Australia - New South Wales government delays effort to ban conversion therapy. The Premier of New South Wales announced the delay after LGBTQ+ advocates asked for more time to ensure the proposed legislation “provides the best opportunity to prevent LGBTQ+ conversion practices and reduce associated harm.” France - Senate considers compensation for gay men jailed under discriminatory laws. Senator Hussein Bourgi’s bill would compensate gay men who were sent to prison under discriminatory laws which set the age of consent for same-sex relations higher (21) than for opposite-sex relations (13, later raised to 15) and which punished gay men for “public indecency.” An estimated 65,000 men were imprisoned under these laws while they were enforced between 1942 and 1982. Nepal - Country’s first same-sex marriage recognized. Surendra Pandey and Maya Gurung registered their marriage at the Dorje village council office, located west of the capital, Kathmandu. Romania - Prime Minister says country “not ready” to recognize the rights of same-sex couples. Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu’s comment comes months after the European Court of Human Rights ruled that Romania was failing to enforce the rights of same-sex couples. Russia - Government seeks to label “international LGBT public movement” as extremist. The extremist label would ban LGBTQ+ groups from operating in the country and would leave LGBTQ+ activists open to criminal prosecution. Thailand - Cabinet approves proposal to legalize same-sex marriage. Karom Polpornklang, a deputy government spokesperson, said the proposed law, which is expected to be introduced in Parliament in December, would guarantee the right to form a family in a relationship between same-sex couples. United Kingdom - Archbishop of Canterbury apologizes to Christian LGBTQ+ campaigner. At a meeting in early November, Archbishop Justin Welby compared Jayne Ozanne, an openly gay former government advisor and member of the Church of England’s governing body, to a militia leader. Norwich event marks 20 years since repeal of Section 28. Section 28 of the Local Government Act passed in 1988 under Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. The law banned schools and libraries from “promoting homosexuality.” The law was repealed under Prime Minister Tony Blair in 2003. Sir Elton John addresses Parliament. Sir Elton was being honored for his work in fighting the HIV/AIDS epidemic through the Elton John AIDS Foundation. During his speech to Parliament, Sir Elton challenged the UK to eradicate HIV by 2030. Vatican City - Pope Francis to punish cardinal who publicly criticized the Pope’s stances on LGBTQ+ Catholics. The Pope will evict Cardinal Raymond Burke from the cardinal’s subsidized Vatican apartment and will revoke Burke’s salary as well. These moves follow Burke’s public criticism of the Pope’s stances on LGBTQ+ people in the church. Community of trans women join Pope Francis for lunch during Catholic Church’s World Day of the Poor. The women — many of whom are Latin American migrants and sex workers — joined over 1,000 other poor and homeless people in the Vatican auditorium as the Pope’s guests for lunch. “Before, the church was closed to us. They didn’t see us as normal people, they saw us as the devil,” said Andrea Paola Torres Lopez, a Colombian transgender woman known as Consuelo, “Then Pope Francis arrived and the doors of the church opened for us.” | 
