MELBOURNE, Australia—Out lesbian Amélie Mauresmo won her first Grand Slam title on Jan. 28 in Australia. Her opponent, Justine Henin-Hardenne, quit the match in the second due to stomach pain. Mauresmo gained notoriety in 1999 when she talked openly about being gay and lost to Martina Hingis in the final here. Before the 1999 final, Hingis called Mauresmo "half a man." Mauresmo, then 19, responded by calling Hingis, then 18, stupid. Reflecting on the incident Maursemo said, "That final and those days seven years ago were a bit painful," reported the New York Times. This year, Hingis lost in the quarterfinals. Asked if she had any lingering sense of bitterness or poetic justice, Mauresmo responded, "Not seven years later. If it had been one month later, perhaps. … This is about me. We don’t talk about Hingis or X or Y. This is about me and the personal satisfaction I have."

Czech parliament approves gay partnership rights
PRAGUE, Czech Republic (AP)—The upper chamber of Czech parliament voted on Jan. 25 to grant some legal rights to same-sex partners. Jiri Hromada, a leading Czech gay activist, said the vote for gay rights was encouraging. Forty-five of the 65 lawmakers present in the 81-seat Senate voted in favor of the law, 14 were against, and six abstained. If approved by President Vaclav Klaus, the legislation will allow couples who register their partnership with authorities to have inheritance and health care rights similar to those granted now to heterosexual married couples. The law, however, does not allow marriage or adoption of children by same-sex partners. "It’s a great encouragement for us," said Jiri Hromada, a leading Czech gay activist, in response to the vote. Earlier this month, representatives of 10 Christian churches in the Czech Republic called on the Senate and the president to reject the legislation, warning that it would "weaken family life and cause chaos in values, mainly in the young generation."

Cayman Islands defends gay cruise decision
GEORGE TOWN, Cayman Island—The Atlantis gay Caribbean cruise, billed as the "Largest Gay Cruise in History II," was allowed to come ashore in the Cayman Islands on Jan. 24, the Caymanian Compass, a local paper, reported. In 1998, the government was criticized by gay groups after refusing to allow a gay cruise to come ashore. At a press conference Jan. 27, Kurt Tibbetts, a business liaison in the Caymans government, acknowledged strong local opposition to the presence of the gay cruise. "Homosexuality, by and large, is not accepted in this society as the norm," Tibbetts said. "That is simply a fact." He defended the government’s current position, but said he would have "appropriate discussions" with cruise organizers prior to their arrival to ensure that passengers obey local laws while in the Caymans. "The truth is, I wish they weren’t coming," Tibbets said, according to the newspaper.

‘Brokeback’ banned in China despite Taiwanese director
BEIJING, China—High-ranking officials in China have banned "Brokeback Mountain," the film industry publication Daily Variety reported. The gay cowboys depicted in the film may be more than Chinese audiences can take, a source from China Film Group, the mainland’s only film importer, told the Xinhua news agency. China only permits 20 foreign films into the country each year and one of its two commercial film distributors said "Brokeback" is considered more of an art house film than a mainstream commercial movie, reported United Press International. There has been an outpouring of national pride over Taiwanese director Ang Lee. Chinese pride is likely to increase after Lee’s nomination for an Oscar as best director on Jan. 31. China views Taiwan as a renegade province and Lee as a native son.

Former P.M. sued over gay accusations
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP)—Malaysian dissident politician Anwar Ibrahim sued former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad Jan. 27 for defamation after Mahathir refused to apologize for calling him a homosexual. Mahathir, who retired in October 2003, reiterated late last year that he fired Anwar as his deputy in 1998 because his alleged sexual orientation made him unfit for office. "I cannot have a sodomizer in my Cabinet. … Imagine a gay P.M. … Nobody will be safe," he told reporters at the time. Sodomy is a crime in this conservative, mostly Muslim southeast Asian country. In the lawsuit, Anwar accuses Mahathir of speaking "falsely and maliciously" to tarnish his character and said his reputation had been "gravely injured." Anwar had ...

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