Homosexuality

The head of Turkey’s powerful religious affairs directorate Ali Erbas lauded against attitudes and celebrations that he claimed were not in line with the values of Islam in his Friday sermon at Hagia Sophia.

The Council of State is tasked with deciding whether individuals who have had at least one homosexual relationship since 1977, as well as those who have had multiple sexual partners without the consistent use of condoms in the past decade, can be blood donors.

Bulgaria is one of the nine EU member states that did not sign a declaration supporting the advancement of LGBTQ+ rights in Europe. This was confirmed by David Jordens, spokesperson for the informal councils under Belgium's rotating presidency of the Council of the EU, in response to an inquiry by the publication Club Z.

The Hellenic Psychiatric Association has dismissed claims that homosexuality is a mental disorder.

In a statement issued Thursday, the association said it "stresses, explicitly and categorically, that homosexuality is not a mental illness."

Ljubljana – The permanent ban on blood donation based solely on the personal circumstances of gender and sexual orientation will be abolished on 1 July, an expert group for transfusion medicine and infectious diseases has decided after the equality ombudsman raised the issue last December.

Netflix's first Arabic film production was always set to be a big event, but within days of its release, public opinion in Egypt was so inflamed that critics called for a ban on the platform.

"Ashab wala Aaz," one of countless remakes of the Italian comedy-drama "Perfetti Sconosciutti" (Perfect Strangers), features renowned actors from Lebanon, Egypt and Jordan.

Ljubljana – Equal Opportunities Ombudsman Miha Lobnik has noted that the permanent ban on blood donations for all homosexual men is discriminatory, as they are excluded from taking part in this important philanthropic activity despite the fact that the safety of blood donations is also ensured by additional testing for viruses.

The European Commission has launched an infringement procedure against Hungary for its controversial Child Protection Act, media reported on Thursday. It is one of the few cases when the Commission acted almost immediately, without the usual delay.

Serbia ranks as the safest destination for LGBT tourists and North Macedonia as the worst among Balkan states featured on a list of 150 most-visited countries published by travel bloggers Asher and Lyric Fergusson.

Europeans have become more tolerant of different social groups, but not Bulgarians, Eurobarometer survey shows. According to it, Bulgarians are least inclined to elect a homosexual as a political leader. Only 18% of people living in Bulgaria would consider it normal for а premier to be gay. In comparison, this is quite normal for 98% of the Dutch.