Nepal's LGBTQ+ community holds first Pride rally since US funding cuts
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Associated Press
2 hours ago
- Associated Press
Photos of men celebrating Taliban anniversary as women are barred in Kabul
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Thousands of Afghan men gathered in Kabul to watch helicopters scatter flowers to mark the fourth anniversary of the Taliban's return to power, while women were barred from the public festivities. Since seizing control on August 15, 2021, the Taliban has imposed strict interpretations of Islamic law, severely restricting the rights of women and girls. This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.
Axios
4 hours ago
- Axios
These Florida cities are defying a ban on rainbow-colored Pride crosswalks
Some South Florida cities are resisting new state and federal guidance that prohibits rainbow-colored intersections. Why it matters: While other Florida cities acted quickly to remove their Pride-themed crosswalks and avoid violating the state's June 30 mandate, Key West and Delray Beach appear to be the first to push back against the DeSantis administration. Any response from the state could influence how other cities with Pride-themed street art, like Miami Beach and Fort Lauderdale, decide to move forward. The latest: Key West voted Aug. 6 to explore all legal avenues to preserve its popular rainbow crosswalks at the intersection of Duval and Petronia streets, which the city says is one of the island's "most iconic and visited locations." The city also voted to designate the crosswalks as a cultural landmark and the surrounding area as the "Historic Gayborhood of Key West," honoring the city's LGBTQ community. In Delray Beach, the City Commission decided Tuesday to defy a previous order from the city manager and keep its painted Pride intersection — for now at least, the South Florida Sun Sentinel reported. After city manager Terrence Moore announced in July that the city "must adhere to state guidelines," commissioners this week said it would be premature to remove the crosswalk without receiving a direct order from the state. Zoom in: Neither Miami Beach nor Fort Lauderdale have reacted to the mandate, and the cities' Pride street markings are still in place. Miami Beach Commissioner Alex Fernandez tells Axios the city hasn't received any communication from the state, so there's "no action for the City Commission to take at this time." Fernandez and other local leaders have slammed the state's argument that painted crosswalks are a traffic hazard. What they're saying: Fernandez tells Axios that the city's Pride crosswalk on Ocean Drive and 12th Street met all safety standards when it was approved in 2018 and remains a safe intersection. "From my perspective, if major work were ever done there in the future, that would be the time to review and consider any new regulation, just as we would with any other change to the traffic manual," Fernandez said. "In the meantime, I believe this is a non-issue, a distraction, a solution in search of a problem." Threat level: The mandate — which echoed guidance from the Trump administration on removing political messages from roadways — says noncompliant governments may lose state transportation funding. Zoom out: Some cities, like St. Petersburg, have been contacted by Florida's Department of Transportation requesting a list of all painted crosswalks and other traffic infrastructure. But St. Pete Mayor Kenneth Welch announced this week the city wouldn't take any action until it receives guidance from the state on whether certain public art can be exempted from the mandate.
Axios
4 hours ago
- Axios
State policy may threaten rainbow street art across South Florida
New state and federal guidance restricting art on public roads could force cities across South Florida to paint over rainbow-colored street markings celebrating LGBTQ pride. Why it matters: The Florida Department of Transportation's new crackdown on "social, political or ideological" street art has already led the city of Boynton Beach to paint over a rainbow-colored intersection. It remains unclear how other South Florida cities with Pride-themed street art — from Key West to Fort Lauderdale — might be affected. Some of the murals have been targets of vandalism. Catch up quick: The guidance, laid out in a June 30 memo from FDOT assistant secretary Will Watts, requires that street markings comply with state and federal traffic rules. Noncompliant governments stand to lose state transportation funding. "Non-standard surface markings, signage and signals … can lead to distractions or misunderstandings, jeopardizing both driver and pedestrian safety," the memo says. Earlier this week, the city of St. Petersburg — which has street murals celebrating LGBTQ pride and Black history — received an email from FDOT requesting a list of all painted crosswalks, roads and other traffic infrastructure. A spokesperson told Axios Tampa Bay the city intended to "comply with federal and state requirements." Zoom in: Miami Beach, which has displayed the LGBTQ colors along Ocean Drive since 2014, hadn't received communications from FDOT, a spokesperson tells Axios. The city used to paint the crosswalks at the intersection of Ocean Drive and 12th Street with rainbow colors but installed permanent Pride-themed pavers in 2018. Friction point: Miami Beach Commissioner Alex Fernandez, the city's only openly gay commissioner, says he will push back against the new policy if it's "applied in a way that targets inclusive symbols, such as rainbow crosswalks, that have already received regulatory approval." "It is a dangerous regression when public safety is manipulated as a guise to erase a community's public visibility," Fernandez said. "History has shown that this manifestation of supremacy — which today targets LGBTQ people — will inevitably threaten people of diverse races, faiths, and backgrounds." Zoom out: FDOT spokesperson Michael Williams told Axios Tampa Bay that the agency "is currently performing an evaluation on facilities across the state. The cities of Key West and Fort Lauderdale had not been contacted about their street art, city spokespeople confirmed to Axios. Fort Lauderdale spokesperson Ashley Doussard said in a statement that the "city is aware of the FDOT internal memo and is reviewing to determine whether any pavement markings in the city are subject to the directive." Mayor Dean Trantalis, the city's first openly gay mayor, told the South Florida Sun Sentinel that he hopes his city's Pride flag mural near Fort Lauderdale Beach can survive since it's painted on a side street and not at an intersection.
