Thailand legalises same-sex mariage
Bangkok, Jan 23: Hundreds of LGBTQ+ couples in Thailand are expected to make their wedded status legal on Thursday, the first day a law took effect granting them the same rights as heterosexual couples.
The enactment of the Marriage Equality Act makes Thailand the first country in Southeast Asia and the third in Asia to legalise same-sex marriage, after Taiwan and Nepal.
Marriage registration is customarily done at district offices, but on Thursday, around 300 couples are expected to complete the formalities at a daylong gala celebration in an exhibition hall at a shopping mall in central Bangkok.
Hundreds more are predicted to register in less fancy circumstances around the country.
The marriage equality bill, which sailed through both houses of parliament, amended the Civil and Commercial Code to change the words “men and women” and “husband and wife” to “individuals” and “marriage partners”.
It is supposed to open up access to full legal, financial and medical rights for LGBTQ+ couples.
Partners will have equal rights and responsibilities in dealing with joint assets, tax obligations and deductions, inheritance rights and survivor benefits.
Thailand has a reputation for acceptance and inclusivity, and thousands of people from around the world attend the annual Bangkok Pride parade. But rights advocates have struggled for decades to pass a marriage equality law in a largely conservative society where members of the LGBTQ+ community say they face discrimination in everyday life, although they note that things have improved greatly in recent years.
Couples interviewed earlier this month by The Associated Press expressed happiness with the new law, even those already settled in contented long-term relationships. (AP)
Taiwan plans to cull up to 120,000 green iguanas
Pingtung, Jan 23: Taiwan plans to cull up to 120,000 green iguanas, with supporters urging humane methods to bring down the animal’s population, which is wreaking havoc on the island’s agricultural sector.
Around 200,000 of the reptiles are believed to be in the island’s southern and central areas, which are heavily dependent on farming, according Chiu Kuo-hao of the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency.
Specially recruited hunting teams killed about 70,000 iguanas last year, with bounties of up to USD 15 each. Local governments have asked the public to help identify iguana nests and they recommend fishing spears as the most humane means of killing the animals.
“A lot of people bought them as cute little pets, not realising how big and long-lived they would become, so they set them free in the wild, where they’ve really taken to the Taiwanese environment,” said Lee Chi-ya of the agricultural department in the southern county of Pingtung.
“That’s allowed them to reproduce at a considerable rate, necessitating us to cull them and restore the balance of nature.” Green iguanas have no natural predators in Taiwan and have moved into areas that can be difficult to access, mostly forests and the edges of towns. (AP)
Thousands line up for whiff of plant reeking of gym socks, rotting garbage
Sydney, Jan 23: The rare unfurling of an endangered plant that emits the smell of decaying flesh drew hundreds of devoted fans to a greenhouse in Sydney on Thursday where they joined three-hour lines to experience a momentous bloom — and a fragrance evoking gym socks and rotting garbage.
Tall, pointed and smelly, the corpse flower is scientifically known as amorphophallus titanum – or bunga bangkai in Indonesia, where the plants are found in the Sumatran rainforest.
But to fans of this specimen, she’s Putricia — a portmanteau of “putrid” and “Patricia” eagerly adopted by her followers who, naturally, call themselves Putricians.
For a week, she has graced a stately and gothic display in front of a purple curtain and wreathed in mist from a humidifier at the Royal Sydney Botanic Garden.
Her rise to fame since has been rapid, with up to 20,000 admirers filing past for a moment in her increasingly pungent presence. No corpse flower has bloomed at the garden for 15 years. (AP)