Human rights activists around the world today will observe the seventh edition of the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHO).

Kuwaiti police have been torturing and sexually abusing transgender women continually since 2007, claims a report released by Human Rights Watch published yesterday.

The most recent case of police violence was reported on the Jan. 7, 2012, where three transgender women were brutally detained.

Two regions of Russia - Arkhangelsk and Ryazan - have passed laws banning what they call “gay propoganda.” The laws have been deemed constitutional by Russian courts despite the chilling of free speech and the attack on LGBT organizing and ability to protest that they represent.

Now the St. Petersburg region wants to introduce a similar law.

One minute past the stroke of midnight on Sept. 20, the long-awaited repeal of President Bill Clinton’s 1993 "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell" (DADT) policy went into effect.

At precisely 12:01 a.m. EST, the popping of champagne bottles began along with cheers and tears celebrating the end of a repressive era that prohibited LGBTQ servicemembers from honestly and openly serving in the military.

But the celebration was bittersweet.