Gay marriage legally recognized in South Korean court
At the end of a lawsuit that began in 2021, South Korean couple So Sung-wook and Kim Yong-min have won the country's first legal recognition of same-sex marriage. On Tuesday, the Seoul High Court ruled that state health insurance should provide spousal coverage to the couple, overturning a lower court decision.

"We are delighted," the couple said in a statement. "It is not only our victory but also a victory for many same-sex couples and LGBTQ families in Korea."

According to their lawyer, Ryu Min-hee, the appellate court concluded that the spousal coverage system applied not just to families as defined by law, meaning that denying them coverage counted as discrimination.

"This is an important decision that moves South Korea closer to achieving marriage equality," said Boram Jang, East Asia researcher for Amnesty International.

The National Health Insurance Service said it planned to appeal the decision, which would bring the case to the Supreme Court.

Cops, gangs use Grindr for stings, extortion in Middle East
Human Rights Watch (HRW) has published a report showing that government officials in several Middle Eastern and North African countries have been using social media and dating apps to target LGBTQ people with extortion, harassment, detainment, and public outings.

The report contains dozens of cases from security agencies in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, and Tunisia, which used LGBTQ persons' activity on Facebook, Instagram, and Grindr. Major tech companies, the report said, are on the hook for not investing enough in Arabic-language content moderation and protection.

"This type of social media frenzy really had implications on people's lives," said Rasha Younes, senior researcher with the LGBTQ Rights Program at HRW.

In one case, 27-year-old Yazid from Egypt said he was arrested and detained, then beaten until he would sign papers that said he was "practicing debauchery." According to Yazid, one of the officers impersonated a Gay man he met on Grindr.

Other LGBTQ people in the report were extorted by private individuals and gangs, who threatened to out them to their families and the authorities if not paid.

Many of the victims lost their jobs, Younes said, on top of the mental health consequences they suffered.