International Gaze

The Vatican heatedly defended Pope Benedict XVI against accusations that he helped cover up the actions of pedophile priests.

The Vatican said such accusations were part of an anti-Catholic “hate” campaign targeting the pope for his opposition to abortion and same-sex marriage.

Critics of a proposed Ugandan law that would impose the death penalty for some gays gathered 500,000 signatures calling for the bill’s rejection.

A delegation delivered the petition to Uganda’s parliament.

Mexico City officials say 88 same-sex couples have gotten married in Mexico’s capital since a law allowing such unions took effect last month.

A statement from Mexico City’s government says 50 of the couples were men and 38 women.

Two men in Malawi will stand trial early this month on charges of “gross indecency.”

Their alleged crime was engaging in same-sex sex.

Zimbabwe’s president says gay rights will not be protected in a constitution being drawn up under a power-sharing deal.

State radio quoted President Robert Mugabe saying that Western rights groups have called for constitutional reforms to include gay rights. He calls that “insanity.”

Religious groups meeting at The Hague discussed in late March how to help the global fight against AIDS by preventing victims from becoming social outcasts.

Canon Gideon Byamugisha, an Anglican priest from Uganda, said the way his church treated him after he discovered he had HIV should set an example for the rest of the world.

Macedonia has approved a new rights law but ignored appeals from the EU and rights groups to ban discrimination based on sexual orientation.

A total of 62 conservative lawmakers in the 120-seat parliament voted for the anti-discrimination law, which covers gender, religion and ethnicity. The opposition walked out in protest demanding that protection be extended to lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender people.

Indonesian police ordered the cancellation of an LGBT conference in March, saying it could prompt violent protests by conservative Muslim groups.

The International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association conference was expected to host participants from 16 countries.

Internet giants Google and Yahoo have criticized Australia’s proposal for a mandatory Internet filter, calling it a heavy-handed measure that could restrict access to legal information.

Their statements, among 174 comments from the public submitted to the Australian Department of Communications on the filtering proposal, come amid a struggle between Google and China over censorship-free content.