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2011年6月26日星期日

Nepal shelter for ostracised gays a sign of change (Reuters)

在 ServiceModel 客户端配置部分中,找不到引用协定“TranslatorService.LanguageService”的默认终结点元素。这可能是因为未找到应用程序的配置文件,或者是因为客户端元素中找不到与此协定匹配的终结点元素。
在 ServiceModel 客户端配置部分中,找不到引用协定“TranslatorService.LanguageService”的默认终结点元素。这可能是因为未找到应用程序的配置文件,或者是因为客户端元素中找不到与此协定匹配的终结点元素。

KATHMANDU (Reuters Life!) – The first ever shelter for ostracised gays has opened in Nepal -- a growing sign, say activists, that the impoverished, conservative Himalayan nation is becoming more aware of the rights of its gay population.

Homosexuality is taboo in this majority-Hindu country and while there are no specific laws against gays or same-sex marriages, "unnatural sex" can result in up to one year in jail.

Run by Nepal's leading gay rights group, the Blue Diamond Society (BDS), the home and adjoining hospice open to gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgenders provides shelter to people who have HIV/Aids and have been abused and abandoned by their families.

"These people need care and are very late with the treatment. They need to be looked after in their last days of life and even to perform their last rites after death," said Sunil Babu Pant, BDS's founder.

"The families don't even (want to) receive their dead bodies. So the BDS organises their burial or cremation."

The shelter, tucked away in a quiet residential area in the outskirts of the Nepali capital, Kathmandu, can accommodate up to 30 people who receive free medical care from doctors, as well as a place to stay.

There is no sign board outside the brick-walled compound -- a deliberate attempt, say caretakers, to avoid local attention in a country where many will not even rent their premises to homosexuals.

People who visit the shelter are reluctant to talk about their problems, but happy for the support.

"It is a good place for people like us and we get good treatment here," said 27-year-old Raju Baral, who tested positive for HIV in 2007 and left home then so he wouldn't be an embarrassment for his family.

Since coming to the shelter, he has gained weight and his health has improved, he added.

MORE GAY-FRIENDLY

Nepal, famous for being the home of Mount Everest, is emerging from a decade-long civil war which ended in 2006 and has become more gay-friendly in recent years.

In 2007, the Supreme Court ordered the government to end discrimination against gays and guarantee sexual minorities the same rights as other citizens.

Gay beauty contests are held and same-sex marriages are now taking place. Earlier this week, two American women tied the knot as a Hindu priest chanted Vedic hymns in a public religious ceremony outside a major shrine near Kathmandu.

There is even a travel agency run by gay men in Nepal, which offers same-sex wedding packages to the world's tallest peak, as well as to Lumbini, the birthplace of Buddha.

A specially elected assembly is now currently drafting the country's first constitution since the abolition of its monarchy in 2008, which is expected to guarantee the rights of marginalised groups, including gays and lesbians.

"I think after the restoration of democracy there is a big demand for inclusion of various groups, including the sexual minority," said lawyer Sabin Shrestha, who works on gay rights issues.

"Existence of sexual minorities is a reality and we are more and more positive towards their issues compared to earlier days."

(Reporting by TrustLaw, www.trust.org/trustlaw; editing by Nita Bhalla and Elaine Lies)


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2011年6月25日星期六

ICC to discuss change in chief selection process (Reuters)

在 ServiceModel 客户端配置部分中,找不到引用协定“TranslatorService.LanguageService”的默认终结点元素。这可能是因为未找到应用程序的配置文件,或者是因为客户端元素中找不到与此协定匹配的终结点元素。
在 ServiceModel 客户端配置部分中,找不到引用协定“TranslatorService.LanguageService”的默认终结点元素。这可能是因为未找到应用程序的配置文件,或者是因为客户端元素中找不到与此协定匹配的终结点元素。

MUMBAI (Reuters) – The International Cricket Council (ICC) will discuss constitutional amendments to abolish the rotational policy of appointing its head and avoid "government interference" in the game's administration at next week's conference in Hong Kong.

"Under the new proposal, the executive board will decide the process and term of office from time to time, subject to certain qualifying criteria," the ICC said in a statement on Friday.

"This would remove the current rotational system of nomination and the fixed term of appointment as set out in the ICC Articles of Association."

Any such constitutional amendment would impact Pakistan the most as the South Asian country was supposed to nominate the administrator who would succeed New Zealander Alan Isaac, now a vice president, as the ICC chief in 2014.

Isaac will take over from incumbent Sharad Pawar of India next year.

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) officials have been quoted in the media as saying that they would vehemently oppose the amendments.

The ICC move to reduce government interference would also affect the PCB, the chairman of which is appointed directly by country's president, who is designated chief patron of the board.

Sri Lanka is not free from government interference either. The Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) is an interim body and issues such as team selection have to be approved by their sports ministry.

"The full council of the ICC will consider a constitutional amendment aimed at ensuring free elections of member boards and avoiding undue government interference in the administration of cricket, in line with the regulations of other major sporting bodies," the statement said.

The five-day conference, which starts on Sunday, will also consider the recommendations made by the cricket committee that includes the Decision Review System (DRS) and day-night test matches.

Ireland, who recorded memorable victories over Pakistan and England in the past two editions of the World Cup, will have their fingers crossed when president Pawar asks the ICC executive board to reconsider its decision to restrict the 2015 edition to the 10 test-playing member nations.

The ICC initially decided to restrict the next edition of the 50-over World Cup, to be held in Australia and New Zealand, to the 10 member nations but later proposed a qualifying tournament for associate nations.

(Reporting by Sudipto Ganguly in Mumbai; Editing by John O'Brien; to query or comment on this story, email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)


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