Authorities in Fiji have banned a march by anti-gay Methodists, local media reported Nov. 10.

The Fiji Methodist Church had planned to turn out 3,000 people on Nov. 19 to protest against a recent court ruling that consensual adult gay sex in private is protected by the Constitution.

But Central Division Regional Development Commissioner Inoke Devo, who is responsible for issuing parade permits, said the proposed march would be discriminatory toward the gay community, and refused to issue the document.

Hundreds of gays staged a kiss-in outside Brazil’s Congress Nov. 8 after a TV network censored a widely anticipated kiss between two male characters on the popular TV series “América.”

Brazilian media said the kiss was filmed but the Globo network axed it in the final edit. It would have been the first same-sex kiss in Brazilian television history.

Tens of millions of additional viewers watched the series’ season finale after advance media coverage of the kiss between rancher’s son Júnior and farmhand Zeca reached fever pitch.

A Globo spokesperson said the kiss was cut because the program airs at 8:00 p.m.

New Polish Prime Minister Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz is abolishing the government agency that has advocated for GLBT equality.

He said the Office of Plenipotentiary for Equal Status of Women and Men – a central body responsible for delivery of anti-discrimination and equal-opportunity policies – will be eliminated.

Eighty Polish nongovernmental organizations representing women, gays and national and religious minorities have signed a letter protesting the move.

They say closing the office “will constitute a breach of Poland’s obligations” to the European Union.

In October, Marcinkiewicz commented to Newsweek: “The family is natural and the state must stand guard over the family. I don’t care if someone is a homosexual or not, and even if I found out something like that, I wouldn’t judge a person differently than on their actions alone. But if that person tries to infect others with their homosexuality, then the state must intervene in this violation of freedom.”

The spiritual leader of the Anglican Communion, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, met with New Hampshire’s openly gay and partnered Episcopal bishop Nov. 3 in London.

A spokesperson for Williams called the conversation with Gene Robinson “friendly but candid.”

Robinson’s election as bishop two years ago plunged the communion into crisis, with anti-gay Anglican leaders in Africa and Asia – and some conservatives in the U.S. – continuing to push toward schism.

Traditionalists also are upset with the Anglican Church of Canada for allowing church blessings of same-sex marriages.

The Prison Service in England and Wales has announced a crackdown on staff who treat gay inmates differently from straight inmates during visits from their partners, The Times reported Nov. 7.

The service said gay inmates must be allowed to kiss and cuddle their partners the same as other inmates, and that staff who impede such expressions will be disciplined.

Gay prisoners also will be allowed to enter into civil unions when the UK’s comprehensive civil-partnership act comes into force Dec. 5, the service said.

A New Zealand man who did not tell his sex partner he was HIV-positive has been cleared of wrongdoing by the Wellington District Court, the Australian AIDS publication Positive Living reported.

Judge Susan Thomas said the man took reasonable precautions to protect his partner by using condoms during intercourse and not ejaculating during oral sex.

The New Zealand AIDS Foundation applauded the ruling.

“Relying on HIV-positive people to tell you, and assuming that unprotected intercourse is safe if HIV is not mentioned, is a much riskier strategy [than] the consistent and proper use of condoms,” said Executive Director Rachael Le Mesurier.

Saudi police raided a drag pageant at a hotel in the city of Al Qatif on Nov. 3, AND Kronos International reported.

Five men were arrested and many others rushed away, “leaving behind shoes and head scarves,” the report said.

Police also found evaluation sheets, beauty products, makeup, lingerie and sex toys, ADN noted.

China Daily reported Nov. 11 that Zheng Yuantao from Guangdong “is thought to be the first gay man in China to broadcast his sexual orientation.”

“I am a gay man,” Zheng said. “I announced my homosexuality to the public on [the] last World AIDS Day on a local television program.”

He told the paper he is lucky to have grown up in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong, where society is heavily influenced by the province’s “more tolerant” neighbor, Hong Kong.

Zheng has a degree in English literature from Guangdong University and is now translating gay-themed Western literature into Chinese, he said.

China is the world’s most-populous nation, with more than 1.3 billion residents.