Greece becomes first Orthodox country to legalize marriage equality
The Greek parliament became the first Orthodox country to legalize marriage equality in a rare show of bipartisan cooperation. The measure was advanced by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and was largely opposed by his own Conservative Party.

The February 15 vote was 176 members voting for, 76 against, and two abstaining.

Following the vote, Mitsotakis said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, that Greece "is proud to become the 16th [European Union] country to legislate marriage equality." He added, "This is a milestone for human rights, reflecting today's Greece: a progressive, and democratic country, passionately committed to European values."

The law allows people in same-sex marriages to adopt children and for both parents to be recognized, but Greek law still disallows same-sex couples from surrogacy.

Ahead of the vote, church leaders wrote a letter to Parliament saying that legalizing same-sex marriage would let children "be parented by same-sex couples and grow up without a father or mother in an environment of confusing gender roles."

More than 80% of Greeks belong to the church, but with polls indicating that the majority support marriage equality, the church's stance does not seem to be popular.

Top court in St. Vincent and the Grenadines upholds ban on Gay sex
A top court in St Vincent and the Grenadines has upheld laws that criminalize Gay sex, in a blow to activists who have long decried the violence the Queer community has faced on the conservative Caribbean archipelago.

The ruling on Friday by St. Vincent's high court stems from a 2019 case filed by two Gay men from St. Vincent who live in the UK and US. They sought to strike down colonial-era laws that call for ten years in prison for anal intercourse and five years for "gross indecency" with another person of the same sex.

It was not immediately clear if anyone planned to appeal the ruling.

While the laws are rarely invoked in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, activists say they help legitimize physical and verbal abuse against the Gay community in the small island nation of some 100,000 people.

Last year, a Human Rights Watch report noted multiple instances of abuse and discrimination against Gay people there, from the case of a teenage student having his arm broken to a man being hit in the head with a bottle, causing permanent brain damage.

The nation's prime minister, Ralph Gonsalves, has previously decried discrimination against Gay people.

Houthi court sentences 13 men to public execution for Gay sex
A Houthi-controlled provincial court in Yemen handed down death sentences to 13 men found guilty of engaging in same-sex sexual relations, according to the Agence France-Presse. Three other men remain in jail, and another 35 have been arrested on similar charges in the province of Ibb.

The Houthis are an Iranian-proxy rebel group who control large parts of the country as they fight the Yemeni government.

Human rights groups decried the trials and sentences, saying acts of abuse have increased with the recent attacks on international shipping. Critics expressed skepticism about the group's stated goal of striking a blow against Israel and its dependency on trade transiting the region.

It is unclear if or when the executions will take place. Shooting, stoning, hanging, and beheading are all forms of extrajudicial execution employed in Yemen.