' During his three-day visit to Tokyo ending on May 29, DPM Gan also met Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi, Economic Security Minister Minoru Kiuchi, as well as Economic Revitalisation Minister Ryosei Akazawa, who is leading Japan's tariff negotiations with the US. - The Straits Times/ANN
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
SeaWolves unveil initial roster ahead of opening day
The Erie SeaWolves, the double-A affiliate of the MLB's Detroit Tigers, released its initial roster ahead of the team's 2025 opening day (Friday, April 4th at 6:05 pm at UPMC Park). 2025-SeaWolves-Break-Camp-Roster-ReleaseDownload The SeaWolves kick off the 2025 season on Friday, April 4 at 6:05 p.m. against the Harrisburg Senators (Washington Nationals). Before the game, the club will raise their 2024 Eastern League Championship banner as they begin their back-to-back title defense. The first 1,000 fans will receive a 30th Season SeaWolves lapel pin. The UPMC Park Stadium Club will also feature a specialty Fish Fry buffet menu on Opening Night. Details are available at Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
